“Oops. You know, like mother like daughter. I just don’t have a brain past pretty things like shiny knives. I’d say it won’t happen again, but I promise, it’s going to.” Her lip curled, and Aiden stepped closer to her, his arm wrapping around her as he led her back towards the window.
“So that’s it?” Regan asked. “It’s all true? Killing their parents, burning the house, their garage? What about stealing the drugs?”
I threw the papers we had found over the desk, his eyebrow cocking up when he saw them. He groaned, the annoyed tone making my fingers dig into the arm of the chair. He had the nerve to be mad at her when she sat here learning her entire world was a lie?
“How the fuck did you get this?”
Hero jumped down from the window seat he had been on. “How the fuck do you run a security business and think a dummy drawer compartment is a good place to hide things? Regan and Harper found them in minutes,” he said.
“You went through my stuff?” he asked, glaring at Regan.
Aiden’s mouth dropped open, the shock of it getting to us all.
“I think we are past scolding her for looking through your things,” I said.
“And they are her things now anyway,” Evie said, throwing one more paper in front of Cameron.
“What’s this?” He read the paper, his face tightening into rage as he finished. “I didn’t give Regan the house.”
“No?” Evie said, leaning over. “This says you put it in her name a year ago. That was so sweet of you. Was that some sort of graduation gift?”
“I didn’t do that. How did this happen?”
“Evie’s good with computers, so yes, you did,” I said. “You also are returning the drugs you stole. Money, if the drugs have been sold. Asher is helping with that.”
“You can’t do that. You talked to Asher about this?” His eyes flicked to Regan. “Honey, you have to stop him. We can talk about the business. I swear, we can talk it over. We can get you what you want.”
I lifted Regan up, making her stand next to me one more time. I knew she was going to hate this, but I needed one thing. One big thing to show her that he would never do the right thing because the man would say and do anything to get out of a bad situation.
“Instead of begging her, there’s another way to get yourself out of this,” I said, pulling out the gun I had brought. I slid it across the desk towards him.
“We can come to an agreement. You don’t have to do all this, Rook. What do you want? More jobs? More money?” He grinned as though he could give me any of it. “More power?”
“Do I need any of that from you? The irony, Cameron, is that you didn’t want to let her into your life because you were worried she would ruin all your hard work and snitch. You were worried she would rat you out and ruin it, but then I let her into mine. I showed her all the despicable things we do, and do you know what she did?”
His face hardened, looking over at her with disgust. “What?”
“She liked it. She wanted more, and then she asked if she could run the entire fucking thing.”
“Then, what about another deal?”
“I don’t want anything from you. At least, not the things you are offering. I think there is only one way to make it fair. A life for a life. You killed my family. Kill one of your own and I will let you walk out of here without so much as another scratch or loss. An eye for an eye type of deal.”
He glanced at Regan, and then quickly back at me. “Why?”
“I’ve thought about it for ten long years, Cameron, and I think you need to feel what I felt when you stole my family. For ten years, I’ve been living with the agony of my parents dying in that fire, and I think you need to have an image like that in your mind. Maybe then we will be even. Plus, you already involved her in the hit you took out on my life. I believe the words were, ‘Take him out, and if she dies, she dies.’ You must have already come to terms with her death. She knows you saw us at Sweet Haven that day, and she knows you put a hit out on both me and her. You knew that if she was dead, no one could touch you or your money. There would be no one left in your way to bother you or reveal your secrets. Is there any problem in making that a reality now? Then I’ll leave you alone with your fortune. Maybe I’ll even offer my services to you and your business.”
“And all you want me to do is kill her?”
“One bullet in her skull and you’ll have everything. Your business and fortune all to yourself.”
“Why?”
“Aren’t we all just climbing to the top, Cameron? Wouldn’t a deal with you make me more money, give me more power? You just said it, so you must understand.” Every word from my mouth fell out so easily, each one goading him to take the bait.
“And if I don’t agree?”
“I expose every single one of your goddamn dirty secrets until your business is ash.” I smirked. “Kind of like what you did to my home and parents. I think both options are fair. More than fair, even.”
