Breaker's Point Bad Boy Billionaires Boxset

by Morgan, M. G.

  Griffin watched as Cami jumped, her eyes growing even wider as she took in Stuart's hostile stance.

  But then something changed in her; an emotion washed through her eyes, and Griffin watched it happen. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin defiantly to meet Stuart's hard gaze.

  "This is Camille, the friend I was telling you about," Griffin said, watching the slight shift in Stuart's stance.

  "Well I don't want to be the bad guy here, but we have a lot of work to do and if Camille wouldn't mind coming back to pay you a visit some other time, we could get back to the business at hand." Stuart darted a hostile glance in Griffin's direction before walking towards Cami.

  She shrugged away from Stuart and stood up, everything about her body language screaming she would defend herself if she felt it to be necessary.

  "I would mind, actually. I don't know who the hell you think you are but I'm here to discuss business with Griffin and it can't wait." Cami's voice was strong and Griffin admired the way she stood up to his brother's bullying tactics.

  "I'm Stuart, Griffin's older brother," Stuart said, the words dropping into the silence in the room.

  Colour flooded up Cami's neck and into her face, and for a second Griffin could see she was rendered utterly speechless.

  "Well you clearly didn't pick up any of the legendary Reynolds brother charm. I mean, Griffin has his flaws, but at least he's not downright rude," she said, recovering faster than Griffin could ever have anticipated.

  Griffin covered his mouth with his hand in an attempt to stifle a grin as he watched Stuart's expression flicker between anger and confusion. When his face finally did change, it wasn't what Griffin was expecting.

  A wide grin spread across Stuart's features and he started to laugh. This wasn't the overly serious, stick-up-his butt Stuart that Griffin knew and had grown to love. This was a man with a sense of humour.

  As children, before the beginning of their rivalry and the argument that had completely destroyed their relationship, there was a time when Griffin had glimpsed the happier, more carefree side of Stuart. A side that had the ability to be effortlessly charming.

  And as Griffin stood staring at his brother now, it was as though he had been transported back to that time, before everything went wrong between them.

  "I'm sorry, Camille, I have been rude. It's just that after my brother took a beating, well, our family has been trying to get to the bottom of who did it and that requires our immediate attention."

  Cami nodded and chewed her lip. Griffin knew from the look on her face hat Stuart's sudden change in demeanour left her feeling confused. He honestly couldn't blame her, especially since it confused him just as much.

  "Stu, if you give us a few minutes?" Griffin asked, keeping his voice deliberately neutral.

  Stuart glanced in his direction, his expression instantly shifting back to a hostile glare that left Griffin with no illusions that his softening towards Cami extended towards him.

  "Fine," Stuart said, turning his back on Griffin as he made his way to the door. "Riley will be back soon," he added as he disappeared into the other room. "Nice to meet you, Camille."

  Griffin waited for Stuart to slide the door closed after him before he turned his attention back to Cami.

  "You said we had business to discuss. I thought you made yourself pretty clear the other night that there was nothing between us except for the secret we all have to keep," Griffin said, making his way back over to sit on the end of the bed. Lifting his hand, he started to fasten his cufflinks into place, still watching Cami from the corner of his eye.

  She glared at him, her fists clenched tightly by her sides, her breaths coming out in long, deep gasps, causing her chest to heave against the cream blouse she wore. The thought of crossing the room and dragging her body against his was enough to make Griffin's jeans suddenly feel very uncomfortable.

  He knew what lay beneath the blouse: the creamy expanse of her beautiful breasts that begged to be touched, caressed, tasted. Griffin groaned beneath his breath as Cami crossed the room and stood in front of him, utterly unaware of the effect she was having on his body and his struggle to keep from tossing her onto the bed and kissing her senseless.

  "Fine, if that's how you want to play it then I want money. No. I need money."

  Cami's words were enough to kill all of the amorous thoughts Griffin had been having. He snapped his head up to stare at her and shook his head.

  There had to be a mistake; there was no way she had just asked him for money.

  "Pardon me?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

  "You heard me. I said I need money. You want me to keep a dangerous secret, and in order to do that you're going to have to pay me."

  Griffin shook his head again and laughed. It was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. There was no way Cami was attempting to blackmail him; if so, she was doing a very poor job of it.

  "I don't think so, Cami. You're as culpable in all of this as I am. I'm not going to give you a penny, and I know you're not going to go to the cops." Griffin knew he sounded far more confident than he actually felt.

  Cami smiled, but it was a cold smile with no hint of the woman he had met that first night in the bar. And it certainly held no hint of the woman he had almost taken right on her living room couch.

  "Griffin, you couldn't be more wrong. This is not just about me and you said yourself that I'm a witness. I need protection. The only way I'm going to get that is with enough money to get out of here and start a new life somewhere else with Sophie."

  The thought of never seeing her again hurt far more than Griffin was prepared to admit to her or anyone else.

  "I'll protect you." The words came out of his mouth before he even really had a chance to think about what he was saying.

  It was a crazy thing to promise in the first place, and yet Griffin couldn't see another way out of it. Cami was right; she was a witness, and after what Elijah had done to him and threatened to do to Cami, Griffin knew just how much danger she was truly in.

  She shook her head and laughed.

  "Don't be ridiculous. You can't protect me and I'm not asking you to. All I need is enough money to get out of here and set up my life somewhere else, where whoever killed Steve can't find me."

  "And what makes you think that I have money to give you?" Griffin asked, watching her expression carefully.

  "You're a member of Black Special. You have money."

  Griffin stood and crossed the room to where she stood. She didn't flinch as she stared up into his face, and Griffin couldn't stop himself from reaching out to her, his palm cupping the side of her face.

  Cami reacted exactly as he'd hoped she would; her eyes fluttered shut as she pressed her cheek against his touch.

  Griffin brushed his thumb over her cheekbones, the feel of her soft skin beneath his callused fingers causing him to dip his head towards hers.

  "Don't do this. Don't create this wedge between us. I can keep you safe, if you'll let me…"

  Stuart poked his head in the door of the bedroom once more and jerked his thumb back in the direction from where he’d just entered.

  "They're here waiting for you," Stuart said, shooting Cami a curious glance. "Is everything all right in here?" He pulled the door open wide enough to reveal the circus of reporters milling around in the sitting room area of the suite Riley had booked them into.

  Cami's face went pale just as the sound of clicking camera shutters filled the air. The barrage of flashes was almost blinding, but it was something Griffin was used to.

  "Everything is fine," Griffin said, but Cami's panic and discomfort gnawed away at him.

  Griffin plastered a fake smile on his face as Cami sprang away from him like she'd been burned.

  Cami whirled on her heel and practically ran for the door. Griffin let her go. Part of him wondered whether she was just like all the other women he'd ever met, and yet there was something different about her. She was hiding somethi
ng, and Griffin couldn't figure out what it was all about.

  "What's up with her? Normally your girlfriends are only too happy to stick around in the limelight and have their pictures taken."

  "I don't know, and she's not my girlfriend. But I know she's got some kind of secret that she's keeping from me," Griffin added, smiling politely for the camera flashes going off around him.

  "She was trying to blackmail you over something. What was it?" Stuart asked, keeping his voice low.

  Griffin shot his brother a look of anger and the camera flashes increased.

  "You were spying on me?"

  "Well someone has to make sure you're not doing something stupid. We'll discuss this later. For now, little brother, your adoring audience awaits." Stuart smiled and pushed Griffin forward, leaving him with no choice but to go with the flow. He smiled and posed for the cameras before sitting down for the interview Riley had arranged.

  Griffin seethed as he answered the reporter's questions as honestly as he could. There was only one way to lie convincingly, and that was to ensure you were telling a story as close as possible to the truth with only some key elements changed. Or at least that was what Dyson had always said, and he was the best liar Griffin knew.

  Why was it so difficult for Stuart to stay out of his business? Griffin knew without a doubt that Stuart would dig something up and go running back to Riley with it. Between them they would pass judgement and make assumptions based on half-truths and hearsay.

  It would ruin whatever little bit of trust he had managed to build up with Cami. Trust was definitely the wrong word; she had, after all, just come over to blackmail him. But Griffin couldn't blame her; whatever she was keeping from him was just as deadly as the situation that he'd managed to drag her into.

  It was up to him to get her out of it, even if she didn't want his help.

  Chapter 16

  Cami sat in the car and gripped the steering wheel tight enough that her knuckles turned white. She'd made a foolish mistake in going over there and now the press had taken a picture of her with Griffin.

  A picture she had no doubt would end up on the front page of some tabloid, and if that happened…

  Parking the car in front of her house, Cami buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

  What the hell had she been thinking? Going to see Griffin had been a huge risk. Spending any time with him was a huge risk, and yet she'd marched right into the lion’s den.

  Cami felt nauseous at the thought of her picture appearing on the Net and in the papers. If he saw it, he would know where they were; he would find them and then everything would have been for nothing. All the running, the pain, and the sacrifice destroyed… and for what?

  It wasn't as though Griffin wanted her, not in the way she wanted him.

  Climbing out of the car, Cami hurried up the path to her house and through the front door.

  She'd screwed up and now there was only one thing she could do to set it all straight. They were just going to have to leave, get as far away as they could from Griffin and the complications that came from knowing him.

  Cami knew Sophie wasn't going to be happy, but what choice did she have?

  Cami raced up the stairs and tore open her closet door, dragging out clothes and dumping them onto the bed. She would only be able to bring with her what she could fit inside the car, and Cami knew it wouldn't be much.

  The front door slammed and Cami jumped.

  "Cami, are you home?" Sophie's voice echoed through the house and Cami released the breath she'd been holding.

  "Yeah, I'm up here. There's something we need to talk about," Cami answered. She was dreading the conversation with Sophie, but there was nothing else she could do other than face it. Now was as good a time as any. Especially since they would need to leave as soon as possible.

  The sound of Sophie's footsteps as she pounded up the stairs matched Cami's heartbeat.

  "What's up…" Sophie began, reaching the door and pausing as she looked around the room.

  The look on her face was enough to tell Cami that the conversation was going to be far worse than she could have ever anticipated. Cami's heart sank and she dropped onto the side of her bed as Sophie's eyes welled with tears.

  "Cami, I don't understand. Why are you packing?"

  "Sophie, you know there was always a chance we'd have to move on, that we might not be able to stay here…"

  "Nope, you're lying! We can't go anywhere. School isn't even done yet and we have this big talent contest coming up and I'm going to sing in it and…" She trailed off as the first of her tears started flowing down her cheeks. "Is it me? Is it something I've done?"

  Cami stood and crossed the room, dragging Sophie into a tight bear hug.

  "Sophie, you've done nothing wrong. You've been amazing. This isn't your fault; it's mine."

  Cami knew she'd screwed up the second the words left her mouth. She felt Sophie's body stiffen against hers and she jerked out of Cami's grip, an accusatory look on her face.

  "You? This is your fault? How can it be your fault? You told me we didn't have to worry anymore, that you would always keep us safe. How can you be doing that and still be making mistakes?" Sophie’s voice climbed higher and higher with each word.

  "Sophie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, but sometimes things are just outside of our control…"

  "You didn't mean for it to happen? Jeez, Cami, that's a pretty lame excuse for completely ruining my life! I thought you cared about me."

  "Of course I care about you! Everything I've ever done has been for you, to protect you, to look after you…"

  "But not this time? God, you're so selfish, Cami. I can't believe you'd do this to me after everything that happened…" Sophie trailed off, her face growing pale, and Cami knew she was remembering the life they had before building a new one here.

  "Sophie, it's fine. We'll be fine. We'll move somewhere better, somewhere warmer, and I promise everything will be much better than it is here."

  Sophie shook her head and jerked away from Cami as she tried to reach out to her.

  "I don't want better, Cami. I want here. I like it here. I like my friends; I like my teachers. I don't want to go anywhere but here, and you can't make me."

  Cami shook her head and gazed down at the floor.

  "Sophie, I can make you, and I will if I have to, but I'd much rather you make this easier and come with me. I need you to pack a bag. We have to get out of here as soon as possible." Cami lifted her gaze and stared into her sister's large, expressive eyes.

  They were filled with unshed tears, and it tore at Cami's heart to see Sophie so upset. But what choice did she have? If they didn't go now, it would be too late. And there was no way she was going to risk hanging around for him to find them.

  "I hate you!" Sophie screamed and ran for the stairs.

  Cami tried to follow her but Sophie was faster and dodged out of Cami's grip every time she tried to grab her.

  Sophie reached the front door and ripped it open, the force of it causing the door to slam back into the wall and crack the plaster.

  "Sophie!" Cami called to her, but it was no use; she was already halfway down the street, her long legs carrying her away from Cami and the inevitable.

  Cami dropped down onto the front porch and buried her face in her hands. It was all starting to come undone, and she had no idea how she was supposed to keep everything together.

  Telling Sophie that they had to go was all well and good, but how could she leave when they had no money and nowhere to go? The only thing Cami was certain of was that they could no longer stay here; to do that would be a huge mistake, and as far as Cami was concerned she'd already made enough of them to last her a lifetime.

  Chapter 17

  Stuart shot Griffin an odd look as the last of the reporters filtered out of the room. He'd watched his brother carefully before he'd disappeared and reappeared an hour later, a dark expression on his face.

  Griffin knew before
Stuart ever opened his mouth that he'd been poking his nose in where it didn't belong. He just didn't know what had happened to put such an intense expression on his face.

  But Griffin didn't have to wait too long; Stuart was far too predictable.

  "Where did you meet Camille?" Stuart asked the second the reporters had emptied out of the room.

  "Who's Camille?" Riley asked from across the room, straightening up in his seat.

  "The woman Griffin has gotten himself involved with, the one who was blackmailing him before the reporters arrived," Stuart said, the triumph in his voice grating on Griffin's last nerve.

  "You don't know anything about her. She wasn't blackmailing me, but in your head everyone is a bad guy. Working as a glorified security guard has warped your mind, Stuart," Griffin said, pushing himself to his feet and crossing to the mini-bar that sat next to Riley's chair.

  "Griffin, how do you find these women to get tangled up with? I've agreed to help you with your Elijah Scott problem, but this woman and whatever she thinks she has on you is your business. The only thing I won't tolerate is having all of my hard work undone because you couldn't keep it in your pants." Riley’s tone was weary, as though he'd heard the same story a million times and was finally bored of it.

  And maybe he had heard the same story over and over, but this time it was completely different. Cami wasn’t the same as those other women. She meant something to him.

  What that was, Griffin wasn't sure of yet; he'd never felt this way about someone else before and it was all completely new territory for him. Terrifying territory, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing to explore it and get to the bottom of what his feelings really meant.

  "No, this one is different. She’s way more complicated, even by Griffin's standards," Stuart said, a smile spreading across his face.

  "And what the hell does that mean?" Griffin asked, swinging around to face his brother. The glass of scotch he'd poured for himself was gripped so tightly in his hand he had to make a conscious effort to loosen his hold or it would have shattered against his palm.