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“You tell me,son.” He borrows my tone.
I smile and look from him to Bastian. “Did I tell Bastian to keep seeing Lana Jamison? Or did I tell him to continue sleeping with her?” I raise my shoulders into a succinct shrug.
A sour look taints his face further. “You know that's not what I mean.”
“Well, I don'tknowwhat you mean. The last time I heard anything about this, we were making a deal to never speak of it again.” I flick my gaze to Bastian, who looks more nervous. “From that moment, I thought it was a given that Bastian should have stopped seeing Lana. Except he didn't. That was risky, don’t you think?”
“If I ever find out that you had—”
“I wouldn’t be threatening me if I were you,” I cut him off and keep my gaze sharp. “Especially knowing I have a sex tape. Or knowing that I might be able to get my hands on other things. Things that might confirm just howlongBastian has been seeing her.”
Bastian already looked pale. Now, his skin has turned a deadly shade of alabaster, making me realize my suspicions about him being with Lana before she turned seventeen were right.
I hit him with a mirthless grin. “Was it love, brother? You really fell for a seventeen-year-old?” My tone is disdainful, but as I say those words, I think of myself and River.
I’m nearly three years older than her. When we met, I was seventeen, mere months away from my eighteenth birthday, and she just turned fifteen.
Father is about to say something, but Bastian stops him by placing his hand over his.
“Just drop it, Father.Allof it.” Bastian’s voice is as flat as the untuned keys of an old piano.
“I think so, too,” I agree, giving them both a wicked grin. “Listen to your son,Father,anddrop it. I’m not the one in trouble here. He is, and fuck knows what might happen next. Teddy Jamison is not a man to trifle with. But neither am I.”
They look afraid now, because they know I’m right.
Light laughter falls from my lips at the sight of them—two untouchable men who made my life hell growing up.
Knight is always telling me how dangerous I am. Now my father and Bastian know it, too. For once, I finally have the upper hand.
It’s true what people say. Payback is one hell of a boss bitch, and revenge is a dish best served cold. I got both here.
Father and Bastian have treated Knight and me like filth all our lives. It was because he didn’t want us. He even tried to deny that we were his after he broke things off with our motherwhileshe was pregnant with me.
He made her believe they were going to be a family but upped and left when he got a better deal with Sloane. Sloane’s family owns a diamond business. Marriage to her opened the door to more money and power, so my mother never stood a chance.
My grandfather stepped in and made sure we had the lives we were supposed to have, but that didn’t stop the bad treatment that came from our father—the abuse.
My abuse.Knight had it bad, but I had it worse because back then, I wasn’t as strong as him. Father used that to his advantage.
The saying ‘Monsters are made, not born’is true, and right now, I’m looking at the man who turned me into the ruthless son of a bitch I am. This stint of mine is hardcore retribution. My only regret is that I couldn’t do much worse.
The sound of Grandfather’s voice outside the room prevents the heated conversation from continuing. Knowing my father, he’s already started to put damage control in place. A moment later, he walks in with Knight at his side, and Grandfather looks just as angry as I knew he’d be.
The emotion becomes full bloom when he looks at Bastian. The redness in his face makes his hair appear whiter and the wrath in his steely eyes more pronounced.
Grandfather just turned seventy, but he looks like he could give Bastian the fight of his life. I think he could. We got the Grayson height and build from him, and my grandfather is a man who never misses a day in the gym, so he’d be equally matched with Bastian no matter his age.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so angry. That’s saying a lot since my little scandal months ago nearly lost us one of our top investors. Bastian’s incident is different, though. We’re talking about the governor’s daughter here.
Knight walks over to sit next to me, and we acknowledge each other with our habitual nod. Grandfather closes the door, then takes his seat at the head of the table.
The room turns graveyard silent, a level of quiet below what it previously was. The nothingness is so potent, I can almost hear the blood flowing through my veins.
“Good morning, men.” Grandfather finally speaks, but his tone is as harsh as his seething glare. I would feel worse for the situation if the ends didn’t justify the means. “In light of yesterday's scandal, we have a lot to discuss. I am so deeply embarrassed and enraged by what’s happened.” He presses his hands into the table’s surface as if he’s trying to force his rage into the wood.
“We tried to call you last night to explain,” Father attempts, but Grandfather holds up his hand, cutting him off.
“No. There is nowehere. This is about Bastian.” Grandfather’s voice rises by several octaves, and his nostrils flair like a bull ready to charge. “Bastian, what doyouhave to say for yourself?” I have to give my grandfather credit for the balls he always shows, no matter who he’s dealing with.
