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Chapter no 76

The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, 3)

After the vault, I made it as far as the foyer before chaos descended on me in the form of one very pissed-off Alisa Ortega. โ€œWhat have you done?โ€

โ€œWelcome back,โ€ Oren told her dryly. โ€œWhat I had to do,โ€ I answered.

Alisa took what was probably supposed to be a calming breath. โ€œYou didnโ€™t wait for me to get here because youย knewย Iโ€™d tell you that calling the police was a bad idea.โ€

โ€œYou would have told me that calling the police onย Blakeย was a bad idea,โ€ I countered. โ€œSo I didnโ€™t call them on Blake.โ€

โ€œWe have local PD at the gate,โ€ Oren informed me. โ€œGiven the circumstances, my men canโ€™t refuse them entrance. I suspect the DPS Special Agents arenโ€™t long behind.โ€

Alisa kneaded her temples. โ€œI can fix this.โ€ โ€œItโ€™s not yours to fix,โ€ I told her.

โ€œYou have no idea what youโ€™re doing.โ€

โ€œNo,โ€ I replied, staring her down. โ€œYouย have no idea what Iโ€™m doing. Thereโ€™s a difference.โ€ I didnโ€™t have the time or inclination to explain everything to her. Landon had promised me a two-hour head start, but that was it. Any delay past that and we might lose our opportunity to control the narrative.

If I waited too long, Vincent Blake would have too much time to regroup.

โ€œIโ€™m glad youโ€™re okay,โ€ I told Alisa. โ€œYouโ€™ve done a lot for me since the will was read. I know that. But the truth is

that Tobias Hawthorneโ€™s fortune will be in my hands very soon.โ€ I didnโ€™t like playing it this way, but I didnโ€™t have a choice. โ€œThe only question you have to ask yourself is whether you still want to have a job when that happens.โ€

Even I wasnโ€™t sure if I was bluffing. There was no way I could do this on my own, and even though Iโ€™d doubted her, I trusted Alisa more than I would trust anyone else I could hire next. On the other hand, she was in the habit of treating me like a kidโ€”the same wide-eyed, overwhelmed, never-had-two-nickels-to-rub-together kid Iโ€™d been when Iโ€™d gotten here.

To take on Vincent Blake, I had to grow up.

โ€œYouโ€™d drown without me,โ€ Alisa told me. โ€œAnd take an empire down with you.โ€

โ€œSo donโ€™t make me do this without you,โ€ I responded.

Fixing her gaze on me with almost frightening precision, Alisa gave a slight nod of her head. Oren cleared his throat.

I turned to face him. โ€œIs this the part where you start talking about duct tape?โ€

He cocked an eyebrow at me. โ€œIs this the part where you threaten my job?โ€

On the day that Tobias Hawthorneโ€™s will had been read, Iโ€™d tried to tell Oren I didnโ€™t need security. Heโ€™d calmly replied that I would need security for the rest of my life. It had never been a question ofย whetherย he would protect me. โ€œThis isnโ€™t just a job to you,โ€ I told Oren, because I felt

like I owed him that much. โ€œIt never has been.โ€

Heโ€™d told me months ago that he owed Tobias Hawthorne his life. The old man had given Oren a purpose, dragged him out of a very dark place. His last request to my head of security had been that Oren protect me.

โ€œI thought heโ€™d done something noble,โ€ Oren said quietly, โ€œasking me to take care of you.โ€

Oren was my constant shadow. Heโ€™d heard Tobias Hawthorneโ€™s message. He knew what my purpose wasโ€” and that had to have shed new light on his.

โ€œYour boss asked you to run my security. Taking care of meโ€ฆโ€ My voice hitched. โ€œThat was all you.โ€

Oren gave me the briefest of smiles, then he allowed himself to fall back into bodyguard mode. โ€œWhatโ€™s the plan, boss?โ€

I retrieved the Blake family seal from my pocket. โ€œThis.โ€ I let it fall into my palm and closed my fingers around it. โ€œWeโ€™re going to Blakeโ€™s ranch. Iโ€™m going to use this to get past the gates. And Iโ€™m going in alone.โ€

โ€œI have a professional obligation to tell you that I donโ€™t like this plan.โ€

I gave Oren a sympathetic look. โ€œWould you like it more if I told you that Iโ€™ll be doing a press conference right outside his gates so that the whole world knows Iโ€™m inside?โ€

Vincent Blake couldnโ€™t touch me with the paparazzi watching.

โ€œYou going to put a stop to this, Oren?โ€ Nash ambled toward us, clearly having overheard our exchange. โ€œBecause if you donโ€™t, I will.โ€

As if drawn by the chaos, Xander chose that moment to pop in, too.

โ€œThis doesnโ€™t concern you,โ€ I told Nash.

โ€œNice try, kid.โ€ Nashโ€™s tone never advertised the fact that he was pulling rank, but no matter how casual the delivery, it was always one hundred percent clear when that was what he was doing. โ€œThis ainโ€™t happening.โ€

Nash didnโ€™t care that I was eighteen, that I owned the House, that I wasnโ€™t actually his sister, or that I would put up one hell of a fight if he tried to stop me.

โ€œYou canโ€™t protect the four of us forever,โ€ I told him.

โ€œI can damn well try. You donโ€™t want to test me on this one, darlinโ€™.โ€

I glanced at Jameson, who was well-acquainted with the pitfalls ofย testingย Nash. Jameson met my gaze, then glanced at Xander.

โ€œFlying leopard?โ€ Jameson murmured.

โ€œHidden mongoose!โ€ Xander replied, and an instant later, they were crashing into Nash in a truly impressive synchronized flying tackle.

In a one-on-one fight, Nash could take either one of them. But it was hard to get the upper hand when you had one brother on your torso and another pinning your legs and feet.

โ€œWe should go,โ€ I told Oren. Nash was cursing up a storm behind us. Xander began serenading him with a brotherly limerick.

โ€œOren!โ€ Nash hollered.

My head of security didnโ€™t so much as hint at any amusement he might have felt. โ€œSorry, Nash. I know better than to get in the middle of a Hawthorne brawl.โ€

โ€œAlisaโ€”โ€ Nash started to say, but I interjected.

โ€œI want you with me,โ€ I told my lawyer. โ€œYouโ€™ll wait with Oren, right outside.โ€

Nash must have smelled defeat because he stopped trying to dislodge Xander from his feet. โ€œKid?โ€ he called. โ€œYou sure as hell better play dirty.โ€

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