On his other side, Romy’s eyes were as big as saucers.Stone wanted to console her without upsetting her any further.The pretty little filmmaker had cracked her drone’s controller, and broke her personal rule of not interfering with the wildlife—to save his sorry arse.
No wonder she didn’t want to speak to him.
It still didn’t stop him from tugging at her tiny fingers, to gather them up enough to hold her hand.
Thankfully, she accepted the gesture, cupping her other hand on top and giving his hand a squeeze, accompanied by a soft smile, before her eyes returned to the dramas of the Rowntree family.
‘Are you going to lay charges on me, like you did with your daughter?’Celeste glared at Malcolm.
The big man dropped his head in defeat.
‘No, Mum.I won’t let him.’Jed put his arm around his mother’s shoulders and faced the police.‘Saltscale Crocodile Farm will not press charges against any of their family members.And I’d like to know how to get my sister out of jail, so I can take her home.Please.’
Malcolm huffed.‘Like hell you are.’
‘I’m in charge now, aren’t I, Dad?You just said the deal was done.’Jed was the same height as his father but had yet to fill out.But it had to be the first time young Jed had dared to front his father like this, while shielding his mother like a man.‘I will do whatever it takes to save this family, even if it means selling Saltscale.’
One glare from Finn and Malcolm dropped hard into his chair, as if a broken man, stunned to silence.
‘I have a question, Celeste.’Finn calmly crossed his arms over his chest to lean back in his seat.‘Do you know why Griffin and Bastion let out the stolen crocodiles into the neighbouring crocodile farms?’
‘I asked them to do that.’
‘Why?’
‘For our reputation.’
‘It wasn’t just about your reputation getting tarnished with the fashion houses, was it?’
‘Partly that.I knew there would be a loss of confidence, that the fashion houses would start looking for someone new to run their operations.So, I had the boys make sure the other crocodile farms also had a security breach with that threat of stock contamination.Leaving Lenora with enough stock to start her own hatchery.’
‘You were hoping to lock in their future contracts, taking the business away from Saltscale?’added Finn.
Celeste nodded.
‘Mum!’ Jed’s jaw dropped.
‘I’m sorry, son.’Celeste patted Jed’s hand like he was a small boy.‘Honestly, I knew Mal wouldn’t call the police when he noticed the stock was missing.That’s why I was running over to stop you from saying something to Stone… Sorry, Stone.’
Wasn’t that a kick in the guts.When Stone had thought he was fighting for the family, doing right by them—only to find out he’d been played.
‘And what would you have gotten out of setting up this new crocodile farm?’Finn asked Celeste.
‘A per cent of the profits.As it is, I work for nothing.I do the books at Saltscale, I wash the uniforms, I do the cleaning.Yet, I’m never involved with any contract negotiations.’She then leaned closer to the table and said to Finn, ‘You know, I don’t even have a permit to do the same job as Malcolm.You see, I’m the one who’s expected to remain silent while wiping my hands on my apron in the kitchen, listening to Malcolm’s bitching about this and that.When, for almost thirty years, I was the one running around managing the place, ensuring the bills were paid, while carrying a child on my hip, checking on staff, the stock, and smoothing over the many mistakes Malcolm made over the years.And not once was I ever included or considered in Malcolm’s retirement plan.’
‘Why did you suddenly decide to retire, Malcolm?’Stone asked, from the other side of the table.
Malcolm said nothing, swallowing hard, with his head down.
‘A juvenile crocodile attacked him,’ said Celeste.‘I was there.I saved him.But then, an hour later, Mal’s gripping his chest, telling me he was dying and going into cardiac arrest.’
‘Did you have a heart attack?’Stone asked.
Again, Malcolm said nothing.
‘No, Mal had a panic attack.He just didn’t want anyone to know that his wife saved him.Malcolm Rowntree, the mean and moody crocodile wrangler, didn’t want anyone to know that the big tough guy with the bigger mouth had lost his nerve with crocodiles.’
‘Ease, off, woman.The doctor said it was stress.’
