Mountain Man's Accidental Surprise - K.C. Crowne Page 0,29
anyone hurt Emmy again.
Emilia
“You’re right. All my accounts are frozen,” I muttered, staring at the screen of Graham’s laptop in surprise.
“Better frozen than used to track you,” Graham commented. “At least your father did something right.”
“I doubt he did it for my safety,” I added softly. “Probably just to stop me from going any further.”
My father was the owner of my accounts because until I finished grad school, he was supporting me. The money was mostly his, with the exception of some savings I put away while working part-time here and there. From that moment on, I would never allow anyone to put me in a situation like this again – one where I depended on them to live.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without any money.” I felt abandoned, lost, scared.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of you until this is all sorted out.”
I bit my lip but nodded. I wasn’t sure staying was the best option, but it was the only option I had. I hardly knew Graham and his family, and while they seemed like good guys, I didn’t want to leave my fate entirely in their hands either. I also didn’t want to be responsible for anything happening to anyone. Eli left to take their mother to the airport after breakfast, so that was good at least. I couldn’t imagine putting Lillian’s life in danger along with her sons.
“I can’t stay here forever, you know.”
“Why not?” Graham smirked.
I gave him a sideways glance and he shrugged. I had to look away or risk spilling my guts about the baby.
“We’re going to take care of this for you,” he tried reassuring me again.
Could Graham and his brothers really take down the Lombardo Crime Family? I wanted to believe him, he seemed so confident, but that was asking a lot. People had tried to take them down before, but no matter what happened, they kept getting away. They made deals, they had people on the inside, and they were filthy rich. Money may not be able to buy you happiness, but it could buy you your freedom when you broke the law.
“You don’t believe me?” Graham asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s just, well, from what I’ve witnessed, Antonio and his family are above the law. I really don’t trust the justice system to handle them. They have too many people in their pocket.”
“You just have to know the right people in the justice system. Believe it or not, there are good cops and judges out there, and if we can get something on them, they will go down.”
“No one has managed it before,” I warned him.
“No one has wanted it as badly as we do, I bet.”
I wasn’t sure about that, but from the look on Graham’s face, I could tell he wanted this pretty damned badly. Was it because of me? Or was it some sense of pride for him? I’d told him he couldn’t always be the hero, and part of me wondered if that was why he was doing this. Ex-military, honorably discharged before he was done fighting, perhaps he still had that sense of obligation in him. Which I admired, but I also feared it might end up getting him killed. He didn’t know the inner workings of the Mob the way I did. I had tried to avoid it for most of my life, but it was a part of my life, nonetheless.
I turned to look at him, closing the laptop as I did so. I couldn’t bear to look at my frozen accounts any longer, knowing that my father was still trying to control me. I should have known he would do this, but it hurt knowing that my own dad was willing to throw me to the wolves.
“Graham, are you sure your brothers will be on board with this?”
“As soon as Eli and Mason get back, we’ll talk to them.” He patted his side. “And I have my weapon of choice right here. If anyone tries to come through that front door or any of the windows without a code, the alarms will sound and ain’t no one gettin' past me to get to you.”
My heart swelled at how protective he was of me - so much so, he’d be willing to put his life on the line. A complete stranger - or almost a stranger. My own father wouldn’t even give up his business dealings for me, but Graham was willing to sacrifice his life to keep me