Page 59 of Dangerous Secret

“Sir,” was all Grayson said, instinctively knowing Pressley wouldn’t want niceties from him. He also avoided direct eye contact with the man, taking on a subservient persona.

“And he’s here because?”

“You know my Anna’s got cancer. It’s bad, sir. I’ve been trying to get her an appointment at the Mayo Clinic. They have mighty good cancer doctors there, but they got a long wait. Well, last night, they called. A time unexpectedly opened up, but it’s for tomorrow. I have to take her, Mr. Pressley. It might be her only chance.” He glanced at Grayson. “Richie here, he’s going to take my place for a few days while I’m gone.”

“You don’t think you should have asked me before you agreed to the appointment?”

What a dick. Grayson bit down on his cheek to keep from saying that out loud.

“No, Mr. Pressley, I did not. They had to have an answer right then, else they were gonna go to the next person on their wait list. I hope you can understand I have to do what’s best for my Anna. I value my job, sir, and I don’t want to lose it. That’s why I’m making sure you won’t be inconvenienced by my absence this week. Richie’s reliable and knows how to keep his mouth shut.”

“I’m a vault, sir,” Grayson said. He wanted to present Benny with an Oscar for his performance. He was playing this perfectly.

“You have a license to carry?” Pressley asked, his cold gaze on Grayson.

“I do.” When Benny had told Cooper prior to last night’s meeting that Pressley required his driver to be armed, with the help of Liam—who had scary forgery skills—he’d made up a fake carry license. He had a real one, but, of course, he couldn’t show Pressley that one. He took the fake one from his wallet and handed it to Pressley. He also had a fake driver’s license should he be asked for that.

Pressley barely glanced at it before dropping it at the end of his desk for Grayson to pick up. He lifted his chin at Grayson. “Let me see your gun.”

“It’s in the car, sir. I didn’t want to bring it in before you knew I carried.” He shrugged. “Didn’t want to make anyone nervous.”

“Go get it.”

“I’ll go,” Benny said, walking away before either of the other two men could object.

Left alone with Pressley, Grayson clasped his hands behind his back in an at-ease position and kept his gaze on the top of the desk. Not surprising, but he’d already concluded that Pressley got off on having power over those he deemed below him. He wanted to throttle the man if for no other reason than what he put Harlow through. But there were other reasons, like that he’d probably killed Veronica.

“What do you do when you’re not covering for my driver? Who I just might fire anyway for assuming he can take time off without coming to me first.”

“A little of this, a little of that.” Let Pressley use his imagination, but the implication was that he was up to no good.

“Where you in the military?”

“I was in the Navy. Got to see the world. Some of the world sucks, some’s not so bad. I have particularly fond memories of how much the ladies loved to bed a man in uniform.” He inwardly cringed at even saying that, but when Pressley chuckled, Grayson knew he was in.

Benny returned and handed Grayson the holster and gun. Grayson met Pressley’s gaze for the first time. “Did you want to see it?” Why else had Pressley wanted the weapon brought in?

“No, but if you’re going to drive for me until Benny returns, you’re to have it on you at all times.”

“Not a problem, sir.” He clipped the gun and holster to his belt. “When I’m on duty, I’ll have it in a shoulder holster under a jacket.” He wasn’t going to walk around in public with a visible gun even though he had a carry permit. Made people nervous unless they also saw a badge along with the gun.

“Be here tomorrow morning at eight sharp. I have a meeting with the mayor you’ll need to drive me to. Benny, give him my agenda for the week, and show him around the garage on your way out.”

“Thank you for understanding, Mr. Pressley,” Benny said.

Grayson gave a curt nod before following Benny out. They’d only taken a few steps when Don Delgado walked in. He glanced past Benny to Grayson, and his eyes narrowed. Grayson met the man’s stare. Looked like he was about to find out if Delgado recognized him from the diner.

“Who’s this?” Delgado said.

“Richie Kaplan, my cousin,” Benny said. “He’s covering for me this week.”

“Why?”

“Don’t worry about it, Don,” Pressley said. “Come in and close the door. We have business to discuss.”

Delgado stared hard at Grayson as he walked past. It was a twisted game he was playing with opponents who played dirty. The faster he could get into that safe, the sooner he could end this.

He and Benny had reached the living room when a little boy ran toward them. “Benny!” he yelled, his face lighting up.

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