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“I know she wasn’t charged with his death. I know it was ruled a clear case of self-defense, or rather, the defense of another. Her son.” After another pointed stare, Whittenbalm’s expression softened. “It would seem Francesca MacCallum was also very protective.”
“She was.” Luke’s wary gaze rose to the older man’s considering one.
“I’ve also read she was quite the surf instructor before she passed away. Even taught a few of the pros on the circuit today.”
“She did.”
Whittenbalm nodded, sharp eyes trained on his. “I know all this,” he said, “but what I don’t know is which side of the coin you land on?”
Luke wanted to say he hadn’t inherited a damn thing from his father other than his height and some blonde streaks, but the truth was, he knew that wasn’t it. The truth was he also had his father’s propensity for violence. One that was sometimes hard to control.
But hehadcontrolled it.
Tonight with Aldon, he’d beaten the crap out of him, sure, but hehadstopped. That had to count for something.
“I’m a MacCallum,” Luke finally said, “and I’m protective too. Especially of those I love.”
Whittenbalm winged up a brow.
Luke wasn’t about to back down from the challenge in that look. “I love your daughter. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that. I love Andy, and I would never hurt her.”
“But you would hurt those who would?”
“Yes.”
Whittenbalm glanced away as he considered this. “You know, after Andy told me about Aldon’s behavior towards her, I was going to fire him solely for that, but I decided to do some digging. Had my LP department check into a few things.”
“What did you find out?”
“That Wickers had been skimming funds from the store for some time.”
This news didn’t surprise Luke in the least. Not considering Aldon’s outstanding loans to some very nefarious people.
“I’d thought about dropping the investigation. Letting the scoundrel’s termination serve as justice enough for his petty thievery and the ugly things he said about Andy.”
Whittenbalm’s lip curled in anger as he continued. “But, now, in light of what Aldon took from my daughter and the danger he put her in, I’m not feeling so charitable. Tell me, Lucas MacCallum, if I were to pursue the matter legally, would it be worth my time” — his gaze slipped once again to Luke’s hand — “or would I be hunting down a ghost?”
Luke shrugged. “Last I saw him, Aldon was pleading his case to some loan sharks.”
“And how did that seem to be going?”
“If he survives the night with all his digits intact, I would be very surprised.”
Whittenbalm’s mouth lifted in a tiny grin — one his daughter had clearly inherited — before quickly falling flat. “Go home, Mr. MacCallum.”
Luke didn’t move.
Andy’s father let out a tired sigh. “My daughter is passed out with her mother right now. There is very little you — or I, for that matter — can do for her at the moment. She needs space to process what’s happened. As do you. Go home, Luke. Go home, wash the violence off you, and get your shit together before you come back here again.”
This wasn’t anything Luke hadn’t already told himself before he’d been sidetracked with a hospital run. He knew the man was right.
Still, Luke hesitated, his heart drawing him one direction while his head tugged him another.
Locking the apartment door, Whittenbalm turned back to him. “Our rides are waiting,” he said with an expectant quirk of his brow.
Reluctantly, Luke headed down the front walkway. “Iwillbe back,” he told Andy’s father as they parted ways.
Settling into a Mercedes parked a few spots down from Kyle’s Porsche, Timothy Whittenbalm flashed him another tiny Andy grin.
