I eased her away from my chest and grasped her chin, needing to see her face, needing the truth. “Explain.”
Her red-rimmed eyes lifted to mine. “I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t love you when you asked, because I do. So much. God knows I wasn’t even looking, but there you were…right in front of me.” A teary smile tugged her trembling mouth. “Truth is, I never saw you in that way before. I mean you were a—well, you’re not the type of guy I went for, but subconsciously, I must have been drawn to you. It’s probably why I gave you such a hard time—”
“Shh.” I stopped her. I didn’t want to hear about my damn past. “Tell me what happened. Why you broke me now.”
Her ravaged features twisted with torment at my words. Sniffing, she reached into her pants’ pocket and brought out not tissues, but several crumpled bits of torn paper, which she put in my palm. My brow creasing, I stepped beneath the streetlight and shifted the fragments around as I studied the pieces. A slow, burning rage started in my gut, my fingers fisting the torn check made out for a million dollars.
“So, my fucking grandmother was behind this.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry I lied.”
At the fury running rampant inside me, I wanted to put my fist through something. Hell. Ray, with her soft, giving heart, had never faced an opponent like Margo Blackstone. She must have been terrified at the threats my grandmother was capable of carrying out. All she’d ever known was people who loved her. “What else did Margo do?”
She inhaled a shaky breath and rubbed her arms as if cold. “She said she wouldn’t let me come between you and this-this…Hannah Jaeger, and ruin a merger that’s worth a billion to the company…”
Of course. But I knew my damn family. Grandmother didn’t simply pay someone off, she always,alwayshad a backup plan in place to make sure she got what she wanted. And Ray wouldn’t be moved by any amount of cash. “What did she use against you, Ray? What did she say to make you leave me?”
The delicate lines of her throat worked as she struggled to find the words to tell me what had instilled so much fear in her. “She found out that I worked as an escort two years ago, and she threatened to expose me to the press unless I broke up with you. The knowledge would crush my family, Jack. My mom…the shock alone would guarantee another stroke, and it would likely kill her…”
Her words ran into each other while I stood there nailed to the ground in shock.
Anescort?
It took several heartbeats before I inhaled harshly, pulling air into my burning lungs.
With my past, I wasn’t one to judge, but this? This was like a fist in my gut. A roar built in my head. “An escort?” I repeated.
Her gaze wary, she nodded. “I worked as one—very briefly.”
I realized things could be difficult financially for a student, and it was why Ray had worked in the bar. And whyIusually left her a huge tip. It’d always pissed her off, but at least I knew she’d have pocket money. I didn’t realize… “You could have come to me if you needed financial aid.”
She scowled. “I wouldn’t have. But it wasn’t about me. Petra needed help. It was only a few times.”
Aaandher words slammed into me like someone had clocked me in my head, breaking me out of my stupor. My fragmenting gray matter realigned to one of understanding, and I bit back a groan. No, it was never about her. This was Ray. She’d help anyone in need without thought as to how it would personally affect her. Hell, she’d even gotten hurt protecting Petra and her baby.
Another facet of her that I loved. She had the biggest heart this side of San Francisco.
Exhaling roughly, I brushed a damp strand of hair stuck to her cheek. “It’s okay. Everyone does shit in their life.”
She wrapped her fingers around my wrists, her beautiful eyes searching mine. “It was just one guy, three dates to some work function. Nothing happened.”
“Ray, I don’t care. You are all that is right in my life.” But fury still raged within me. I wanted to storm to the mansion and confront my grandmother, except it would be pointless.
Tackling her would require careful planning. I tossed away the shredded check and drew the love of my life close. When a thought struck me, so damn simple in its making. It was pure fucking genius in its deviousness, and perfect, one that would definitely throw a spanner in the machination of my blackmailing Grandmama. Permanently.
I might not possess a drop of Blackstone blood, but I was a Griffin. My father had faltered under its weight, but Pops had been a bird of prey in his days. And I sure as hell learned from the toughest of them, something Margo would soon find out.
I gently stroked Ray’s cheek, unable to stop touching her. “You leave for the bachelorette party tomorrow, right?”
Lines creased her brow, probably wondering what the hell I was up to, talking about parties when she’d just revealed how fucking conniving my family was.
“Yes.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes. With my life.”
No hesitation.
