Breaker's Point Bad Boy Billionaires Boxset (40 page)

"Mr. Reynolds here agreed to answer a few of my questions. And you are?" she asked, turning it back around on Riley.

"I'm Griffin's older brother, Riley Reynolds, and I think you've asked him enough questions. He's been through enough, and anything further can be directed to our family's attorney." Riley tugged a card from inside his jacket and held it out to Detective DeMarco.

Griffin fought the urge to smile as DeMarco took the offered card without so much as glancing at it and tucked it into the back of her notepad.

"I was just finishing up here anyway but if I have any other questions I'll be sure to arrange a meeting down at the station where Mr. Reynolds and his attorney can attend."

She turned on her heel without so much as a backward glance, and Griffin couldn't help but feel a grudging respect for her. It wasn't often that someone was capable of putting Riley in his place and yet she had done it with ease.

The silence stretched out between them and Griffin shot Riley a curious look.

"How are you feeling now?" Riley finally asked, breaking the tension that seemed to be building in the room.

"I'm about as good as you can expect from a man who had his ass handed to him this morning," Griffin said, his voice gruff as he fought to reach the jug of water one of the nurses had left for him. His mouth was dry and he couldn't remember when he'd last had a proper drink.

Riley grabbed the jug and quickly poured a glass of icy water before sliding it across the small hospital table towards Griffin.

Griffin took the glass grudgingly; he didn't need his brother's pity and yet from the way Riley was staring at him that was exactly what he was getting.

"What did you tell her?" Riley asked, dragging a chair up to the side of the bed as Griffin swallowed down half the glass of water. The icy liquid sliding down the back of his throat soothed its irritating ache.

"Not much. I don't have a whole lot to tell," Griffin said, setting the glass back down on the table.

"Griffin, if you suspected this Elijah guy killed your manager, then why the hell would you go and see him this morning?" Riley leaned in towards the bed as though he expected Griffin to share some dark secret with him.

"You still think I had something to do with Steve's disappearance, don't you?"

"I didn't say that, Griffin, and you know I didn't. I'm just trying to understand how this happened."

Griffin sighed and pushed his hand back through his hair. The pain of lifting his arm was worth it, helping to clear his mind of the fog from the painkillers coursing through his veins, and for that he was grateful. At the end of the day, there was only so much of the truth he could share with his brother.

"I went because Steve was a good guy and I wanted Elijah to back off. He made the deal with me. If he had a problem he should have come to me, not take it out on those closest to me."

Griffin shot his brother a sideways glance as he tried to assess just how much of what he said Riley believed. But Riley’s face was as inscrutable as always.

"But you had to know how dangerous that was?"

Griffin nodded. "Yeah, but what other choice did I have? Elijah is a bully but I can't have him hurting my friends."

Riley smiled and sat back in the chair. "There's one thing I've always admired about you, Griff. Your loyalty to your friends is unmatched by anyone I've ever met."

Griffin shot his brother a suspicious look; it wasn't like Riley to toss around compliments. Whatever had happened to him since Griffin had last seen him up in Breaker's Point obviously had a profound impact on his character.

"No need to look at me like that. It's true; I'm not just saying it to you."

"Well, thanks," Griffin said, keeping his head low and studying the threads hanging from the edge of the sheet.

"So I guess the guns you took from me weren't much use?"

Griffin felt heat climbing up his neck and flooding into his face and could only imagine that beneath the swelling and bruises he was the colour of a tomato. It was embarrassing to admit that he had faced Elijah armed and yet he'd still ended up in the hospital bed, while Elijah didn't even have a scratch on him.

"Yeah, about the guns… I'm sorry for taking them, but I couldn't see another way out of it."

Riley shook his head. "I get it. I know you were scared, Griff, but you really should have come to me with the truth."

"Would you have helped me if I had? Would you have even believed me? You seemed pretty wrapped up in whatever was going on at the time with Holly."

"You’re my brother, so of course I'd have listened. I know I haven't exactly been brother of the year but I care about you and I always have. You could have come to me."

Griffin shook his head and gave Riley a sideways grin. "I take it I have Holly to thank for this miraculous turnaround of character because the Riley Reynolds I remember would have hung me out to dry for being so stupid."

"So you admit you were stupid? You really must be growing up," Riley said, a smile curling his lips. "Why didn't you use the guns in the end?"

The grin faded from Griffin's lips as he remembered Elijah's threat, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball of shame.

"Elijah took the gun I was carrying, which was what he used to pistol whip me. The rest of them are in the trunk of my car, which I parked right outside Elijah's warehouse, so I can only assume he has them too."

"No, Stuart picked your car up and recovered the rest of the guns. All of them were present and accounted for except one, and I presumed it was the one you went in with. I just couldn't figure out why you hadn't tried to use it."

"Didn't get the chance. Elijah's guy was on me before I even had the opportunity to reach for it."

Riley nodded thoughtfully but he didn't say anything. Griffin's nerves caused him to fidget with the edge of the hospital identification bracelet he wore around his wrist. Tension built within him and he tried to bring it back under control but failed.

"There's something else."

"Yes?" Riley said, his expression curious.

"He threatened to use the gun to commit a crime, said it might help you to loosen up your purse strings. The gun is, after all, registered to you."

Riley's face drained of colour, but it wasn't from shock. Rage bubbled beneath the surface of his eyes and Griffin began to feel nervous for the first time in years.

"I'm really sorry, Riley. I didn't know that he'd do that, I swear…"

"Even if you did know, would you still have taken my gun?" Riley asked, an edge to his voice.

Griffin dropped his head and stared down at the sheets.

"I don't know, maybe…" Griffin lifted his face and stared over at his brother. "I wouldn't have intentionally put you at risk, but I couldn't just wait for Elijah to come and finish us all off."

Riley didn't say anything and Griffin waited anxiously for his brother to pass judgement on him, the way he always had in the past.

"I understand, Griffin. As I said before, I admire your loyalty to your friends."

Griffin's mouth dropped open and he stared at his brother, his mind a confusing whirl of surprised thoughts. This wasn't the Riley he'd grown up with; it wasn't even the Riley he remembered from a week ago who'd told him what a failure he was.

Whatever Holly McCombe had done to his brother, Griffin knew he owed her big time.

"We need to plan out how we're going to deal with this Elijah character," Riley said, "I dislike thugs who think they can just get away with threatening me and my family, and I think it's high time people know that the Reynolds aren't merely pawns to be played with."

Griffin nodded in agreement, but he had a feeling that there was more to Riley's words than just Elijah's threat. Griffin knew, though, that until Riley was good and ready to share, he would just have to wait to hear the truth.

L
eaning across the bar
, Cami scrubbed the counter clean of the beer stains that decorated its surface. Her mind focussed on one thing and one thing only: Griffin Reynolds.

"Camille Thompson?" a low female voice said, dragging Cami back to the present with a jerk.

Glancing up from the same spot she'd been scrubbing for the last five minutes, Cami came face to face with a pretty blonde. But that wasn't what turned Cami's stomach to lead.

When she saw the woman holding out her badge, Cami fought the urge to vomit all over the clean bar top. Her mind whirled out of control as she contemplated all the different reasons for the cop to be standing there.

"I'm sorry, is there something wrong?" Cami asked, fighting to keep the tremor from her voice.

"No, nothing wrong. I'm Detective Andrea DeMarco, and I've just got a couple of questions for you regarding a Griffin Reynolds and the disappearance of his manager, Steve Robinson. Do you have a moment to spare?"

Cami threw a glance over her shoulder at Fintan before returning her attention to the detective.

"Ugh, I don't know, I'm supposed to be working and…" Cami cut herself off as Fintan appeared at her elbow.

"What's the matter?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow in Cami's direction and taking in Detective DeMarco.

"She wants to ask me some questions about Griffin Reynolds, you know, the guy from that band."

"Black Special…" DeMarco added, a smile stretching her lips, but it reminded Cami more of a grimace than anything else. "This won't take long. It's regarding the disappearance of the band's manager, Steve Robinson."

"So why are you here asking Cami about it? Shouldn't you be maybe talking to the guys from the band instead?"

"I was, and they suggested I speak to Miss Thompson. They indicated that they were in the bar the night Mr. Robinson is believed to have disappeared."

Fintan shot Cami a curious look and she tried to give him a blank response in return. Fintan wasn't stupid and he knew her better than anyone else; if anyone could figure out her secrets, it was him.

"Look, it's up to Cami, but I don't get why you need to be questioning her."

Detective DeMarco smiled again. "It's just routine, Mister?"

"Fintan Dell, proprietor of this fine establishment."

Cami smothered a smile behind her hand as Fintan pushed as much sarcasm into his voice as possible. But the look DeMarco gave him killed the smile on Cami's lips. There was something in her eyes that said she had taken everything he was saying and would use it against him at a later date.

"Fine. You said it was just a couple of questions, so as long as it's all right with Fintan I've got the time," Cami said, drawing DeMarco's attention away from Fintan and back to herself once more.

Fintan shrugged and squeezed Cami's shoulder. "You take as much time as you need," he said, turning away to head into the back room of the bar once more.

Cami plastered a fake smile on her face and gestured for DeMarco to take a seat at one of the empty tables in the corner of the bar. The detective did, her beady eyes taking in all of her surroundings before she gave Cami a wide smile in return.

"This really isn't anything to get concerned about, Miss Thompson. It's just a few routine questions."

Cami nodded and knotted her fingers together across her lap.

"Of course, fire away."

"You can confirm that Griffin Reynolds and the rest of Black Special were here three nights ago?"

Cami nodded and chewed her bottom lip; the butterflies in her stomach had turned into bats and they were doing their level best to rip out through her chest.

"At any point did Griffin or any of the other members leave the bar?"

"Spike did. There was an argument and he got a little rowdy so I had to kick him out."

Detective DeMarco nodded and scribbled in the little notebook she'd pulled from the inside of her jacket.

Cami watched her like she was dangerous; there was something lurking beneath the pleasant exterior she was presenting, something that Cami couldn't quite put her finger on, but the feeling was enough to unsettle her.

"And did Spike come back at any point?"

Cami swallowed hard; what was she supposed to say? If she said yes, then DeMarco would want to know why, and Cami didn't know how she was supposed to juggle all of the lies she'd been telling without one of them catching up to her.

"No. If he did, I didn't see him."

"You shut the bar early that night, is that correct?"

"Yes," Cami answered, her stomach flipping nervously.

"And Mr. Reynolds left with you?"

The question caught Cami by surprise. How the hell DeMarco knew that Griffin had driven her home was beyond her. Unless, of course, Griffin had already told DeMarco.

It made sense; Cami was his alibi. The realisation hit her like a freight train and she dug her fingers into her leg to keep from letting her anger bubble to the surface.

"Yeah, he drove me home that night." Cami tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was failing in the eyes of DeMarco.

"I don't mean to sound as though I'm prying, Miss Thompson, but did he stay the night?"

Cami let out a long sigh and shook her head. If Griffin Reynolds wanted her to lie for him then he should have told her that himself. But as far as Cami was concerned, she'd told enough lies. If she could avoid adding any more to the list, she would.

"No, he left shortly after seeing me safely home."

DeMarco nodded and focussed intently on whatever she was writing on the notepad.

"Do you know if Mr. Reynolds returned to the bar or not?"

Cami shook her head and shrugged. "I have no idea. I didn't speak to him after that."

DeMarco smiled and pushed herself to her feet. "Thank you for your time, Miss Thompson. I don't wish to alarm you because it's simply a matter of protocol, but we've sent a forensics team to check out the dumpsters in the back of the bar."

Cami's stomach lurched uncomfortably and she gripped the edge of the table to stop from falling over.

"I don't understand why would you do that? What do you expect to find?" Cami asked, her voice suddenly high and pitchy.

"I can't discuss the details of an on-going investigation, but needless to say we've received some information that suggests Mr. Robinson was here at the bar that night," DeMarco said. Cami could feel the weight of the other woman's gaze on her, studying her, no doubt looking for some flicker of guilt or sign that she'd been lying the entire time.

Cami swallowed hard, more to keep the contents of her stomach from crawling up the back of her throat than anything else.

"Well I'm sure you've got your reasons, but if he was here that night then he was never in the bar, of that I'm certain," Cami said, straightening up to her full height.

DeMarco smiled again and held her hand out to Cami. "A pleasure speaking to you, Miss Thompson. Thank you for your time."

She turned on her heel and headed out the door, leaving Cami to stare after her. Fintan gestured to her from behind the bar and Cami hurried over.

"What was that all about?" Fintan asked, his face full of curiosity.

"They're searching the dumpsters at the back of the bar. For some reason they reckon that Steve Robinson guy was here the night that he was murdered."

"And was he?" Fintan’s uncanny ability to ask her exactly the right question, almost as though he knew she wasn't telling him the full story, left Cami reeling.

"He wasn't in the bar," she said truthfully. As far as Cami could remember, Steve had never once entered the bar. The fact that he had been at the bar was something she was going to keep to herself until she had no other choice.

"Fintan, do you mind if I disappear for a while?" Cami asked.

He studied her face, searching for something, but Cami had no clue what he was trying to find. .

"You know that if you've gotten yourself in over your head, you can tell me," he said, his tone suggesting he was far more concerned than he had led her to initially believe.

"Fintan, I'm fine. Really."

"I know you're capable of looking after yourself. That's not what has me so worried. I just hope you haven't gotten so caught up in this Griffin guy that you've lost sight of what really matters."

His words struck a nerve and Cami couldn't stop her shoulders from stiffening. All she'd ever done was think of the people that mattered. Person.

Sophie was safe; Cami had made sure that
he
would never find them, and she planned on keeping it that way. It was the only thing she ever thought about. So to hear Fintan lecture her on it, without really knowing what he was actually talking about, felt like a knife in the gut. Being privy to only half the story didn't exactly make him an expert on the subject.

Her thoughts must have registered on her face because Fintan's expression softened and he reached out to her. But it was far too late; there was no going back on his words now.

"No, Fintan, message received loud and clear," Cami said, shrugging away from his touch. She strode to the end of the bar and grabbed her bag and jacket that hung on the peg before turning to face him once more.

"I always thought you were on my side, that you understood how hard it was, but I never in a million years imagined I was this wrong about you."

"Cami, you're not wrong about me. I
am
on your side, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"Since this Griffin guy appeared on the scene, you've been a different person. All you seem to think of is him and I'm just worried. He's not like you and as soon as he's bored he'll move onto something more exciting. For God’s sake, Cami, he's a rock star. They don't go for lowly mortals like us."

Cami shook her head, wrapping her hand around the strap of her handbag in an attempt to stop herself from lashing out at Fintan’s words.

Deep down she'd had all the same thoughts, but to hear them out loud from someone else was a little hard to stomach. But she supposed that “the truth hurts” was a saying for a reason.

"How do you know it wasn't me who wanted a little fun, Fintan? Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted to do something for me for a change?"

Fintan smiled sadly and dropped his head so his eyes were trained on the bar.

"It's not who you are, Cami. Your loyalty to Sophie is unmatched, and I know you wouldn't risk her safety for a simple one night stand. The only reason you would keep pursuing all of this is because you honestly feel something more than just garden variety lust for him. That's what has me worried."

Cami didn't have an answer for him so she turned on her heel and stormed out of the bar, slamming the front door behind her hard enough to rattle the glass in its frame.

Fintan was right. She did feel something more than just lust for Griffin Reynolds, but if she was being perfectly honest with herself she had no idea what exactly it was. She didn't even know him, and yet there was something about him that kept on drawing her back to him again and again.

And that was what frightened her so much. If after such a short time he could have such a profound effect on her, what would happen if she continued to spend time with him? What would happen if she allowed him to creep further and further into her life?

And what would she do when the day came when he would leave? Or when she would be forced to leave him? That day would come, of that she was certain, and the thought of it frightened her more than anything else.

Would she have the strength to say goodbye?

There was a time when she'd been utterly sure of all the answers, but now… now she was no longer so sure.