Taken By the Pack

14

STARK’S POV

Icouldn’t believe we were here. The day of the freaking wedding. I kept thinking something would happen, anything would happen, to prevent this day from hitting us. But it hadn’t. We were here and I honestly didn’t know what to do about it.

The worst part was I had information that Renee really needed to hear, but I didn’t know how to tell her. Lucky had discovered it, and I had discovered him finding this out, which was why I was now the one holding on to the knowledge, and I was the one with the responsibility of sharing this news.

Diego was having a baby.This wasn’t just a cheating scandal anymore. This wasn’t just some asshole who was going to treat her badly. This was a man who was about to have a baby with someone who would be more than happy to let the world know about the pregnancy whether Diego was married or not.

There was a storm coming, and it was in the form of Lila Messer. A famous Instagram influencer who was on the fringes of high society in New York City. Being with Diego would be the final thing to get her in with the people she wanted to be with, I was sure of it. She was not going to let this pregnancy go unnoticed and unacknowledged without a fight. And really, she shouldn’t have to. It certainly wasn’t Lila’s fault that Diego had no loyalty to anyone. She was probably being told all kinds of lies from Diego. I had no doubt he was capable of anything, especially when it hurt the women in his life.

You have to tell her, I told myself firmly. Renee needs to know.

And I truly did believe that. I didn’t want her getting married to this scumbag, not knowing what was in store for her. But it didn’t feel like it was the right time or place for that. I was pretty sure I’d missed the mark. On Renee’s wedding day, it was just too late. There were so many opportunities for me to have said something earlier, but I was dumb, afraid of how Vince Vaughn was going to react and how that would affect my business. Basically, I was an idiot.

“Fuck.” I raked my trembling fingers through my hair. “Fucking hell.”

The flurry of activity around me wasn’t helping. I couldn’t get my thoughts straight for even a second because it was just too busy. I almost wanted to bend over and scream just to get some fucking silence. I needed a moment.

Without thinking much about it, I walked to the room where it all started. The first time I laid eyes on Renee was in the library. I was hoping for a second alone there, but, unfortunately, it seemed like I wasn’t going to get any peace here because there were people I didn’t recognize inside. Staff, maybe, people working under Rebecca and Victoria to make sure everything was running smoothly. Great. Perfect. I couldn’t kick everyone out, it wasn’t my place.

“Everyone, get out!” Almost as if they had read my mind, someone bellowed into the room. Unfortunately, it was Vince, and I could only assume he wanted me out as well. “I need this room cleared, right away!”

Shit, he didn’t sound happy at all. I ducked my head down, waiting to get out of this room without being dragged into more drama. I just did not need it. I felt a hand on my arm, holding me in place. This day just wasn’t going my way.

“Stark, I need you to stay here,” Vince told me firmly, a warning tone in his voice. This sent my imagination running wild with fear.

I lifted my gaze and caught sight of Renee. Instantly, my heart stopped beating, and not just because I was terrified we’d probably been caught hooking up when we definitely shouldn’t have been, but because she was just so heart-stoppingly beautiful. It made my chest ache as I stared at her.

Oh wow. There were no words. Her hair was curled and her veil had been clipped in. Her makeup was absolutely flawless, highlighting her bright, piercing, gorgeous eyes. And that dress clung to her perfectly, showing off her lovely curves, drawing my eyes down her body in a wonderful, magical way. A lump lodged itself in my throat. I couldn’t stand this even more now. How was I going to let her walk down the aisle and marry someone else? Someone terrible for her. She was perfect, lovely, everything, and he didn’t deserve her.

What can I do?I asked myself desperately. This is the time; it has to be. I can’t let this go on because it’s just getting worse and worse.

But I didn’t know how I was going to do that with Vince standing right in front of me, anger absolutely radiating off of him. Shit was going to hit the fan anyway. Things were about to get horrendous, and I didn’t even know why. So, I couldn’t make it worse. Not yet.

“So, Renee.” Vince turned angrily to his daughter. “Now that we’re alone, let’s go through this again. What the hell did you just say to me?”

I dared to dart my eyes over to Renee, but she wasn’t looking back at me. She had her determined gaze fixed firmly on her father as she started to speak.

“I can’t do this, Dad,” she finally spat out through gritted teeth. “I cannot get married to Diego. I won’t get married to him. You need to understand this.”

Whoa, I was not expecting this at all. I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, but couldn’t get any words out. I didn’t even know what I was trying to say.

Vince threw his hands in the air in frustration. “You can’t say this now. Look at you. You’re all ready for your wedding. In the dress, makeup done. And take a look around you.” He made a sweeping gesture with his hands. “The wedding is being set up as we speak.”

“I tried to tell you this earlier but you wouldn’t hear me out.” Renee seemed utterly determined not to back down. “I tried to show you that Diego has been cheating on me the whole time, but you just would not hear it.”

“This again.” Vince shook his head, clearly disappointed in his daughter. How could he not see how hard all of this was for her? He should have been endlessly proud. “Honestly, Renee, I don’t want to hear this. It’s silly. Just jealous little girls trying to have Diego for themselves. But he doesn’t want them, he wants you.”

“No, Dad. He doesn’t want me, and you know it.” Pinkness stained Renee’s cheeks. “You and Mr. Vanderbilt have organized this wedding to solidify a business deal. It doesn’t have anything to do with Diego, and it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

This impassioned speech should have impacted Vince in some way, but it didn’t seem to at all. If anything, he seemed annoyed by his daughter’s upset. “Diego understands how important this marriage is, and he has changed his ways. This is a two-way beneficial street, Renee, and it certainly isn’t all about you. It’s for the whole family. Both our families.”

“Dad, you don’t understand.” Renee looked more hopeless by the second.

Now, it seemed like it was my turn to get involved, but not through my own bravery or anything like that, unfortunately. No, I was dragged in to it instead.

“Stark, will you tell my daughter that she is being absolutely ridiculous here?” He glared at me, basically letting me know that I needed to take his side, to toe the line. He expected me to say exactly what he wanted me to because he was my boss and he was the man paying me. “Will you tell her that Diego Vanderbilt is a fine young gentleman, and she has nothing to worry about? Because I am really ready to get this day back on track.”

I hated this, every single second of it. There was a part of me that knew without a shadow of a doubt I would have happily just agreed with the boss on any other job. Because on any other job I wouldn’t have gone digging for information. My feelings wouldn’t have gotten in the middle of it. I would have simply been the person focused on the client’s physical security and I would have simply agreed with whatever I needed to say.

But this wasn’t a normal situation. This wasn’t just another client. This was Renee Vaughn, who had her heart on the line. I not only knew she was about to walk into a life of misery, but that she had my heart in her hands. She was just about the only person in the world who was worth risking RedEye Security for.

I sighed heavily and hung my head low. I already knew this wasn’t going to go well. “It’s probably best that the both of you know what’s coming before it happens.”

“Stark?” Vince declared warningly, but I chose not to hear it.

My throat tightened, but I continued. “It has very recently come to my attention that Diego has gotten the famous influencer, Lila Messer, pregnant. It’s something he has been trying to keep quiet while the wedding goes ahead, but she does not want to be quiet about it.”

Renee gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth in shock. “Oh my God…”

“An influencer?” Vince scoffed. “Just someone who wants to climb society’s ladder, right? She’s making it up, just like the rest of them. I’m surprised you are being naïve in this situation, Stark. Do you not know how many women crawl out of the wood work at times like this, trying to ruin a perfectly good thing? That is nonsense.”

“Dad, it isn’t,” Renee cried out. “What would Stark gain from making that up?”

“I’m not saying he’s inventing it,” Vince insisted. “I’m saying he’s been duped. This is not a distraction that any of us need today, so let’s just forget it. Continue getting ready, Renee.”

She tried to argue but he held up his hands to silence her.

“No, I don’t want to hear it any longer. I’m done with all of this. Just get married, okay?”