“They weren’t that close,” I argue.“June said they were never even official.Shit, they didn’t even have sex?—”
“Will you keep your voice down?”Roman demands.
My molars grind, but I bite my tongue.Fuck.How is this my fault?
“Hawke, I need you to hack into your father’s account and see if he transferred any funds to Bryan Meyer.”
My brows pull as I register his words and exactly what he’s insinuating.“What?”
The beer pauses halfway to Jagger’s frown.He sets his glass back down.“You don’t think…”
He doesn’t finish his sentence.Why would he?The idea alone is enough to shock most to their core.Our father?Behind something like this?There’s no way.When he found out, he was furious.
“Why?”Hawke asks.“Why would he do that?”
I settle back in the booth, trying to look at this from a different angle because if Rafe’s contact is correct, then we were definitely looking in the wrong direction.But first, we need a motive.A reason to justify something this insane and off-base.
“What would our father get out of bribing a fireman to set his sons’ house on fire?”I wonder aloud.
“Technically, it’s his house,” Roman says.
“Which means we would’ve owed him a shit-ton of money if insurance hadn’t covered it,” Hawke points out.
Jagger runs his finger along the rim of his glass, deep in thought.“Titas is an actuary.There’s no way he’d commit insurance fraud.”
“Exactly,” I say.“If anyone found out, his entire business would go up in flames.”
Hawke rolls his eyes.“Flames?Really?”
“What, too soon?”I quip.
“And you mean Mom’s business,” Jagger interjects, refusing to give my sarcasm or our father that much credit.
Hawke nods slowly.“Maybe he did it on purpose,” he suggests.“Wants to get caught and fuck up her business before graduation when we take over.”
“We?”I repeat.I knew Jag and I were on board, but I thought Hawke was on the fence.Not only is the man allergic to a nine-to-five desk job, he steers clear of all things Mom.Has since the moment she died.Knowing he’d sacrifice even a sliver of his happiness to step in at Mercer Consulting is shocking, to say the least.So, why would he do it?
Hawke sobers.“Mom would want me there.”
My nod is slow.He’s right.Mom would’ve loved to have Hawke work at her company.Would’ve loved to hear about everything we’re doing to fix all the mistakes Daddy Dearest has implemented, like the two I caught earlier today.Hell, because of him, The Drift is still a pile of shit after a natural disaster took it out.He made a deal with the insurance companies to create a gap in their coverage and conveniently not pay out to anyone in The Drift.Okay, that’s probably a little more on the nose than what really happened, but my point stands.If mom were around, she would’ve made sure the insurance companies had no choice but to take care of everyone, but sometimes life isn’t fair, and the reminder is bitter at best.
Jagger reaches forward and squeezes Hawke’s forearm resting on the table before retreating back to his side.“Maybe Titas knew we’d be so focused on Morgan, he figured we’d never look his way, and he’d be safe from any kind of evidence of his involvement, so Mercer Consulting wouldn’t be affected.”
“Even if that’s the case, we still don’t have a motive,” Hawke says.“Unless he was betting we’d look in the wrong direction.”
My brows pull.Fuck, is he right?Shifting forward, I grit out, “What has been Daddy Dearest’s entire motive for the last six months?”I ask.
“To keep us away from The Drift,” Hawke answers.
“And when that didn’t happen, he took our trust funds.But did we listen then?”Hawke shakes his head.“So, he escalated again by calling Uncle Judge,” I continue.
“Which didn’t work either,” Roman interjects.
“So, he escalatedagain,” Jagger says, going through the same cycle I am internally when understanding sparks in his coal-black eyes.“He decided to make the threat more serious.”
“By pinning the fire on Morgan, even though he had nothing to do with it,” I announce.
“Butwhy?”Hawke challenges.“Why go through all this trouble to keep us away from The Drift?”
