Griffin Chapter 15

I was finding it hard as hell to face Hadley and not tell her that her dad was dying. On one hand, I could understand why he wanted to wait, but on the other, I could see it from the perspective of being his child. I know she thought I was upset over something her dad said to me in private, which I kind of was. She kept asking me to tell her and I kept telling her nothing was wrong. It had placed a slight strain on us.

I was trying to stay away more so I wouldn’t slip up. I used the excuse that I was working on stuff and didn’t want to interrupt her, which wasn’t a complete lie either. The project was at a crucial point, and she was spending hours on her computer and talking with the team—the team we couldn’t trust to be the ones who hadn’t sabotaged it.

They had gotten the problem fixed, thanks to her. Watching her work told me how brilliant she was. She was years ahead of me in every way. I’d always seen myself as a rather intelligent person, but compared to her, I was an idiot. When I told her that, she was appalled and begged me not to think such a thing. See, sweet as hell, too. How I’d gotten so lucky to capture her attention, I’d never know. Hopefully, our kids would take after her but not leave their daddy in the dust. They’d probably bypass me by the time they were five.

It had been three days since we found out about the sabotage. We still hadn’t eliminated or confirmed anyone as responsible. Everyone on my team, her, Travis, and even the Marauders, was on edge. Jinx and his guys were on edge, not because they were worried they couldn’t protect her, but because they had taken a liking to her and were feeling ultra-protective.

There had been no more nighttime visitors to the lab. We had someone monitoring it. I wanted her to finish the project without delay so Travis could tell her what he was hiding, and I could stop feeling guilty for not telling her.

She was working in Jinx’s office while I was working at the clubhouse. They’d given me an empty room and were nice enough to move in a desk so I could use my laptop and tap into their internet and printer. I was typing away when there was a knock. Glancing up, I found Beast standing there. I went on alert. He had no reason to seek me out unless he’d found something. He was spending his spare time trying to track down the culprit like my team was.

“Did you find something?”

“Not exactly. Can I talk to you for a minute? I need more information.”

“Sure. Have a seat.”

He sat in an extra chair I had put in here. “I need to know more about the bodyguard, Rockwell. From what we’ve heard you say, you don’t like him or trust him. Tell me why.”

“It’s mainly because he’s too interested in Hadley. He’s been her main guard for the past four years. He’s with her full-time, and he even lives on their estate. Now, he’s not the only employee who does, but still. You should’ve seen how he hovered over her and how pissed off he got when anyone was taking her attention. He wants her.”

“Do you think he could be the one who issued the threat to her dad?”

I’d thought about it and I just didn’t see it. I shook my head. “As much as I’d like it to be him making the threats, I can’t see him hurting her. Yeah, I know obsession can turn dangerous, but I didn’t get that vibe from him. He wants her but not in an ‘I want to put your body parts in a jar’ kind of way. He sure hated having me anywhere near her.”

“I bet. Was there anyone else who you were around who made you feel wary?”

“Not really. You could tell the security people were worried about their jobs with us coming in, and they weren’t thrilled to take orders from us, but who could blame them? We didn’t have a lot of contact with the other staff, and those at the lab I only met once. That’s when we found out Hadley is more than just Travis’s daughter and is an actual key person in the company. Why? Did you find something?”

“Not exactly. It was the way you talked about Rockwell that made me focus on him. I’ve been digging, and he’s too boring.”

“Too boring? How?”

“From what I can see, he has no damn life. He’s a young, attractive guy. He doesn’t work twenty-four-seven, but there’s been no indication he’s been with a woman or even a man in the past five years. He has a small social media footprint, and there’s nothing on it other than a few photos of him over the years and a random post here and there. He doesn’t have memberships in a bunch of groups or anything. He doesn’t seem to spend much of his money. It just made me want to know more. We’re men. Don’t tell me he hasn’t needed sex in five years. Of course he could be paying for it and using cash. He does occasionally pull out a decent amount of money,” he mused.

“He could, but I’m not sure if he would. You’re right, as much as it pains me to say it. He isn’t unattractive, which didn’t help my dislike of him being so close to her. Of course, he might not be as enamored with her after she beat his ass at the physical challenges we had them going through.”

“I’ve gotta hear this,” he said eagerly, so I quickly told him about it. He laughed himself silly.

“Oh my God, I would’ve loved to see that. It serves him right and should be a reminder to us all. Women will always surprise us, I think. Now, don’t kill me, but I want a woman just like her. Someone who can lean on me when she needs to but still has inner strength and will stand up for herself and others.”

“No killing today. Did I help you?”

“I think so. I’ll still keep looking, but he doesn’t sound like one to threaten to torture and send her back in pieces. If they hadn’t found the men who did that to her mom, I’d be tempted to say it was the same person or persons.”

“So would I. Well, let me know if you have other questions.”

“I do have one, and it’s not on this topic. You might tell me to go to hell, but I gotta ask.”

“Go for it.”

“What’re you hiding from Hadley? The last few days, I can see it. You’re not as comfortable with her, which usually means you’re hiding something. She’s picking up on it, too.”

His calling me out surprised me. I thought I was hiding it better. Shit, what if Hadley knew I was hiding something worse than her dad not wanting us together? I didn’t answer him at first as I thought of what I should or shouldn’t say. I’d told my guys what was up. They’d been worried about it like I was, but I hadn’t said anything to any of the Marauders. He sat there staring at me.

Finally, I gave him an answer or at least a partial one. “You’re right. I am hiding something from her. I’m not telling you what, but I know if I tell her, it’s gonna hurt her, and I just can’t do it. She has enough on her mind as it is. I promise once this assignment is over, I’ll tell her. I should’ve never done it, but it’s too late to have regrets. Now all I can do is live with what I did and fix it as soon as I can.”

He shook his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Me too.”

We talked for a couple more minutes about mundane things before he excused himself to get back to work. After he left, it was hard for me to concentrate on what I’d been doing. I needed to talk to someone. I closed and locked the door so I wouldn’t be disturbed, then I called Mark. He was with Travis and would have a better idea of how he was doing and maybe how to help me. Not that Gabe and Sean couldn’t, but Mark often had a different take on things, especially after his five years of being “dead.”

I dialed my phone. It didn’t take long for him to answer. “Grif, is everything alright?” was how he answered. I heard the edge in his voice. I swear, I don’t know if the man totally relaxed anymore. If he did, it was when he was alone with his wife and son.

“Hadley is fine. I need to talk to you about the secret Travis has me keeping from her. Do you have time to talk?”

“Sure, let me close the door. Travis is resting in his room. I noticed he’s more tired even in the short time we’ve been here. Okay, it’s closed. Hit me.”

“It’s tearing me up to keep this from her. It’s gotten to the point I’m avoiding her some. She thinks it was something Travis said about us, and she wants me to tell her. I assured her he didn’t do that, but she wasn’t convinced. Then, a few minutes ago, Beast was in here and he called me on it. Asked what I was hiding from her. What the hell? I don’t want to break my promise to Travis, but she’s the woman I love. I hate doing this when I know it’ll hurt her when she finds out, and she may never forgive me.”

“The woman you love, huh? That’s the first time I’ve heard you say that.”

I jerked as I realized I’d said it. I thought about it, and even though it was damn fast, it was true. “Yeah, that’s what I said. Don’t ever tell her I told you before I did her. Fuck, okay, help me with the other.”

“My lips are sealed. About the other, think about this. Do you want to risk pissing him off and having him possibly actively talking to her about not being with you? Personally, I don’t think he’d do that, but I can’t say for sure. Do you think she’ll be so pissed she won’t eventually get over it? It’s all about what you can live with. Losing his respect and support of your relationship or losing her trust and possibly her?”

“That’s easy. I can’t lose her. I hate the idea he’ll spend the little time he has left disliking me, but it’s better than her walking away from me. I plan to marry her and have a family. The sooner, the better. I told him this. In fact, I want it soon so he can be here for it and be there to give her away on our wedding day.”

“And he agreed?”

“He did. He wants two weeks for all the legal and other stuff to be finalized. He’s also hoping we will have solved whoever is making the threats.”

“Maybe there’s a way to do both. What if you talk to her and tell her you’re in a hard place, and it’s killing you? Tell her he made you promise and how you don’t want to break his trust but you don’t want to do the same to her either. Let her know the time limit and that regardless of whether he wants you to tell her when the two weeks are over, you’re primed to tell her everything. She’ll see you being honest yet willing to keep your word. She strikes me as a woman who would appreciate it.”

“Damn, why didn’t I think of that? Has anyone told you you’re more than muscles and tattoos with a furious glare?” I joked as my heart lightened. It was a good idea.

He barked out a laugh. “Only Sloan. I like to keep my amazingness hidden. Otherwise, people will want to spend too much time with me, and I don’t like that. My fans would become legions,” he joked back.

I laughed. “Keep telling yourself that. You’re great and all, but you’re never gonna be that damn approachable. Thanks, man. I’ll do what you suggested. Before I forget, is everything quiet there?”

“All’s quiet here. Not to borrow trouble, but I’d enjoy a bit of action right now. I love the cabin, but too many days and I get antsy. Plus, I miss Sloan and Caleb. FaceTime isn’t enough. They’re planning to come up at the end of the week. Travis seems to be enjoying it. Since you told us what he said, he and I talked about it and I’ve got him resting more. You gotta feel for the guy. He’s lived years without the love of his life, and now he’s soon to leave his daughter. He loves her to death.”

“He does. You know, if you need a break so you can go home, we can get someone else up there.”

“I know, but I don’t want to do that. We’ll survive.”

“But how will you give me another nephew or even a niece if you and Sloan aren’t together to make one?”

“Not you, too! Cassidy is after us, so I told her we’re waiting for her and Sean to have the second one before we do. Noah is getting close to two and a half. However, with you finding Hadley, that means you two should be having one in the next year or so.”

“Yep.”

“Really? That’s all I get? You’re ready for a kid already?”

“Were you ready when Sloan got pregnant with your son?”

“Hell yeah. It was one of the happiest days of my life.”

“We’ve talked and agreed it may be sooner rather than later, but don’t tell your wife, Cass, or Gemma that, or I’ll have to kill you.”

All the bastard did was laugh. We talked for a few minutes about a couple of other work assignments, then signed off. I sat back in my chair to organize my thoughts on how to broach the subject with Hadley. I had to do it today. There was no way I could go another day with this weighing me down.