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“Which means she’s hiding something.”
“Exactly.” When I didn’t respond right away, he laughed. “You care about this girl.”
“She’s… not what I expected.”
“Wow. The great Kendrick Gregory has feelings. I was lucky enough to see them when your family was threatened. Now this. You’re entirely different.”
“Be careful what lines you think you have the right to cross, my friend. It would seem I’m in the mood to continue exterminating the rodent infestation.”
“Duly noted. Boss. I’ll call you later after I’ve landed.”
“You do that.” I ended the call, slipping the phone into my jacket. Then I headed for the car, opening her door. As soon as I grabbed her hand, she lifted her chin, staring at me intently.
“Do me a favor and promise me you aren’t going to kill my father.”
What I found fascinating was that Suzannah’s voice held utter conviction and sincerity. She’d shared with me additional aspects of how she and her sister had been treated like nothing but property over the years, yet she still held some sense of loyalty to him given Rutherford was her father. The woman fascinated me more every hour I was with her.
“Would you prefer the honor?”
“Unlike you or my father, Kendrick, I have no place for violence or murder in my world. I know who and what you are, but I want no part of it after we’re married. I also want no part of drugs, including legal ones.” There was a challenge in her tone, another moment of rebellion in her eyes. She was also attempting to confirm whether my bold statement had been truthful.
And it took all I had not to toss her over the back of the car and fuck her from behind.
“You’ve been doing your homework.”
“You forgot to tell me about the investigation into your father’s association with Tapcock Pharmaceutical. Or should I believe everything the tabloids had to say?”
She was using that as a bargaining chip. “You should know better than to believe everything you read. How about this? I can promise you I won’t kill him tonight. Although I’m not saying anything about roughing him up a little. You are quite the tough businesswoman. Maybe I truly did underestimate you.”
“Very funny and you did. I’m a badass.” She snorted as she laughed, a slight flush crossing her face as she covered her mouth. The trait was adorable.
I knew what I’d promised her before, but the real reason for Grayson’s call had been about being approached by a junior agent from the DEA, likely bucking for a promotion. From what Grayson had said, the kid had been fishing, but had had enough information on a sordid aspect of one of my father’s prior alliances to mean that some extra digging into our past had been done. Someone was definitely out to destroy the family. While my father had shifted away from his early days of selling what he called party favors to the ‘it’ crowd, including cocaine and heroin, the shift to oxycodone had ended up being not only risky but had almost brought down the empire.
Upon my insistence, Pops had ceased to deal with a single aspect of the production of the legal yet deadly drug, possibly growing a conscience in his older age. There’d been too many reports of deaths from the product he’d funded production of. Besides, the pharmaceutical company he’d been working with had all but gone bankrupt. Since it was old news, I had no doubt the sudden interest by the DEA was based on a phone call received from Rutherford himself.
Or someone working for him.
Could that be in his recent response to hearing about his daughter’s recent engagement? Or had her father been in touch with her or vice versa? Even I had to admit the timing was circumspect at best, but could he manage to do that overnight? Only if he had members of the DEA in his back pocket. At least he’d laid his cards on the table, which was what I’d hoped he’d do. “Is there something you’re hiding from me, my sweet? Are you really working with your father in a double cross?”
“I’m a damn good actress but not that good, Kendrick. My hatred of my father is real.” She refused to blink, allowing me to see she was telling me the truth. I found that interesting.
“Your father is testing me. Tonight is about issuing an ultimatum. If he reacts well, we’ll do nothing more than enjoy the remainder of the weekend.”
She stopped short, placing her hand on mine. “We can handle this without violence.”
“We,” I repeated as I brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re so certain you want to be involved?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then you’ll be tarnished.”
Her laugh sparkled in the twilight. “I’m not the good little girl you think I am. In fact, I don’t always play by the rules. I can tell you exactly how to bring my father down. Didn’t you tell me that revenge was best served when you could continue watching it play out over several years?”
“You’re more like me than I realized.”
“Perhaps you have no idea. You don’t back a woman into a corner, Kendrick. They are truly the most venomous creatures out there.”
“Yes. Of that I’m certain. Were you told how Ashley and your brother met?”
