Page 98 of Hard Heart

Uh-oh. Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh…

“We have a problem.”

“It isn’t him?”

“It’s all of them.”

“What do you mean, all of them?”

“All the Blackstone housemates.” At least, it looked that way. I backed away from the window in case they glanced up and saw me with my face pressed against the glass like an Edvard Munch painting. “Not Justin, obviously, but the rest of them. It’s a freaking ambush.”

“Stay calm. Just breathe. This is a good thing.”

“It is?”

“We wanted to speak with them, didn’t we?”

“Not like this. Not with them all just…showing up. What if I say the wrong thing? They’re undoubtedly ten steps ahead of us because they saw right through my invitation to Greyson.”

“We should get extra water.” Raelene pressed the intercom. “Lili, could you show in the guests and then bring six extra glasses?”

“What are the symptoms of a stroke? Do you go lightheaded?”

“It’s only a meeting.”

But it wasn’t. It wasn’t only a meeting. It was a meeting that could determine the course of Levi’s life. If I’d known the entire contingent of housemates was coming, I could have asked him for tips on how to deal with them, but it hadn’t even occurred to me that they’d gate-crash the party, so all I knew was that Greyson was secretly in touch with his feminine side.

“They’re just in here,” Lili said and pushed the door open.

The seven filed in, and I matched them to the pictures I’d seen. Greyson was handsome in a too-slick way, wearing a custom-tailored suit as armour. Braxton also sported a suit, but his was cut slimmer, and two-day stubble softened the formality. Nolan? He looked kind of how I felt—wound tight, two short steps away from a nervous breakdown, the opposite of Zach, who looked as if he’d taken a wrong turn on the way to his surfboard. Dawson offered a tight smile. Of the five men, he was the only one who didn’t intimidate the crap out of me, even though he was the biggest.

My gaze moved to the women. Was that Jerry Knight? Hard to tell with her hiding behind a ball cap and oversized sunglasses, but the hair was the right colour. And she had a don’t-fuck-with-me aura, which fit with what Levi had told me about her. And then there was… No, that couldn’t be Person A. When Levi picked her out in the photo, she’d stood a foot shorter than Nolan in heels, and this woman was almost as tall as him.

Greyson stepped forward, his hand outstretched, his smile fake.

“Ms. Hennessy?”

“Uh-huh. I mean, yes.”

Great. This was going swimmingly.

Raelene offered a hand. “And I’m Raelene Holtz. You brought quite the entourage.”

“Indeed. I’m sure you’re familiar with most of them.” He nodded to each in turn. “Braxton Vale, Dawson Masters, Zach Torres, Nolan de Luca, and Jerry Knight.” Finally, he introduced the blonde. “And Ari, our private investigator.”

Ari. Ah, this was Zach’s fiancée. A real family affair, although Nolan had left his unidentified minor at home.

Greyson sat in the middle with Braxton, Nolan, and Zach to his left. Dawson took his other side, then Ari, with Jerry at the end. She angled her chair so she was looking straight at me. Her eyes might have been hidden behind dark lenses, but I knew she missed nothing.

“So,” Greyson began. “I was intrigued to receive your note. Why don’t you tell me more about why you invited me here today?”

“Uh, well, so… Obviously, you’re a congressman, and upholding the law is important to you.”

“Obviously.”

“And, uh…” What was I even saying? “And it’s important to me too. Us, I mean. To us here at the Justice Project.”

“You’re doing great, sweetie,” Jerry Knight said. “Keep going.”