The Backdoor
Harper
Caden slides off me. I take a breath to calm my insides. Before I can stand, he hoists me over his shoulder and smacks my ass.
“Hey,” I protest.
“You heard the man, we need to get busy.” Caden chuckles as he brings me downstairs to the living room. He sets me on my feet and backs away with a smirk like I’m going to attack him.
He’s probably not far off.
Every inch of me is on fire. The fire he started and didn’t get a chance to extinguish.
But this is more important right now. I sigh and try to bring my desire under control. Which is difficult given the current company. My guys are spread out with their laptops open.
Nico is on the couch. I walk over and sit against his side. He watches me closely.
“Do you need anything?” I ask, pushing his black hair away from his face.
“I’m good, sunshine.” He takes my hand. Eli clears his throat and we both turn to face him.
“We have files to go through, but I overheard my father and Luke’s talking at my house.” He sits on the edge of his chair, looking us all over. “It’s not good.”
“Do you all know your father’s histories?” I’m curious what they know as opposed to what my mother knew.
“They grew up together. Played football together.” Luke watches me with hooded eyes. “They all ended up back here after college and that’s how we became friends. They all enrolled us in the same football camp.”
“Our dads worked together,” Caden sits in an armchair with his legs spread. His bulge is still hard as I lift my eyes to his. “Luke and mine and before that Nico’s. Eli’s dad was always friendly with my dad. And Jack’s dad and mine used to get together every few weeks to hang out.”
I blow out a breath. “Okay, Mom took me to a cabin and told me all about my dad and yours.”
I explain about my dad being a computer whiz. Everything she told me about their fathers. How their fathers used mine. How Luke’s father had a hold over my dad because of my mom. How they were competitive with each other.
I meet Luke’s gaze. “Mom said there was a meeting my dad wanted to go to. That he never came back.” I get a little choked up when I say, “She thinks he’s dead.”
“Fuck.” Eli stands and paces. “That would be what William was talking about. My dad said William shouldn’t have run Sean out of town. My dad thought that’s why they wanted you because you might know where he is. William said he knew where he is. That there was an accident.”
Luke looks down at the floor. His hands shake.
“Mom said if my dad was still alive, he never would have left us.” I study Luke. What’s he thinking? That I won’t love him because his father might have murdered mine or at least been involved in my dad’s disappearance. “There’s more.”
Luke lifts his cold blue eyes that seem like cracked ice right now. I stand and go to him, straddling his lap and waiting for my heat to seep into him. To warm him. I slide my hand into his blond hair.
“He abused your mom. No one was surprised that she died. She was ready to run. She wanted to take you and leave.”
The color shifts in Luke’s eyes as he absorbs the pain. I know that feeling. How the world would have been different if my dad had been alive, if his mom had taken him away. I rest my forehead against his and my hands slide down to his neck.
“Your dad got a lot of sympathy on her passing. After all, he was all alone with a newborn.” I sink my fingers into his hair to cradle his head. My voice softens when I whisper, “I’m sorry.”
His eyes warm again, searching mine. “Why are you sorry, Harper? You didn’t kill her. I did. She died in childbirth.”
I bite my lip. Mom told me this in a hushed tone once she explained everything. “The night she came in, your mom was in labor because she’d been hurt. There were bruises around her neck. And she had bruises on her back. Mom said none of that made it into any doctor’s report from that day.
“Your father has a lot of sway at the hospital. His contributions keep the hospital running, especially since it helped fund his business.”
Luke digs his fingers into my hips. This darkness could consume him. His father took away one of our parents and kept us trapped here.
“What do you mean the hospital funded his business?” Eli asks.
