Page 69 of Pursued By the Orc
Grandma shrugged, pointing at our joined hands. “I can when it’s my granddaughter involved. Especially since she was so adamant that she’dneverdate anyone,” she told us, folding her arms over her chest and giving us her sternest expression.
“Well, I was wrong,” she said simply, with a shrug, and I went still in my chair. The oversized one that I’d ordered and had delivered to her grandma’s place because I was certain I would break her furniture if given the chance.
Her grandma had taken one look at it and thrown her head back on a laugh, thanking me for being considerate to her delicate chairs. She looked at me now, amusement twinkling in her eyes.
“Well, will you look at that, Krusk. My stubborn granddaughter seems to have come to her senses,” she said, leaning closer to grin at me. “That’s easier said than done. You’ll learn that with time.”
My Emma huffed next to me, but I grinned right back at her grandma. “I don’t mind. It just makes it that much sweeter when she finally admits it.”
I received a poke in my side from my mate, but she was laughing now. I leaned back, cradling her against my side as I looked at her grandma.
“I think I’d like some of that honey on toast that you brought me,” Grandma told my mate with a wink. “You always make the best bread.”
Emma laughed, shaking her head. “It’s Mom’s old recipe,” she explained, running her thumb over the back of my hand before she released me.
I was going to stand to follow, but I got a sharp look from Grandma and decided to keep my butt in the chair. There was no way I wanted this tiny, older female angry with me. Not when I was so close to being accepted.
We were sitting in the living room now, unlike last time when we’d met her in the kitchen. Now that she’d found an excuse for Emma to leave, I wondered if this was the plan the entire time.
She grinned at my mate as she exited the room before returning her look to me, losing the smile. “I need you to do something for me,” she whispered in a low voice.
I nodded, not having expected that. Did she... did she want me to leave Emma alone? I wasn’t sure if I could, even ifshewas the one asking.
The eldest female of a clan was the matriarch and with her age and wisdom—along with my mating to Emma—it would be her. I swallowed hard, nodding my head, praying that she wouldn’t ask me to leave.
“I think something went wrong with her father’s will,” she whispered, leaning closer, her wrinkled hand taking mine into hers. It was papery soft, but her grip was strong. “She won’t tell me a thing, but when we had to leave our home, I’m certain it’s because she lost her inheritance.”
I nodded, my lip curling in a scowl. “That’s true. She’s had to work four jobs just to keep herself afloat.”
Grandma squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her fingers to them before she gave a firm nod. “I tried everything I could from inside here. I reached out to old acquaintances and friends, but they don’t know what’s going on. My other son,” she said with a sigh, shaking her head. “He was a bad egg.”
I narrowed my eyes, not having had time to reach out to Savla yet to hear if he had made any headway with the investigation.
“He must have done something,” she sighed. “He wanted what his brother had. He thought he deserved it. But that’s nottrue. Everything belongs to Emma, not him. Adrian was always jealous of Jonas.”
She narrowed her eyes into the distance, as if she was remembering. “He tried to get money from him before. He deals with bad people,” she added, squeezing my hand harder. “He’s dangerous. Even when Jonas died, I always wondered...” she trailed off, before giving her head a shake.
“What I need from you,” she told me, pointing her finger at me. “Is to find a way to get my girl her life back. I begged her to just let me go live with my brother, but she insisted on putting me in here.” She waved her hand around at her surroundings. “I tried to reason with her, but she insisted.”
Sighing, she looked toward the kitchen. “She’s the best granddaughter anyone can ask for,” she whispered, a tear falling down her cheek. “And I can’t do anything for her here. But you can.” She turned back to me, her gaze intense. “Can you do that for me?”
“I already asked my brother to look into it,” I admitted to her and her eyes widened. “After everything she told me about her father, I couldn’t imagine that he wouldn’t have done everything in his power to make sure she was taken care of.”
Grandma nodded with enthusiasm. “He would have. He would have left her everything. He knew she was responsible. That she wouldn’t squander her wealth. He raised her right,” she finished with a firm squeeze of my hand again. “I’m trusting you with this.”
“I’ll take care of her,” I promised. “I’ll figure it out and get her inheritance back for her, I promise.”
I had no idea if I could fulfill that promise, but I would do my damnedest.
CHAPTER 46
Krusk
Iheld my mate’s hand in mine, lifting it to press a kiss to the center of her palm as she dozed next to me. It seemed that I had exhausted her during our last round of fucking and after visiting Grandma, she needed rest.
I’d taken her to my place, needing to have her in my bed. And now that she was there, I didn’t want to leave her.
But I had to. There was no other choice, because Iwouldbe investigating what had happened to her inheritance and I was going to get it fixed as soon as possible.
