Page 38 of Lau Ahi
“Wait a minute, you want us to float our money through your network and all you want us to do is to help with knocking off a few corrupt people in your homeland? Without collecting a fee? No offense but how ugly are your daughters for this to be a concern?”
There is no way that the daughter he was offering up was the beauty I’d come to know. This man had to be an uncle or a distant relative. I knew families emigrated in blocks into the UKand the US so I could only assume that the British Avery I knew had to be a distant relation.
“I have twins, you may know one of them as Sasha Avery.”
“The model?”
Now I was sure he was talking about the right set of sisters but something was still not adding up. Sasha Avery had a high-profile life. A lot of attention was on her so the idea that she was open to being married had me wondering if she was about to be involved in a scandal that we needed to protect her from.
“Yes. Because of her work and her stubbornness, her sister who is far calmer than she is would be the person who was better suited to this type of lifestyle.”
I instantly knew he was talking about my little misandrist and was surprised with how filled with love his voice was.
“Have you discussed this with either of them?”
“The idea has been batted about but nothing set in stone. Because of the heart she has, I know my daughter will put herself forward. Whoever gets her will be getting a strong and caring wife. I hate to speak of her in these terms, like she’s chattel—”
“Yet you’re doing it anyway.”
I was now glaring at Mr. Avery wondering if this was why his daughter hated men. If his affection for her was only because he thought she was biddable. Soft,calm. If he thought that was true, then he didn’t know shit about the daughter he’d raised. Which only pissed me off more.
“But there are still other considerations. I won’t take any fees from your organization, but my daughter has to be well provided for. I’m not sure of your views on divorce, but if it’s not allowable then I’m fully prepared for my daughter to live a life separate from whoever her husband is. Mr. Cannon, I understand that you travel extensively so that wouldn’t be a problem for you. Mr. Nakoa, you’re a part of the government and are actually in the same area as she is currently.”
My brows dipped harshly as I waited for him to speak her name instead of dancing around it. It was like torture for me to wonder if there was yet another daughter he was going to pull out of a hat. A secret triplet that had been hidden away from the world because she didn’t compare to her sisters.
“Who is your kid?”
“Avery. Dr. Asha Avery. She is a professor of—”
“Criminology at George Washington.”
It was Mr. Avery’s turn to frown up at my recognition of his daughter. My grandfather’s eyes were boring a hole in the side of my head and I wanted to smile as I ignored him but I refused to give him the satisfaction.
“Yes. How did you know that?”
“I know her. Knowofher. Through a case.” Fuck. Stumbling over my words now had everyone on edge because I never cared to correct myself when I spoke. Choosing my words carefully meant I gave a fuck. And giving a fuck meant that I cared and they all knew it. Xerxes’ brow flickered questioningly but I returned the gesture, letting him know we’d discuss it later.
“I thought the FBI used its own people.” Mr. Miller now honed in on my slip up and I knew that the prodding would start gently but would become more intense real soon.
“We do. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t cases where outsiders aren’t needed to be brought in.”
Mr. Miller nodded before looking at his screen to speak directly to Xerxes and me. “Gentlemen, I understand this isn’t what you all expected to hear when you got on the phone. I’ve told Mr. Avery that a few days would be needed to go through the discussions on all of this. I’ve already discussed with Mrs. Cannon moving resources into the area through some of our SWANA contacts to help those who are in the most need first. At least until a decision can be made on which family will take the Averys into the fold.”
“I’ll do it.”
Xerxes’ face seemed stunned before he sat forward in his seat as if he could actually reach me through the screen. Too bad for him Dom hadn’t invented a way to do that yet.
“Ori—”
I looked down at my hand while I spoke because displaying emotion irritated me too much. “I said I would do it. Everyone knows that Xerxes is in love with someone. I’m not going to relegate him to a life of being without her because I want to stay in my singleness.”
“You’d make that type of sacrifice?” My grandfather’s eyes were now so intense I could almost feel his emotions like they were trying to penetrate my brain.
“As I said, I know her. And she’s a nice girl. Whether we’re compatible outside of working on a case,” I shrugged because at this point it wasn’t that big a deal. “And don’t think of it as a sacrifice. This is what family does. Just make sure you get your girl so this wasn’t all for nothing.” I looked at the screen and shot him a look that screamed he needed to stop acting like a bitch and get his lady.
Mr. Avery grimaced before he spoke up. “I wouldn’t say that my daughter was for nothing.” I shrugged, despite thinking it was brave of him to stand up to me in defense of his daughter. Stupid, since he needed us, but it showed he did actually love her. For that, he earned my respect.
“No, but you should know upfront that my mother and father had an arranged marriage. It’s something I said I would never do. I’m not a cruel man, despite how I may look or sound. She will be well respected and I wouldn’t want her to change anything about herself.”
