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“I know. I don’t think he’ll be very good at hiding, and we are very good at finding people who don’t want to be found.”
“Damn right, and we’ve got great people behind us.”
“I don’t want to involve my friends any more than I have to.”
“Carter, we’re all in this with you. Let us fucking help you.”
I sighed, and it felt as if all the energy drained out of me with that one breath. I knew Matteo was right, but my whole life it had been important to me to handle things on my own. I’d needed to prove I was capable to myself and to my father. I could get things done as well as he could, only I wasn’t evil. “Let’s go back to Montgomery Enterprises and regroup.”
An hour later, we were on the way to my father’s house outside the city. We confirmed he was home by having Matteo call pretending to be delivering something that needed a signature. The woman he’d spoken to, presumably my father’s housekeeper or his personal assistant, had assured him that if he arrived soon my father would be there.
“You don’t think he’ll run?” Matteo asked. “He has plenty of time to get away before we arrive.”
I nodded. “It’s true, but he won’t. Even if he’s been tipped off, even if he knows we went to Landon’s house today, he won’t leave. If he was going to flee, he would’ve done it with Landon. He must think he can hold the line here. He still thinks of me as a kid. He’ll likely try to talk me down by calling on family loyalty, as if I have any. He’ll tell me I don’t know what I’m doing, that I don’t understand, that I’m too stupid to comprehend anything.”
“God Carter, I can’t believe you had to put up with him treating you like that. I will be happy to see him eliminated.”
“Let’s see how we can use him first.”
My father either thought he could shift all the blame to my brother, or he was in the midst of planning a counterattack. Either way, we’d put a stop to whatever he was up to. Whether or not he survived this encounter depended on his response to us.
Just before I turned into the driveway, Matteo laid a hand on my thigh. “Will you be able to kill him if you need to?”
I wanted to say yes, but I gave the honest answer. “I don’t know.”
“Carter, let me do it if it needs doing. You don’t even have to watch. You know I’ll handle it.”
“I know you would, but it’s?—”
“You don’t need that burden. He’s your father—or the closest thing you’ve had to one. No matter what he’s done, there’s still a connection between you. Let me do this for you.”
I took a deep breath, then let it out. Knowing Matteo would take care of things made me feel lighter. “Thank you.”
“Baby, you know I’d do anything for you.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
This time when I rang the bell, there was the expected quick response. Marsha, my father’s housekeeper, only opened the door enough to see us through the crack. “Mr. Carter. We weren’t expecting you.”
“I know, but I need to see my father.”
“I don’t think he’s?—”
“Marsha, I am going to see my father. Step aside.”
“Mr. Carter, you can’t?—”
Matteo interrupted her. “Ma’am we have no problem with you, but we’re going in.”
I pushed the door lightly, and she stepped back, letting us open it wider. We charged in and headed straight for my father’s office. He must have heard our footsteps approaching, because he called out, “Marsha, I said I wasn’t to be bothered.”
“We didn’t give her a choice.” My father’s eyes widened as I stepped in with Matteo close behind me.
“Who is this?” He gave Matteo a disdainful look.
I ignored his question. “I know the role you played in the fucking disaster that happened in Columbia. I know you fucked up my career and the careers of several other good men. I know you wanted me charged with treason, thrown in jail, and ultimately killed since it’s inconvenient for you to have a son who doesn’t follow in your footsteps.”
