Page 72 of Protective Phlox

“Fuck you,” Ronan said, getting into my face.

“Right back at you, brother. If you can name a time that you’ve ever stood up for me, I will apologize right now. In fact, I will get down and kiss your fucking feet. Go for it. See if you can name a single time.” He blinked and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. “Yeah, that’s what I fucking thought, so why don’t you back the fuck off of me right now?”

He didn’t give me much room, but the wind had gone from his sails. I turned my attention back to my father. “How long did you know? How fucking long did you know that I had a son and didn’t tell me?”

This was my father, the man who was supposed to love and protect his family. Instead, we were nothing more than puppets to him. He grabbed the decanter sitting on his desk and poured himself a glass, and with each second that ticked by, my patience grew thinner for his antics.

“I knew almost right away,” he finally said, his steely gaze finding mine. “The fact that you were willing to broker a deal with that Fed and not kill her told me all I needed to know. The girl was a threat, and I planned on killing her. The only reason she is alive today is because I found out she was pregnant.”

Ronan crossed his arms and, for the first time, looked disgusted. “So, you were just waiting to use the information for your gain,” he asked.

“I didn’t want my grandchild to die, but there was an opportunity, and I saw no reason not to capitalize on it. She was a federal agent, and the only thing I regret is not killing her and taking the boy before Nathaniel married her. What a fucking disgrace? Not only is she a federal agent, but she has no political backing, no money, and no family connections. She’s useless.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” I mumbled and stepped back from the desk. My phone started to ring, but I hit End. I wasn’t able to think straight, let alone take a call.

Ronan, Father, and Titus yelled at one another, becoming background noise as my mind reeled. He’d known for years about Cutter and didn’t say anything. He almost killed Savannah regardless of anything I’d done or how I felt. None of it mattered to him.

All the attempts at the very public arranged engagements made sense. Hell, he probably hoped that Savannah would see them and stay away. I looked around the office at the famous artwork hanging from the walls. Statues were proudly displayed under lights, and antiques were under glass to protect them. There was one thing missing. There wasn’t a single picture of our family. I’d never noticed it before. It had never occurred to me to look or care, but the signs of how he felt had been there all along.

The anger and shock made it hard to feel anything other than dead inside, where he was concerned.

“Enough!”

All three of them looked at me. I locked my stare on my sperm donor. He was no more a father to me than the gardener who showed up twice a week to cut the grass.

“I’m done. As of this moment, I will no longer call you my father, and I’m pulling all of my businesses from the family. Good luck getting the rest of your shit to stay afloat without me. I’ve brokered the last drug and gun deals. All those contacts are mine.”

Dimitri smacked his fist on the desk and leaped up. “You can’t do that.”

“Oh, but I can. Each of my businesses was created solely under my portion of the corporation’s umbrella and not yours. You were always so quick to wave off anything that I set in front of you, so eager to sign the paperwork so I would leave you alone. You never bothered to notice that my company owns the lion’s share of all stock, buildings, businesses, and employees. It’s all mine.”

“But if you take all of that out at once, it will cripple us. What about the deals in place for the family corporation? You brokered those in good faith.”

“I don’t fucking care. Why should I care about what you love when you never cared about me or what I love,” I said, hitting him where it hurt more than if I ever put a bullet between his eyes.

“Everything I’ve ever done is to better this family,” he had the nerve to say.

My phone rang again, and I hit End without looking at the caller ID.

“No, everything you did was for yourself. Right down to having multiple kids so that one or more of us were expendable for your gain. It has all been for you.” I glanced at Ronan and then Titus.

“I’m sorry that this will affect the rest of you, but you’re welcome to come with me if you choose. As soon as the wedding ceremony is over, I’ll be moving out. I can no longer live here with him.”

“No, I forbid you to do this.” I smirked at Dimitri, and that only enraged him more, which felt good. I wouldn’t stop at leaving the family. No, I was going to bring it down. I would tear the corporation apart with my bare hands and own every piece until there was nothing left of him or what he’d built. It would all be mine, and my brothers could get on board or sink with the ship.

“You’re out of touch, old man. You think you won because you made a deal behind my back. Naw, someone around you wants to see you fail as much as I do, or they wouldn’t have sent me this message. Maybe even Romeo himself. Your time as head of this family is up.”

“Nathaniel,” the guard outside the door called my name, and I glared at him for being so informal. “I’m sorry, but I had to get your attention. Goran has been trying to reach you.”

“Tell him I’ll call him back.”

The man swallowed, and his eyes were wide. “No, Sir. You need to take this call.”

The way he said that sent cold dread down my spine like nothing else could. I held out my hand as I walked toward him, and he handed me his phone.

“Goran?” I plugged my other ear, and the sound of a siren was loud in the background.

“Nathaniel, it’s Savannah. She’s been shot. We’re on our way to the hospital, but…my friend, it’s not good.”