Page 13 of His End Game

“Cas, I trust all is well.”

I roll my eyes at his pompous British accent. I don’t doubt the family could burn the world down if they wished to, but they don’t intimidate me.

“Just letting you know, we’re still tracking down Effie. Once we find her, she’s dead.”

The line stays quiet for a beat too long. Dad arches his brow and purses his lips together. He won’t be the next to speak.

“I thought seven days would be enough time.”

“Even without my son being shot, it wouldn’t, considering she has the funds to disappear altogether. I mean, you’ve been trying for months and she’s still breathing.”

I smirk.

“Fair play. Let me know when it’s done.”

The line goes dead, and Dad shakes his head.

“I don’t like working with them,” I admit.

“You think I do?”

“No?”

“As long as the tone remains platonic, I think of the cash. It’s cash we’ve not seen before. When you take over, you’ll need to figure out when enough is enough. The trick is, don’t get used to the money. We have to use it to our advantage.”

His words leave me a lot to mull over, and I sit in the back room long after he leaves. There’s so much more to running a club than barking orders. I’m realising how easy my dad has made it look.

Tracking down Holly takes longer than I like. My pain meds are due soon and I can’t wait to throw them down my throat. I eventually find Holly and my daughter out back having a picnic.

Leaning against the back of the clubhouse, I light a cigarette and watch them laughing together until Holly catches sight of me. Her smile falls, and she returns her attention to Rayna. The sun hits her hair and I swear, she looks like a damn angel. I have so many regrets in life. Sharing a bed with her should be one, but I can’t bring myself to. Everyone knows I’m selfish, and I regret she didn’t know that about me from the get-go.

The day I scooped her up from the dirty bathroom floor of the old mill, I should’ve made it clear that I’m an asshole. For so long, all she saw was Rayna. I can’t pin the day that changed for her and she started to see me too.

When she next glances over, I jerk my chin for her to pack up the picnic and I finish my cigarette. As soon as Rayna sees me waiting, she runs over, and I brace myself.

“Are you packed up?” I ask Holly, wincing through the pain of picking my kid up.

“Yep, the bags are in the car. We were just waiting on you.”

“Good, let’s go.”

Once she has Rayna in her car seat, she climbs behind the wheel. I’ve barely got the door shut before she’s pulling away.

“Couldn’t give me a minute?” I grunt.

Without looking at me, I still catch her eye roll. Over my shoulder, Rayna’s distracted with her iPad and watching whatever show she’s into now.

“Is this how it’s gonna be from now on?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Oh, come on. You can’t look at me without glaring and you can’t say a single word without being a bitch.”

Still, she doesn’t look my way but her shoulders tense and her jaw clenches.

“What can I say? You bring the best out of me.”

Biting down on my lip, I kill the laugh wanting to escape. This isn’t remotely funny.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com