Page 24 of Forbidden Vow

8

Darius

Raven and Lexi were back in Endurance, California. Darius actually had to zoom in on the Google maps to locate the town, population less than fourteen hundred residents. Returning them to the northern California hamlet tucked in the Sierra Nevada foothills had been the perfect hideout from the paparazzi. The tabloid coverage had subsided. His anger at leaving his family vulnerable to attack had not. It had taken some fast key padding to calm Raven before the flight’s departure.

He telephoned a minimum of twice daily. As had become their nightly routine, he read Lexi a bedtime story.The Land of Do As You Pleaseby Charlotte S. Grant, his favorite by far. The early mornings were reserved for Raven. A dose of morning FaceTime sex did wonders for his morning wood and afternoon deposition. But two weeks without them, and his chest ached as if a major artery had been dissected. He likened the pain to a recovery from major surgery. But, this meeting with Gregor and Galvin was overdue. For the second time within a week, he needed to make amends.

After negotiating the final details with a government agency insisting on another meeting before any staff could be hired, Darius called a private meeting under the guise of celebrating their success.

Kent Technologies had been awarded a lucrative government contract, but he’d missed the opportunity to fly out to Sacramento, the closest airport to Endurance, to secure the deal. But, his two brothers wouldn’t let him grouse, and he had an apology to make.

The three of them laughed about the tabloid’s lawyer’s attempt at standing their ground, the Drake firm’s shift to action at filleting financially, and Darius’s windfall of happiness. After he downed his last swallow of scotch, he gave his brothers a baleful look.

“I owe you both an apology,” Darius started.

Gregor twirled his long neck beer bottle between three fingers. “How so?”

Galvin leaned forward. His face was pulled tight with assessing eyes on Darius. He expected as much from the older twin. Though both men played hard, especially at women, Darius suspected Galvin’s enthusiasm for bachelorhood had begun to wain.

With the reddish blonde hair, vivid blue eyes, and facial hair, the three brothers could be mistaken for triplets.

“There was…something happened between Dad and I.” Darius stared into his now empty glass, hoping to find the right words. “But I think the both of you bore my wrath by association.”

Galvin remained silent. Then Gregor dared to ask, “What the hell happened? It’s been like you’ve been a ghost for the last millennium.”

Darius closed his eyes and shook his head. He’d come so close to destroying everything he needed but never knew he wanted. Saying it out loud made it true, real, and voiced so many sins that he had to acknowledge; his father had saved him from himself. And wasn’t that the role of a good dad? Darius thought back to his father’s letter, the apology. The truth was, Darius had accused his father and Raven, too stubborn to accept anything but his own faulted assumption.

“Does it have to do with Raven and Dad’s relationship?” The question had come from Galvin.

“Yes.”

Gregor’s sharp inhale caught him off guard. Darius looked inside his glass, wishing there was another two fingers, a last ditch effort to stall.

His mood turned remorseful. He couldn’t keep it off his face.

The twins looked at each other, and then back to him.

“I had a theory.” Galvin said the words with caution.

Darius stiffened. Whatever they came up with, it couldn’t be as bad as a son hating his father and rejecting the woman he loved.

His brothers gave each other another knowing glance.

“Four years ago…” Galvin gulped. He was clearly uncomfortable with the subject. “Did she disappear because you didn’t want the baby?”

“Fuck no,” he bellowed. “I had no idea she was even pregnant.”

“How the hell did you two find out…I mean, before the tabloids spilled the tea?”

“Dad left us both letters.”

Darius smiled, “Of course he did.”

“He wanted us to know we had a nephew, in case—” Galvin stammered, looking for the right word.

“In case you were an asshole to her,” Gregor added. Yep, the twins could tag team any conversation, and often did. “So, if not Raven’s pregnancy, why leave? Not visit Dad?” Gregor demanded.

“I—I saw Raven coming out of Dad’s suites?”