AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As he pulled out his phone, I had a feeling whatever he was about to show me would change my life.
I placed my hand on his, shaking my head. “I don’t need to see my brother’s betrayal.”
“Trust me,” he said. “Just trust me.”
I lifted my head, noticing there were sparks of electricity coursing through his irises. And there was additional anger, but entirely different than before. Whatever he was about to tell me was likely as unnerving to him as it was to me.
“I do trust you, Kendrick. With my life and with my heart. Just don’t fuck it up.”
He grinned as only he could do and handed me his phone. Texts had arrived from Grayson along with photographs taken not long before. There was no denying what I was seeing.
“I’ll need you to confirm the person on the left, but I know the other parties. I believe you do as well.”
My father had been so certain that he was king of the hill that I’d been right in that he’d let his guard down. “His name is Jack Garrison. He’s my father’s attorney and his oldest friend.”
And I suddenly knew what I wanted to do.
If only it could come to pass…
* * *
Kendrick
Pomp and circumstance.
Given my siblings had yet to marry and my best friends were all in the business, I wasn’t used to attending a rehearsal dinner. It was one of those formal events that in my mind had no place. However, tonight was entirely different.
Hosted by the bride’s family, the dinner was at a fancy restaurant in the heart of San Francisco instead of the heart of Napa Valley. Rooms had been secured for the night, complimentary to members of the wedding party of course. That included us.
Spencer Abbott’s words filtered into my mind as we walked into the festively decorated location. The rehearsal itself had been stodgy, tension filling the room. At least it had only lasted thirty minutes. But in that time, I’d been able to observe certain behavior, making note of who talked with whom.
After showing Suzannah the pictures Grayson had taken, not every single piece of the puzzle had been fit together, but it was close. Through one of our contacts, my second in command had also discovered what I’d call the smoking gun. A meeting with one of the two men I’d killed inside our suite photographed for all eternity. The photograph had come from a bank across the street from their coffee shop meeting. One of the many things I loved about the business I was in was being able to access databases and secure systems often used by members of law enforcement and top-level security firms.
But this time, we’d gotten lucky.
I took a deep breath, savoring the moment of reclaiming control.
My lovely bride to be had insisted I send her the photographs. Somehow, I had a feeling my darling girl had something up her sleeve. Why did I admire her instead of desiring to admonish her behavior? Because we were truly like two peas in a pod. I half laughed given the expression that had floated through my mind. My mother had used it time and time again to talk about her relationship with my pops.
Why did it feel like I was turning into my dad? Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe all his preparations for me taking over the business hadn’t been for naught. The time for reminiscing was over. It was back to business as usual.
Before Suzannah and I walked into the private room, I pulled her aside, out onto one of the balconies under a set of twinkling lights.
“What are you doing?” Suzannah asked as she draped her arms around my neck, moving her hips in time to the light jazz music coming from the outdoor speakers. There was a coy look on her face, the very expression she’d worn almost constantly while on the plane. As if she held a secret.
As if she had life in the palm of her hand.
As if she was going to feed me to the sharks.
“Do you know I adore you,krasyva, ale neslukhnyana divchyna?”
“Oh, new wording. Does this mean I’m going to need to learn Ukrainian if we stay together? And what, pray tell, did you call me this time? Wicked witch?”
“Ha. Very funny. I called you my beautiful yet naughty girl. And there is no ‘if’ in the terms of the contract. You are mine for as long as I see fit.”
“I noticed the codicil you added to our contract. Have you noticed, handsome yet arrogant man, that I’ve yet to sign it?”
I spun her around, dipping her then holding the position for a few seconds. “Semantics.”
