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“I’ve seen him, but can’t place the name,” I tell Jarred.
“Really?” he challenges me, and I know I’m missing something. I bring the image closer, focusing on his features, trying to figure out why he looks so familiar to me. It’s as if I’ve seen him somewhere before, but never met, so I can’t quite put my finger on his identity.
Jarred picks up the frame on my desk and hands it to me. The image inside is of the three Thorne brothers on the day of Damien’s wedding. Beside my eldest brother is the beauty that stole his heart. The moment I look at her, my heart sinks down to my gut.
“Fuck,” is all I can manage. Last night when I first saw the article, I knew I’d seen this man before. There was just something too striking about him, but as I look at her right now, I realize I’ve just found Nesrin’s long-lost father. “How did I miss this?”
Jarred steps up beside me, with Zaria joining us. The two photos side by side are living proof the Nesrin’s father is in fact alive and well. I need to talk to Marcia. Nesrin’s mother, my stepmother, needs to know that her ex-husband is back.
“Is that your sister-in-law?” Zaria takes the photo from me as she makes the connection, staring at her mother’s new husband. She’s just as shocked as we are as she stares at the image.
“Yes,” I finally answer as I pull my phone from my pocket. I hit dial on my stepmother’s number and hold the ringing speaker to my ear. When she answers, I don’t greet her, instead, I say, “Nesrin’s father has just married Zaria’s mother.” She knows my fiancée, so there is no need for introductions. Silence answers me, and for a second, I wonder if the line went dead, but then I hear her.
“Where is he?” Her voice croaks, and I can imagine the look of shock on her face. When he walked out on them, leaving Marcia alone with Nesrin, after cheating with her sister, Mallory, the bastard never made contact again. He never spoke to his daughter, never even tried to be a good father. It’s not like he didn’t know she existed; he watched her early years while keeping the sordid secret of what he did.
“Currently in Los Angeles, but I have a feeling he’ll be coming to Thorne Haven pretty fucking soon,” I tell her. “I’m calling Nesrin because she needs to know this piece of shit is back.”
“I’ll do it,” Marcia says in a rush. I don’t trust that she’ll tell her daughter; she’s kept so much from Nesrin while growing up. But, I’ll give her twenty four hours.
“You have a day to do it, or I’ll call her myself,” I inform Marcia. She doesn’t argue with me because she knows I’ll do it.
“I’ll call her right now.” I hang up without a goodbye. As much as my father loves the woman, I can’t stand her. But I don’t need to spend too much time around her, so I can deal with the odd greeting while we pass each other in the hallway.
“This is definitely the man I saw the night of my sixteenth birthday,” Zaria whispers. She looks up at me, questions dancing in her eyes. I wish I had the answers, but right now, we’re all in the dark.
“I fucking hate secrets,” I mumble as I move around my desk and settle in my chair. Jarred sits down while he holds out a hand to Zaria. For a second, she glances my way, and I nod. As much as I want to be angry at him, I know I don’t blame him. He’ll have a lot to make up for with me, but Jarred knows I’ll never leave him. And I can never allow him to leave me.
“Now what do we do with this?” Jarred asks as he pulls Zaria into his lap with a squeak. They’re beautiful together; it’s fucking distracting. I have so much work to do, but all I can think of is to finally have them both in my bed, while I devour each one slowly.
“I’m going to get Harris on Nesrin’s dad,” I tell Jarred. “Then, I’m going to have him bring them here. I want that man in my office, so he can finally admit to what he did.”
“And what about the Society?” Jarred looks more concerned than I’ve ever seen him. I know there are a lot of rules that come with this role, but I don’t want him to sacrifice his life for mine. “I have to tell Ares what you decided because he needs to give them the green light.”
“Let me sit with my father, I’ll call Ares and tell him to hold off as long as he can,” I finally say. “I’ll see what my father recommends. I know he wants me on that committee, and if it can help us, I’m going to do it, Jarred.”
