Page 399 of Knox Academy Omnibus
“She still has connections in The Order and she found out that Harold is no longer the one pulling strings, and that you are. Her daughter. As that old saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but from what I can gather she just wants to stop running. To be able to lead a normal life. She’s lived in fear for so long and she saw me as a way to contact you.”
“You know that I’ll need to know what she’s done before I can allow that. There are rules even I have to follow. If it is just some stupid beef with Harold, that’s one thing. If she broke an Order law, my hands are tied.”
“I respect that. And when you’re ready, she would like to talk to you.”
“When I’m ready,” I scoff. “She’s better off going back to Australia with you and I’ll be in contact.”
“With your blessing we would like to stick around and have a holiday. Maybe see my granddaughter graduate from school,” she adds proudly.
“You’re free to stay, as long as you don’t cause any issues. If you happen to come across Harold, then I would like to talk to him before you kill him.”
“Done, but he won’t be here. He’ll have informants, someone close to you all. It’s what I would do. So be careful with who you trust.”
I nod. “And Debbie needs to keep a low profile. I don’t know enough to ensure her safety. And I’m guessing that even with the Bex revelation at the airport, my father doesn’t know or realise that she’s alive. I want to keep it that way for now. She isn’t ruining my time with my family. ”
“Sounds fair, now enough of all this business talk. Parla con me. How about you tell me about thosefidanzatiof yours. How are they treating you?”
“They’re just my boyfriends!” I blurt out in horror. Why is everyone talking about marriage all of a sudden? My grandmother smirks knowingly at me but thankfully changes the subject.
“And how’s that interestingragazzo, Baxter? You know I tried to poach him but he cares for you too deeply.”
I snort. “Don’t tell him that, he’s allergic to feelings and friendships.”
We talk about my guys and life in England, and she tells me a lot about her empire which surprises me. I never expected her to open up, especially considering she runs a rival criminal operation to what we have over here. She says she’s getting too old to keep running things and that, while she loves her sons, she doesn’t think one person,cough cougha man should have thatmuch power. A relationship with her doesn’t sound so bad, and to be able to move a chapter to Australia in the future would be awesome too.
All too soon the incessant buzzing of my phone becomes impossible to ignore and I sigh. I’ve been having a good time and don’t really want it to end.
“I should go,” I say sadly. My grandmother smiles knowingly.
“They’ve been very patient.”
“Pah, it’s only been a few hours,” I tell her. Her grin widens.
“And all of last night. No doubt they’re pining for you.”
I snort a laugh.
We both stand from our seats and she moves around for a hug. “I can’t wait to get to know you, Amelie.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Amelie
My phone starts to buzz again. I know it’s Onyx.
“I’m still alive,” I say down the line as I’m walking out of the room. “I’m heading back now.”
“Change of plans, come upstairs. Room 201.”
Frost hands me a room key and I raise a brow at him, but he just shrugs. I bite back a sigh. I guess I’ll never truly be the boss with four overprotective, secretive boyfriends.
Before I can even reply to Onyx, the line goes dead. Frost takes me upstairs and I swipe myself into the darkened room. I blink a few times to try and adjust to how dark it is in here. They must have blackout curtains for it to be pitch black during the day.
A lamp flicks on. Onyx is standing in the corner of the room. Chills radiate down my spine at the intense expression on his face.
“I told you that I loved you,” he states, not moving a muscle.
“And I told you that I loved you back.”
