Chapter 50 The Silent Gift
Grayson POV
I pulled the armored truck through the main gates of the clubhouse with my knuckles white against the steering wheel, because the meeting at the cannery had been a complete waste of time and a obvious trap that only served to keep me away while Darius sent his thugs into the city.
My chest was tight with a familiar heat that had nothing to do with the engine, and as the gates hissed shut behind me, I could see the smoke still smudging the horizon toward the downtown district where Aria’s life had been turned into a pile of charcoal.
I didn't even wait for the engine to cool down before I hopped out of the cab, and I was met by Jax who looked like he hadn't slept a single second since I left, because his hair was a mess and he was clutching a tablet like it was a shield.
"Tell me everyone is safe inside these walls, and then tell me exactly how much damage was done to that block on 4th and Main," I growled, walking past him toward the main office while several of the scouts scrambled out of my way.
"The clubhouse is secure and the kids are still recovering from the fever, but the bakery is a total loss, Grayson, and there isn't a single piece of equipment or a bag of flour left in that building," Jax reported, following close on my heels while we entered the cool shade of the hallway. "I have drone footage of the guys who did it, and Aria saw it too, so she knows it was a targeted hit by Silas and a few of the other Iron Fang bottom-feeders."
"She saw it?" I asked, stopping dead in my tracks and turning to look at him, because the last thing I wanted was for her to watch her safe haven burn down in real-time. "I told you to keep her in the cellar where she wouldn't have to see that garbage, Jax, so why was she in the tech room watching the city burn?"
"She wouldn't stay down there, and you know as well as I do that she’s got a stubborn streak that doesn't care about your orders," Jax argued, and he adjusted his glasses while he looked me straight in the eye.
"She’s devastated, Grayson, and she spent the last two hours blaming herself for Penelope Henderson losing everything, so you might want to go easy on her when you see her."
I didn't answer him because I was already pulling my personal phone out of my pocket and dialing the number for my real estate attorney, a man named Marcus who handled all the Hart Industries property acquisitions.
I heard the line ring three times before he picked up, and I didn't bother with a greeting as I started barking instructions into the receiver while I paced the length of the office.
"Marcus, I want you to find the owner of the property at 422 4th and Main, and I want you to buy that entire lot and the building next to it by noon today," I told him, ignoring the surprised look on Jax’s face as he leaned against the doorframe.
"I don't care what the asking price is or if the insurance company is still doing their investigation, so just offer them double the market value in cash and tell them the closing happens within the hour."
"Grayson, that building is a smoking ruin right now, so why on earth are you buying a pile of ash?" Marcus asked over the line, sounding like he was still drinking his first cup of coffee.
"Because I'm going to rebuild it, and I want the best contractors in the state on-site by tomorrow morning to start the clearing process," I snapped, and then I hung up the phone before he could ask any more questions that I didn't feel like answering.
I looked at Jax, who was just shaking his head with a small, knowing smirk that made me want to shove him out of the room.
"Don't say a word about this to Aria, because I don't want her thinking I'm trying to buy her off or that I'm pitying her, and I just want the work to start so she has somewhere to go when this war is over."
"It's a hell of a gift, Grayson, but you know she’s going to be pissed if she thinks you’re meddling in her business without asking," Jax pointed out, yet he checked a notification on his tablet and his expression went back to being serious.
"She's down in the garage right now, and she's been asking Miller and the guys about the perimeter watches, so you might want to go talk to her before she decides to go out there and hunt Silas herself."
I headed down to the garage and found her sitting on the same low stool near the motorcycle, but she wasn't polishing the chrome this time, because she was staring at a small handgun that was sitting on the workbench in front of her.
She looked up when she heard me approaching, and her eyes were red-rimmed and tired, but there was a hardness in them that I hadn't seen before, and it made my heart sink because I realized the innocence I liked so much was being chipped away by my world.
"You're back," she said, her voice flat and lacking the usual spark that made me want to argue with her. "Did you find Darius, or did he just lead you on a chase while his friends were busy burning down the only place I ever felt like myself?"
"He wasn't there, Aria, and it was a setup to keep me occupied while they hit the city," I told her, walking over and standing close to her, but I didn't reach out to touch her because I could feel the wall she had built up around herself.
"I heard about the bakery, and I'm sorry that I wasn't here to prevent it, but you need to know that we’re going to make this right."
"How are you going to make it right, Grayson? Are you going to snap your fingers and make the fire un-happen, or are you going to give Penelope her fifteen years of hard work back?" she asked, and she finally picked up the gun and looked at the safety switch like she was memorizing its position.
"I lost my job, and I lost the respect of a woman who was like a mother to me, because she sent me a text telling me I’m the reason she’s homeless now."
I wanted to tell her right then that I had already bought the land and that a new, better bakery would be standing there in a few months, but the words got stuck in my throat because I didn't want to sound like a billionaire fixing a problem with a checkbook.
I knew she needed to feel like she had a choice and a future that she earned herself, so I just stood there and watched her handle the weapon, feeling a massive surge of anger toward the Iron Fangs for forcing her to even touch a piece of cold steel.
"We'll handle the Iron Fangs, and then we'll figure out the rest, but for now I need you to go upstairs and get some actual food," I said, trying to steer her away from the workbench.
"I'm not hungry, and I'm not going back to that room to sit and wait for the next message to arrive in the mail," she replied, and she tucked the gun into her waistband before standing up and looking me in the eye.
"If you want me to stay here, then you're going to have to let me help with the watch, because I'm not going to be the reason another building burns down while I'm hiding in the dark."
I watched her walk toward the back of the garage to talk to Miller, and I realized that my gift was going to have to wait until she was ready to see it as a new beginning instead of just another thing that I controlled. I turned back to Jax and told him to get the construction permits expedited, because if I couldn't give her peace of mind right now, I could at least give her a pile of bricks that would eventually become a home again.