Page 3 of Stryker's Ruin
She talked about her husband, her parents and brother. She told me she had agreed to stay with me for two years and not see or talk to her family. In return she was paid very well and would be able to take care of her family.
I soaked it all up suspecting she taught me about everything I would never have. Bastard daughters are meaningless, they get nothing. They were hidden away and forgotten. Until now.
CHAPTER 3
Stryker
As instructed, I show up at the backdoor of the Italian restaurant owned and operated by the Camassa family. The guards pat me down, taking my weapon, but don’t bother to check my boot. Fools.
I recognize both men from photos as I offer my hand to shake. “Mr. Camassa. Mr. O’Kelley.”
“Stryker?” Mr. O’’Kelley raises a brow. “Is that your first name or last?”
“It’s just Stryker.” Because of my heritage, Jed and I long ago modified our records to show a single name so no one can trace me back to my family.
Please sit down.” Mr. Camassa motions toward the table. A waiter hovers near the side door. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you.”
“Since you’re here, I assume you’re agreeing to the contract? You’ll be her bodyguard and chaperone the girl while the boy courts her until the marriage takes place.”
The girl? She’s his fucking granddaughter. “Where is she staying?”
“Right now, in a cabin on my property. They’ll be moving her to an apartment in one of my buildings. You’ll be in the building next door.”
“No. That’s not how we do security. I can’t guard her if I’m not with her. Make it a two-bedroom apartment with an inside lock on her bedroom door.”
“You can’t be living with her. What will people say?”
“That like the bodyguards you have watching your back in your home, outside this door, you’re protecting your granddaughter.”
The grimace on his face tells me everything I need to know. She may be blood, but she’s not considered family. Just a commodity.
“My grandson will want to get to know her,” the other man interjects.
“I chaperone any and all dates. That’s what the contract stipulates.”
“I agree,” Vince Camassa says. “I had her inspected yesterday. If this doesn’t work, I need her intact for another arrangement.”
What the fuck? Under the table I flex my hand on my thigh and fight to keep the beast under control. Damn. The best thing to happen would be if these two families did take each other out.
Anlon O’Kelley, cuts in. “This has to work, Vince. You have to stop your grandson from preening about his superior clubs. I’ll control mine. If not, we both know the two of them are going to start a war. Is that what you want? How many family members are you willing to lose? We put those days behind us. We’ve honored each other’s boundaries for years. I have other grandchildren and great grandchildren. So do you.
“Marriage is the solution. It unites our families. Then we respect each other and each other’s boundaries. There’s plenty of room in this town for both of our grandsons and their businesses.”
“Easy for you to say. You have less to lose. I have a bastard to deal with. My oldest son has agreed to say she was the result of a fling he had before he ever married. His wife is willing to go along with it as long as she doesn’t have to have anything to do with the girl. That keeps my relationship with the family of her real father’s wife from jeopardy. I’ll give the traditional dowry. That’s it.”
“And this solidifies our borders?”
“You keep your grandson out of my backyard.”
“And you get yours to shut his mouth.”
“Deal.”
This is what my parents wanted to keep me out of. When this assignment is over, I’m sending them on a dream cruise.
I follow Vince Camassa to his estate and he leads me into his office via the garden door. I wait while he calls his apartment manager and explains the necessary change to a two bedroom and only one apartment. Then he makes another call to his secretary asking her to bring him five thousand dollars.