The Inheritance Games, #4
The Brothers Hawthorne
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 31: GRAYSON
Overview
Nash intercepts Grayson and punctures Grayson's belief that he is operating alone and in control by revealing that someone else is tailing him. Grayson confirms the surveillance, confronts the driver, and discovers the threat is not from Trowbridge but from Eve. The revelation redirects Grayson's investigation and raises the stakes by pulling Eve directly into the danger surrounding the Sheffield/Trowbridge trail.
Summary
Grayson approaches Nash outside and demands to know why Nash is there. Grayson concludes that Xander told Nash where Grayson was and what he was doing, but Nash avoids confirming it. Grayson insists he has everything under control and does not need backup, while Nash warns that Grayson is playing with fire.
Nash challenges Grayson's confidence by pointing out that Grayson failed to notice Nash tailing him. When Grayson rejects the help again, Nash reveals the larger danger: Nash is not the only person following Grayson.
After leaving in the Ferrari, Grayson watches the rearview mirror and identifies a black, nondescript car tracking him from exactly two cars back. Grayson tests the tail by exiting the highway and taking three right turns. Once the pattern is confirmed, Grayson pulls onto the shoulder near a lit gas station, partly for strategy and partly because Grayson is looking for a fight after the emotional strain of the night.
The black car passes, and Grayson photographs its license plate before waiting to see whether it returns. Nash pulls into the gas station nearby, but Grayson deliberately ignores the backup. When the black car comes back and stops beside Grayson, only the driver gets out.
Grayson studies the man as he approaches: young, tall, lean, silent, dangerous, and likely armed. Grayson asks who the stranger is, and the man says his identity matters less than his employer. Grayson guesses Trowbridge, but the stranger denies it, circles Grayson, and reveals that he works for Eve, who apparently warned him that Grayson was arrogant.
Who Appears
- Grayson HawthorneRejects Nash’s help, identifies a tail, and confronts the armed pursuer alone.
- Nash HawthorneWarns Grayson that he is being followed and quietly provides unwanted backup.
- Eve's pursuerYoung, dangerous driver tailing Grayson; reveals he works for Eve, not Trowbridge.
- EveAbsent but newly implicated as the employer of the man following Grayson.