“Okay, maybe I was more on board with fighting DG alone than with this.”
Julia offered him a frown and a shake of her head. She knew this would be difficult, but she didn’t expect this.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I just…Julia, I think we need to rethink this.”
Julia pressed her lips together. “You know he’s been involved already. We tracked down Alexander Knight, and he almost knew about Lydia anyway.”
“You almost told him?”
“No, I almost took him with me the night I found out, but he was working.”
“Thank goodness, otherwise we might have lost you then.” Grant paused as he squeezed her hand again. “Speaking of…this was way too close of a call again, but I cannot thank you enough for saving Sierra.” He offered her a grateful half-smile.
“Grant, you don’t need to thank me. I wouldn’t have hesitated to save her. She’s important to me.”
He offered her a tight-lipped smile.
“Which is why,” she continued, “I wouldneverrisk those pictures coming out. Kyle is not that big of a gamble, but he could be a game-changer.”
“No, Julia,” Grant said, the smile sliding off his face. “No, he’s a gamble, period.”
While his impulsive nature could be a liability, his unpredictability might just be their best asset in this high-stakes game. “But he’s on our side.”
“He’s onyourside.”
Julia sighed. She needed to make her case. They were spinning their wheels without him. “He’ll do this.”
“But can we trust him?”
“I think we can. I really do. I think Kyle wants to be accepted by you. I think if we trust him with this, he’ll do it. And I think he’s the only one who can.”
“Explain to me how this helps because I’m not seeing it.”
“We need an in. We need someone who can double agent for us. I’m doing a terrible job of it because while Lydia wants to make me squirm, she’s not willing to give me any actual information. But she may give it to someone she sees as an ally.”
“You want Kyle to pretend to be on Lydia’s side?”
She nodded. “And I think she’ll believe it. All he needs to do is say he wants to destroy you.”
“Which is true. How are you certain he won’t just single agent and help destroy me?”
“That’s a chance we’re taking, but…I don’t think he will.”
“And if he does?”
“Are we any worse off than we are right now? I mean, we have nothing. Kyle could already be working with her.”
“Exactly, so let’s just keep digging on our own.”
“I’m afraid that’s setting us up for failure, and with what’s at stake, we don’t want to fail.”
“No, we don’t,” he said as he flicked his gaze over the ocean again. “All right. If you think we can trust Kyle…we’ll trust Kyle.”
Her stomach fluttered as she shot him a smile and a nod. She certainly hoped they could trust her stepson. “I know bringing Kyle in sounds risky, but his unorthodox approaches to problems could be the wild card we need. Let’s get him on board before we head back.”
She started to stand when he pulled her back. “Wait.”
Her heart skipped a beat, wondering why he didn’t want to leave. Was there something else they needed to address? “What is it?”