A Thousand Lies by Sharon Sala Read Free Book Online Page B

and hurried out of the room.
    Grayson heard her coming and got up.
    She waved him away. “I’m getting water. Delle needs to take a pain pill,” she said, but before she got out of the room, there was another knock at the door.
    “Julie! It’s me. Linny and I are back.”
    She backtracked and ran to open it.
    Linny entered first, ducked her head, and ran for her mother, ignoring the stranger in the room.
    Brendan took one look at Julie’s face, saw his boss standing behind the sofa and the ball bat on the cushions, and knew something had happened.
    “What did I miss?”
    Grayson eyed his daughter. “Go on and get the water for LaDelle. I need to talk to Brendan.”
    Brendan’s stomach rolled. His boss was most likely mad, probably because he’d inadvertently gotten Julie mixed up in the family mess. Everything went through his mind from being forbidden to see Julie again to being fired.
    He set the duffle bag down on the floor and closed the door.
    Grayson didn’t give Brendan time to get defensive. “I came to see Juliette this afternoon. She heard me knocking on her door and invited me here. I apologize for invading your space, and hope you are not upset with me for involving myself in your personal business. Suffice it to say, your father was here.
    Brendan groaned. “I was afraid—I’m so sorry… Did he threaten Julie? Was she—?”
    “Julie’s fine. I got here first, walked in to find her brandishing a ball bat, which, now that I think about it, turned out to be a mighty fine weapon against the son of a bitch Anson Poe has become.”
    Brendan sat down with a thump. Just thinking about Julie sitting here on her own, preparing to defend herself and his mother with a damned ball bat made him sick.
    “Oh my god,” he mumbled.
    “No, no, you mistake my point,” Grayson said, and sat down opposite him.
    “Yes, your father was here, pounding on the door and shouting. I took him and the bat out into the hall and reminded him that disturbing the peace and threatening people was against the law. I punctuated my warning by jamming his balls back up his ass. Far enough I hope that he is constipated for a month.”
    Brendan had always liked his boss, but was reminded that Grayson March hadn’t become the man he was just because he inherited the March name and money that went with it. It would appear that he knew how to turn a screw when the need arose.
    “You should know he threatened your safety and that of my family as well, so you need to be wary,” Grayson added.
    “I’ve been wary all my life. I don’t know any other way to live,” Brendan said. “I’m sorry he involved your family.”
    “Believe me, so is he,” Grayson said. “From this day forward, I’ll have someone watching him, and I told him as much. I do this to protect me and mine, not to get him in further trouble. If the law in this parish chooses to turn a blind eye to his industries, I’m not the crusader to take him down. However, I have no problem taking him out if the need arises.”
    “Fair enough, and thanks for the warning,” Brendan said. “Is Mama okay? I mean, he didn’t get close enough to—”
    “His arrival scared her, but he didn’t set foot over the threshold. We took our conversation into the hall.”
    Brendan lifted his chin, refusing to accept the shame his father had put on their name. “I am grateful for what you did.”
    Grayson shrugged. He wasn’t happy, but he couldn’t find a way to place any blame on Brendan other than the circumstances of his birth.
    “You’re the bouncer at my club. It seems only fair I return the favor when the need arises.”
    Juliet walked into the conversation, which ended it. It didn’t matter. They’d said what needed to be said.
    She eyed them anxiously, afraid that her father had been critical. “Is everything all right?”
    “We’re fine,” Brendan said briefly. “Now, if you two will excuse me for a bit, I need to go reassure my mama that I’m still in one