“You weren’t trying to talk to us,” he said in a voice that revealed his revulsion toward the older man. “You were trying to shove us into an icy river.”
Lawrence hunched his shoulders. “I told you. That was nothing more than a mad impulse. I saw you stopped in front of the bridge and my foot just hit the gas pedal. I didn’t even realize what I was doing until I felt the impact.”
Griff shook his head. There was no way he was going to let the man act as if attempted homicide was nothing more than a silly prank.
“A mad impulse is buying a jet ski,” he said in icy tones. “Or dying your hair purple. It isn’t trying to knock off members of your own family.”
Lawrence lowered his gaze, studying the tips of his expensive Italian leather shoes.
“I was going to lose everything.”
Griff rolled his eyes. Obviously, people who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths had different morals than poor schmucks like him.
“The Jacobs family is quite a work of art,” he breathed.
“Don’t forget that Carrie is a Jacobs,” Lawrence ridiculously reminded him.
“Not for long,” he said.
Carmen might not have formally agreed to marry him, but Griff had no doubt that it was going to happen. Although he wasn’t the most handsome or charming man in the world, he did possess the sort of grim determination that meant he would never give up until he’d achieved his goal. That’s how he’d graduated top of his class despite the loss of his mother and the awkward years beneath his father’s roof. And how he’d convinced Rylan to go into business with him.
As far as he was concerned, having Carmen as his wife was as inevitable as the sun rising in the east.
“Why are you here?” Lawrence abruptly demanded.
“I want the papers you stole from the attic.”
There was only the slightest hesitation before Lawrence was stiffly moving across the room, looking like he had something stuck up his ass. He halted at the large mahogany desk that had been hand-carved and polished until it glowed in the sunlight that angled through the tall windows.
He pulled open the middle drawer to extract a key. Then crouching down, he used the key to open the bottom drawer.
Moving quickly, Griff was next to the desk, his hand on the gun he had holstered beneath the jacket. He’d learned never to underestimate the depths of evil the Jacobs men were willing to sink to.
Including shooting him in the middle of the elegant office.
But when Lawrence straightened, he was clutching a thick envelope in his hand.
“This is the original insurance policy.”
Griff reached to take the envelope, and tucked it in his pocket. He’d hand it to his lawyer when he returned to California.
Right now he was more interested in what Lawrence hadn’t given him.
“What else?” he demanded, holding out his phone when Lawrence’s lips parted in protest. “Unless you want to get the cops involved, don’t piss me off.”
An ugly anger darkened the older man’s pale eyes. He was used to people who jumped to obey his every command. He didn’t like having to be the one taking orders.
Still, he wasn’t stupid. He knew that if Griff decided to press the issue he might very well end up in jail. If nothing else, his place in the business world would be over.
Corporate America might be cutthroat, but you weren’t supposed to get caught trying to kill off your enemies.
With a grudging expression, he bent over and dug through the bottom drawer. At last he pulled out a folded piece of paper and shoved it toward Griff.
“Here.”
Griff took the paper, unfolded it, and studied the letter that was signed at the bottom by Lawrence and a Joseph Conway, Carmen’s grandfather.
“What is this?” he demanded.
“I was named as legal guardian for Carrie,” Lawrence admitted, his expression as stiff as his voice. “This is a document that hands over that guardianship to Carrie’s grandparents.”
Griff skimmed through the brief note, realizing it was a handwritten contract that would never have held up in court if Carmen had pressed the issue. His lips curled, fury blasting through him as he realized exactly what he was looking at.
“Christ,” he rasped. “You held your own niece hostage to force her grandparents to keep shut about the three-million-dollar inheritance that belonged to Carmen.”
Lawrence tilted his chin, trying to pretend he wasn’t a total slimeball.
“They didn’t want the money, and I needed it for the company.”
Griff gave a disgusted shake of his head, tucking away the paper. He wondered if this was the reason Carmen’s grandparents had been so upset when they caught her in the attic. They wouldn’t want her to realize that her own uncle had been willing to barter her away for three million dollars.
“Maybe if you’d been less worried about money, you would have realized your brother hadn’t killed his wife or himself and would have insisted on a more thorough investigation, instead of trying to sweep everything under the rug,” he said, sickened by the very sight of the man who’d failed on so many levels. Most basically, Lawrence Jacobs had failed at being a decent human being. “And that you were raising a cold-blooded killer.”
Without warning, the man’s brittle arrogance visibly shattered. Releasing a harsh sigh, he scrubbed his face with his beefy hands, looking unbearably weary.
“I know it’s too late, but I am sorry,” he said in harsh tones.
“Sorry for what?”
“All of it,” the older man said, lifting his head to meet Griff ’s hard gaze. “I should have appreciated everything that Stuart sacrificed for me. He took care of me and the business when he was barely old enough to take care of himself. Instead, all I could do was dwell on how much better I would be if I was in charge.” He gave a slow shake of his head. “And most of all I’m sorry that I spent all my time here.” He spread his arms to indicate the large office. “I should have concentrated on being a real father and husband.” He grimaced. “And I should have protected Carrie.”
Griff bit back his words of agreement. Who knew if the older man was genuinely regretful or if he was just hoping to sway Griff into going easy on him. It didn’t really matter. As far as Griff was concerned, Lawrence Jacobs could rot in his own nastiness.
“It’s my job to protect Carmen now,” he said, leaning toward the older man. “And I take my duty very seriously.”
Lawrence didn’t miss the threat. He took a step back, his expression wary.
“What do you want from me?”
“You can start by paying back the money you stole from her.”
Griff watched with pleasure at the shock that rippled over Lawrence’s face. It wasn’t that Carmen needed the money. She’d probably hand it over to the nearest charity. But he couldn’t think of any better way to punish the older man.
“But I—” Lawrence bit off his words as he caught a glimpse of Griff ’s warning expression. Griff wouldn’t hesitate to call in every favor owed to him by various law enforcement agencies to bury this man in legal troubles. “It will have to be in payments,” he agreed in sickly tones.
“Fine, but I’ll be keeping track of them,” he said.
A drop of sweat trailed down Lawrence’s jaw before landing on his gray tailored jacket.
“Anything else?”
“Stay away from Carmen,” Griff told him. “If she decides she ever wants to speak with you or Matthew in the future, that will be her choice.” As much as he wanted to add that it would be over his dead body before Carmen ever got close to a man who had not only stolen her inheritance, but had tried to ram her into the river, he couldn’t force Carmen to forget her only family. Someday she might feel it necessary to heal the past. He would stand at her side, even as he guarded her back. “Got it?” he demanded.
Lawrence gave a slow nod. “Got it.”
“And always know that I’ll be watching you.” Griff deliberately glanced toward the computer on the glossy desk. “One wrong move and I’ll nail you to the wall.”