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“I’m pretty sure I dozed off at the cabin. I’m fine.”
Kyle eyed her, concern crossing his eyes before he finally nodded. “Okay. We’ll talk later.”
He offered his father a glance before he stalked from the room, leaving them alone. The tension in Grant’s shoulders released a little as he left. He ran a hand through his hair. “Sometimes he is really hard to take.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, guilt coursing through her. “This morning couldn’t have been easy. I wanted to warn you, but we didn’t have much choice or much chance.”
“You didn’t have much choice is more like it. I can’t help but feel that Kyle benefited from all of this.”
“Try not to judge him too harshly. I’d like to think he felt backed into a corner and reacted.”
Grant side-eyed her, his arms crossed. “That’s because you’re too nice of a person. I can’t stop thinking he relished this role.”
She’d had the same thoughts, particularly when he’d kissed her, but the last thing she wanted to do was drive a wedge further between father and son. “It’s over now. Let’s hope it did the trick, and he’s back in with Lydia. Although, I still think with the latest developments this is a terrible idea. I wish he wouldn’t have called her.”
“Well, that’s Kyle. He’s always willing to cross a line or two against everyone’s wishes.”
The statement brought a chuckle from her. “That’s why we brought him aboard for this fight.”
Grant heaved a sigh as the sun painted the morning sky brilliant shades of pink and red. “I’m sorry if I was harsh earlier. When I saw those pictures, I just…”
Julia’s stomach twisted into a knot, her gaze falling to the floor, knowing he had probably been disappointed. Lydia believed they were really married. This couldn’t have looked good.
When she glanced up again, she found him hovering closer to her than he had been before. He rubbed her arms as he stared down at her, his features pinching. “Julia…”
He seemed to struggle to find additional words as an unknown emotion clouded his eyes. She held her breath, her heart suddenly pounding against her ribs as she wondered what he wanted to say.
Before he could speak again, the doors swung open and Sierra pounded her way into the room. “Julia! There you are. And no one tells me. So typical. Why am I the last person to find out about anything these days?”
The sigh from Grant made her wonder what Sierra had interrupted. “Julia got home about an hour ago. But you need your rest.”
“Rest? I’m fine. It takes more than a little car accident to keep me down.” Sierra shoved the doors closed behind her before she spun to face Julia. “Where did you go? Did Kyle kidnap you again?”
Julia sighed as she studied her stepdaughter. “No.”
“Well, kind of,” Grant said, crossing to the desk and sliding the folder of photos off of it. He skirted the heavy furniture piece and shoved the folder in a drawer. He obviously didn’t want Sierra to see those pictures, and she fully agreed.
“Kind of? Another kind of kidnapping? Please tell me you tossed him, Daddy.”
“No, not kind of. Kyle…is still double-agenting for us. Your mother asked him to take me somewhere for a few hours to prove his loyalty. He did.”
“Why? What did she gain by it?” Sierra asked.
“She accused Kyle of being behind DG,” Grant said. “She used his disappearance with Julia as proof that he was trying to destroy me piece by piece.”
“I can’t believe her. She’s behind this, and she’s pointing the finger at everyone else. Why can’t we just confront her?”
“Sierra, she has been behind some pretty horrific events. We don’t want to push her, especially with the leverage she has,” Julia said. “But with any luck, that should be over soon. Alex Stone arrives this afternoon. By the way, I told him James could bring him here from the airport.”
“I’ll let him know,” Grant said with a nod.
“Thanks. If you don’t mind, I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll see you later.”
He bobbed his head again, his eyes clouding with that unknown emotion as she stepped toward the door. After Sierra hugged her, she slipped out, blowing out a long breath. The encounter had been intense after an equally intense night. She hoped she could fall asleep after all the excitement.
She climbed the stairs and navigated to her room. After peeling the scrubs off and slipping into comfortable pajamas, she crawled into her bed and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
When she opened her eyes again, the afternoon sun painted her room with deep shadows. She’d slept far longer than she’d expected.
