"Yes, I'm sure she did."
While J.J. left to instruct Nolan, Jed remained alert to every sound, every movement, taking nothing for granted, least of all Grace's safety. A couple of minutes later, J.J. motioned to him and he hurried Grace through the hospital lobby and straight to the Rolls parked at the curb. J.J. waited by the door, her violet-blue eyes scanning the area all around the car. When the three of them were encased in the back seat, Jed gave Nolan the go-ahead and the chauffeur eased the car from the circular drive onto the street. Jed put his arm around Grace. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed heavily. And it was in that one moment he realized exactly how much Grace meant to him. Everything. Absolutely everything.
"I told you that I wouldn't stand for Grace being hurt," Hudson Prentice said into the phone. "Somebody tried to kill her today and shot one of her bodyguards instead. You tell Fortier that I'll go to the police and tell them what I know. I swear I will."
"Go to the police," Oliver Neville told him. "You have no evidence. I've been the go-between for you and Booth and if you tell the police some wild tale, I'll simply deny it."
"You egotistical son-of-a-bitch, do you think they'd take your word over mine? They know you're as crooked and underhanded as Fortier is."
"What they know and what they can prove are two different things."
"Damn you. Damn Fortier."
"Calm down, shut up and listen. Grace Beaumont is a liability. She has to be eliminated. I know you have a thing for her, but she hasn't reciprocated your feelings in four years, so it's a good guess that she never will."
"You don't know that!"
"Look, you hang in there, play ball with us and you'll be running Sheffield Media, Inc. in a few weeks. After all, with Ms. Beaumont out of the picture, who else but you would the board choose to become the next CEO?"
Hudson became silent as he weighed his options. He loved Grace. She was the woman he longed to possess. But Ollie was right-Grace didn't return his feelings. She would never be his. But Sheffield Media, Inc. could be his to control.
"What do you want me to do?" Hudson asked.
"Now, that's more like it. Booth likes cooperation. He rewards team players."
Hudson shuddered. He didn't want to be on Booth Fortier's team. He never had. He should have thought about that sooner-like four years ago, when Ollie first contacted him and dangled the carrot in front of his nose, promising him Grace and Sheffield Media, Inc. in exchange for cooperation and information. He had made a deal with the devil and lived to regret it. But once a man made a blood pact with Fortier, he could never again he free. He was doomed for life.
"Like I said, what do you want me to do?"
"What do you know about a kid named Troy Leone?" Ollie asked.
"Leone? He's Elsa's kid brother, but I don't know anything about him except he's given Elsa a lot of trouble."
"How close are Elsa and Grace Beaumont?"
"How close? Elsa is Grace's assistant." Hudson wondered where this game of Twenty Questions was leading.
"What about their personal relationship, Grace and Elsa's?"
"They're friends."
"Good friends?"
"Yes, very good friends."
"How far would Grace go to save her good friend Elsa's little brother?"
"Damn, is that what this is all about? You plan to use the kid to get to Grace."
"Maybe."
Hudson felt awful, felt like the lowest pond scum. How had he sunk so low? He loved Grace, didn't he? How could he betray her this way? How could he offer her head on a silver platter to Booth Fortier? "Is that it? Is that why you called me?"
"That was one thing… but there's something else."
"What?" Hudson dreaded to even consider Ollie's response.
"Is Grace Beaumont still at the hospital?"
"She was a few minutes ago."
"If she's still there, then give her this information now. If she's gone home, pay her a visit this evening and inform her that the man she trusts so implicitly, her big, tough bodyguard, Jed Tyree, is none other than Booth Fortier's nephew."
"The hell you say! Tyree is Fortier's nephew?"
"That's right. Booth told me so himself."
"I don't understand any of this. You said you thought Tyree's name sounded familiar, but you didn't know who he was. Now you tell me-"
"Tyree left the organization seventeen years ago. I didn't go to work for Booth until several years later and he never mentioned his nephew."
"Why tell Grace? If Tyree is working for-"
"He's not Fortier's ally. Jed Tyree is his uncle's enemy and he poses a problem for Booth, being Ms. Beaumont's protector. Once she learns who he is, she'll dismiss him, maybe even dismiss the whole Dundee force. But at the very least, she'll distrust him completely."
"And you want me to be the one to deliver the bad news? Well, tell me this-how is it that I'm supposed to have come by this revealing information? I'm sure you don't want me to tell Grace that it came straight from Booth Fortier, do you?"
Ollie chuckled. "Tell her you got an anonymous phone call. That will explain this call and give her an explanation as to how you found out about Tyree."
"Once she fires Tyree, what if I can persuade her to forget about the investigation? Would Fortier allow her to live?"
"You really are hung up on the bitch, aren't you?" Ollie sighed dramatically. "Hasn't anybody ever told you that they're all alike in the dark? Start looking for another woman. Grace Beaumont is history."
As the massive wrought-iron gates to Belle Foret opened for them and the Rolls entered the long driveway, Jed's cell phone rang. Grace glanced up at him, but didn't lift her head from his shoulder.
He grabbed the phone, hit the On button and said, "Tyree here."
"Listen very carefully," Dante Moran told him. "We need you to get a message to Jim Kelly and since you have a good excuse to go see your uncle tonight, we figure this is the right time."
"What excuse would that be?" Jed felt J.J. and Grace watching him.
"An attempt was made on Grace Beaumont's life. A Dundee agent was seriously wounded. You should be outraged," Moran said. "You should want to tell your uncle that it's war between the two of you, that you'll kill him if he comes near Ms. Beaumont again."
"That excuse would work if I was a hotheaded idiot." Jed paused, considering the possibilities. "Oh, I see. The hotheaded idiot is the part you want me to play."
"You got it. And while you're visiting your uncle, find a way to let Jim know he should be ready in seventy-two hours. It's all coming together and he needs to be prepared. We don't want Booth Fortier slipping through our fingers at the last minute."
"I understand."
"Contact me if anything goes wrong. Otherwise I'll know the stage is set on that end."
Jed hit the Off button, then looked from Grace to J.J. "I'm going to pay Booth Fortier another visit. Tonight."
Grace gasped. "No. Why would you-"
"J.J. will stay with you," he said. J.J. nodded. "And Rafe should be on in a little while."
"I'm not worried about me." Grace lifted her head from his shoulder, her gaze focusing tenderly on his face. "I'm concerned what may happen to you if you go see that despicable man again."
Jed cupped her face in the cradle between his thumb and forefinger. "This is all going to be over soon. And you'll be safe. I promise."
"Will you be safe?"
"Don't worry about me, Blondie. I always land on my feet."
Instead of the romantic dinner that Grace had planned, she shared sandwiches in the kitchen with J.J. Blair. She liked the other female Dundee agent, whose effervescent personality was a contrast to Kate Malone's gentle, demure manner. J.J. moved quickly, talked fast, exuded an aura of frantic energy. Petite and vivacious, she looked nothing like a person's idea of a bodyguard. But in their dinner conversation, Grace had learned that this little ball of fire was not only a weapons expert, but she had mastered several martial arts. How deceptive that pretty face, that Elizabeth Taylor black hair and violet eyes were, Grace thought.