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He blows out a breath as he tucks his cell into his suit jacket pocket. “Dad agreed to Anais Prescott interning at Maxwell’s, and she has been doing just that for the last month.”
My brows furrow in confusion. Anais Prescott is the just-turned-eighteen-year-old daughter of Fraser Prescott, my father’s best friend from college, and the sister of Harris Prescott, one of my brother’s best friends. We all grew up together, and even though Anais was the youngest of us all, we never left her out. Harris and Evan were inseparable all through childhood, school, and college, and still are, along with Parker. That is why they went into the nightclub business together. I don’t see what Evan’s problem is with this. “And?” He stares at me as if he is waiting for me to figure out everything he is not saying, but no matter how much I search for what the issue is, I can’t seem to find it.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Evan, I am clearly missing something, so just tell me.”
He shoves a hand through his hair, his eyes looking at anything but me. This is so out of character for my brother. He has always been cool, calm, and confident. “Have you seen Anais recently?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Not since before I was pregnant. She was away at school, and then I was in Wellington. Evan, whatever it is, you can tell me.” His eyes meet mine, and I don’t like the worry I see in his. He looks conflicted. And then, it hits me. “You like her?”
He groans. “I don’t want to. It just happened. Fuck. Harris is going to kill me when he finds out that I want his barely legal sister.”
I chuckle, making him glare. “Has anything happened between you two yet?”
“We’ve made out. She wants more, but I keep shutting her down. Christ knows how. It is taking every bit of my restraint to not take things further.” He shakes his head. “All the shit I gave Theo about Thalia. And yeah, Theo is older than me, but what I am doing is no different. It’s the forbidden fruit. It’s hard to resist. I almost understand how Theo felt now. Like we are in some sort of secret camaraderie because of this bullshit.” My eyebrows shoot to my hairline, and Evan points his finger at me. “And if you dare tell Thalia that I said that, I will deny it till the day I die. I still dislike the fucker.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Oh, brother, I never thought I would see the day where you would be sympathizing with Theo, of all people.”
He glares at me. “Exactly. I am a fucking hypocrite.” His jaw clenches as his eyes squeeze shut.
Soft footsteps sound in the hall, and I know we only have seconds to wrap this conversation up. “Evan, if you like her, talk to Harris. He is a reasonable guy. He might even surprise you.”
He opens his mouth to say something but snaps it closed when Mama speaks, “Sorry about that. Your father called. He just left his meeting.” She hands Evan a glass of wine and sits back down beside me. My brother mouths athank youat me, and I smile, only for it to drop when I remember that I still haven’t spoken to Bishop.
ChapterTwenty-Six
BISHOP
I am escorted out to the backyard, surrounded by four guards. My gaze travels over the people sitting in the chairs. Byron Delgado, Nash Graham, Walton Vanderbilt, their heirs, and my supposed friends, Ryker, Stone, and Zane—oh, and Stacey Parke’s mother. What is interesting to me is that the wives of the three heads and their other children are absent. It strikes me as odd, but then, I remember that’s the least of my worries today.
My gaze lands on Ryker, and betrayal slithers through my veins. Why is he not stopping this? Why is he taking part in this farce?
We come to a stop at the makeshift altar, where my father stands with a smug smirk on his vile face. “The tuxedo fits perfectly. Just as I thought.” His gaze flicks to a table out of view from the guests but in my line of sight. On it sits a laptop, the screen showing a clear view of Aria as she sits in the lounge of her parents’ penthouse with her mama and brother.
My heart squeezes just looking at her. She is smiling, but I see the anxiety in her eyes and the way she chews her full bottom lip. I know I am responsible for that worry, and it makes me feel like a piece of shit. By now, I would have video called with her and Baron before his bedtime. Just the thought of her thinking that I have let her down and have forgotten them makes me want to go on a rampage.
“Think of it as an incentive.” My gaze moves to my sperm donor. He grins. “You know, just in case you try anything stupid. It would be a shame that such a beautiful, young woman’s life was cut short because you can’t behave.” He pins me with a look that saysdon’t-test-me,then runs a hand down his tie as he looks to someone behind me. “Ah, perfect timing.” I spin around to see Stacey and her father walking down the steps of the pool house. She wears a simple, white wedding dress, her hair down in loose waves. I can admit she looks good, but in comparison to Aria Maxwell, she is what I would describe as beige. Stacey Parkes pales into insignificant to my princess. Aria is all I see. All I will ever see. You could put every woman in the world in front of me, and it would still be Aria. She is the other half of me.
My soul.
My heart.
My everything.
Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” filters through the outdoor speakers, and I know this is it. It’s time. The moment everything changes. The moment I irrevocably break my woman’s heart. I spin back to face the altar, frowning when I see that a minister has moved into place in front of me. Guilt flickers in his eyes before he blinks it away, and he plasters on a smile. The asshole must be on my father’s payroll if he is here. My gaze moves to the laptop, and I swallow. My palms turn sweaty, and my heart rate kicks up to a speed I don’t think is normal.
Glancing over my shoulder, I look between Ryker, his father, Zane, and Stone. All their faces remain impassive, and I briefly wonder if my father got to them while I was in New York. Did he offer them something they couldn’t say no to? I huff a laugh under my breath. They know who Calvin Hastings is and what he is capable of. He killed the Fancott family for his own agenda. He is not loyal to anyone but himself and will soon turn on them if he decides they are of no use to him.
A throat clears, dragging me from my thoughts. I crane my neck over my shoulder, slowly moving my gaze to my father and the four guards surrounding us. My eyes drop to the guns they hold in their hands, then roam over their stoic faces. They won’t hesitate to shoot me if I don’t go through with this. I’m not scared of dying. Yes, it sends pain coursing through me at the thought of never seeing Aria or Baron again, that I would miss my son growing up, but if it saved them, I would risk my life.
“Smile, Xander. This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life,” Calvin says under his breath just as I feel a presence at my left side.
I glance down. Stacey beams up at me, her eyes filled with desire. “Hi, hubby,” she purrs, making me scowl.
Her father turns her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I am so proud of you, honey,” he murmurs before shooting me a look and moving to sit.
I face the front, and my eyes immediately go to the laptop again. I must be a goddamn masochist because I can’t seem to take my eyes away from it. I see the red dot lingering on the curtains in the window but out of sight of the three unsuspecting Maxwell’s. This whole thing with the sniper could be a pretense. A way for my sperm donor to make me do his bidding without any disturbance from me. But then, I remember this is Calvin Hastings, and there is no way he would risk this wedding. It’s real. As if the severity of the situation has only just hit me, dread takes over. There is a gunman. And he is ready to shoot my princess if my father gives him the signal.
