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Maddix was pale, staring at his son as though he had lost his mind, as though he had ripped his father's heart from his chest. She didn't think she had ever such pain on anyone's face in her life.
"This is going to be difficult to pull off, Luke," Nik stated then. "Your father isn't alone."
Luke grinned maniacally. "So? You and Maddix argued. He shot you and Mikayla; then you fired at him and killed him. Floyd will then show up as the Nelson heir, since my grandparents so kindly disowned me and my father intends to name that whore Glenda as his heir rather than me."
Maddix shook his head. "It was a threat. I just wanted you to see what you were throwing away," he whispered. "I have no other children, Luke."
"Glenda is trying to get pregnant," Luke raged. "That cow is trying to breed so you can throw me away like your father threw your brother away." Maddix looked at his brother again and shook his head. "You should have come to me," he whispered. "I would have never disinherited you." 216
Mikayla watched as Floyd Cantwell smiled. "I will, when you're dead. I've lived my life in your shadow, Brother. I have no desire to live there any longer." As Floyd Cantwell stepped farther into the room, it was easy to tell he thought he was in control. His hazel eyes were chillingly cold, as mean as Luke's and just as brutal. Maddix looked as though he'd been struck clear to the soul. He stared at the brother he hadn't known he had like a man possessed, or one hungry for a connection.
"Did my parents know?" Maddix asked.
Floyd laughed. "No. According to the bitch that raised me, your parents believed I died at birth. There was a nice little funeral, the body of a child who had actually died at birth. It was really quite touching, I was told."
"By my grandfather?" Maddix's voice was hollow, so hollow that Mikayla found her heart breaking for him.
He was a man slowly being broken, by a son, a brother, whose loyalty should have exceeded their cruelty.
"By good ole Grandpop." He laughed before turning to Nik. "Strange, I had you investigated. I didn't imagine Maddix could actually come up with your fee. And I definitely expected someone more effective. You've been more concerned with that cheap piece of ass there than you are with the job," he stated as he motioned to Mikayla.
"We all have our weaknesses."
Mikayla knew the sound of Nik's voice, and she knew that now he was at his most dangerous. "Ineffective" wasn't a word she would have applied to Nik. And she could see by his face that calling her a cheap piece of ass hadn't been a good idea.
"I told him he should have hired someone who knew what they were doing," Luke snorted. "Thirty-five thousand dollars? A good private investigator costs more than that." Thirty-five thousand? Mikayla looked at Maddix. Why had he lied?
"The economy sucks," Maddix stated. "Business isn't what it used to be."
"And I'm tired of suffering for it," Luke bit out angrily. "I live in poverty because you don't know how to run a business. But you can give that cow you married whatever she wants."
It was a normal refrain. Luke was always telling whoever would listen how his father refused to share his wealth or how his wealth lacked because of his intelligence. Whichever, it seemed Maddix kept his son in the dark concerning any wealth he might actually have.
"I'm rather curious what makes you think you can get away with this," Nik stated.
"Once Maddix is dead and Floyd shows up, people will suspect what happened with the Foreman murder."
"No one will suspect a thing." Floyd chuckled. "Maddix killed Eddie. Once it's done, I'll finish planting the needed evidence. Of course, if Maddix had cooperated rather than having that fucking meeting that night so suddenly, he would be in prison now and I'd be the owner of the company."
"Someone's delusional," Nik muttered.
Floyd's gaze sharpened with fury, lighting with rage as he glared back at Nik.
"You're nothing more than a hired gun without a gun. I was watching you. You left your weapon with your friend. I saw you give it to him. Then you rushed right over here. How stupid was that?"
Stupid, Mikayla thought, because Ian had handed that weapon back to Nik in the 217
truck.
"You tried to frame me for Eddie's murder?" Maddix's voice was soft, disillusioned. "Destroy me?"
"Of course." Floyd laughed. "And then I would have framed you for killing this little bitch if she hadn't been so damned lucky. The first time I shot at her at the job site a cloud moved and sent that damned sunlight right in my eye; the second time, she moved at the last second, the third time that damned car hit a pothole. Then Mr. Muscle here"-he waved at Nik--"managed to reach her before Luke could run her down with your car. She has more lives than a fucking cat."
"You could have told me you existed." Maddix sounded as though he was choked.
"I would have welcomed you."
Floyd sneered. "Fuck you. I was the castoff. Now the castoff is going to kill you." The gun lifted. At that last second, Nik moved. Mikayla felt what was coming and could do nothing to stop it.
