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It’s not a question. It’s not an option. It is what I will do. Giving her a smirk, I jerk my chin toward her.
“I will,” I answer because it isn’t a question. I know I don’t have a choice. There is also no way I can get away with not verbally acknowledging her demand.
My mother hums as she walks away, and I know that no matter what happens with me and Claire, my mother is not the least bit upset with the women both Wells and I have chosen as our brides, and that will make life a million times easier, because as we learned decades ago, if our mother isn’t happy, not a goddamn person in our world will be.
“What happened?” my father immediately asks.
Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times before I speak. “I think Aaron Simon and Keen are trying to start some shit.”
Silence.
Then, my father’s brow arches. He’s had a bit to drink tonight, but not enough that he is trashed. I can’t even remember the last time he got drunk. It’s just not what a man like him does, not with his position.
“Wells, Hendrick, and I thought that maybe Uncle Dean’s boys were retaliating against the family, or us personally, because of what happened with their mother. So Hendrick has been watching them, just keeping an eye on things and digging,” I begin.
Dad’s eyebrow arches further. This is highly against the rules, and I’m sure we’ll be punished. Instead of waiting for him to respond, I continue with my research and findings.
“Junior came to us. He got a hand-delivered note as well. A note that said we were watching him, looking into them, and to watch out. Then they addedsins of the fatherat the bottom. No postmark, nothing to identify where it might have come from. Until I went and snooped on Aaron Simon’s Mac while everyone was at the rehearsal.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Wells growls.
He’s hearing some of this for the first time. Only Hendrick knew I went to the Simons’ hotel tonight. I know he would have wanted to come with me. He’s always been my backup, but he needed to be there with Parker. I needed everything to appear as normal as possible.
“Well, if Keen and his brothers are starting anything, I need to know about it. I think it’s about time for an interrogation.”
Fuck.
I know what that means. But I also know that if there is to be an interrogation, it won’t include Aaron Simon. They are reserved for members of the family.
“What about Simon?” I ask.
“We’ll have a separate moment for him,” Dad grunts. “His own fucking moment.”
He’s in director mode right now, and there’s something amazing about seeing him that way. If there was anyone who could just flip a switch, it would be our father. He turns his back to me and walks over to the small cart at the wall, where some whiskey and glasses are always readily available.
“Simon paraded the younger one around this evening,” he murmurs as he takes four glasses and lines them up. “It’s clear he thinks that he’s got hot commodities in his daughters’ skin.”
I watch as he pours whiskey into all of them, then picks up two and begins to deliver them to me and my brothers. It’s not often he brings things to us. Usually, it’s the exact opposite and we’re the ones taking drinks, and anything really, to him.
Once he’s served us all, he sinks down in an armchair and lets out a grunt. “I was afraid history was going to repeat itself,” he murmurs, changing subjects.
“Meaning?” Wells asks before anyone else can.
“Meaning this shit happened before. My transition into power was not easy. Dean wanted to be in charge, and when he was not chosen by our father, it angered him. He wasn’t the right man for the job, obviously.
“I have no doubt he told the boys that the legacy should have gone to them. The underlying animosity was always there from Dean. I tried to ignore it because he was my brother. Because he was an executive member of the family. But that is a weakness on my part, and the flaw needs to be stopped right here and now.”
“Who paraded what young daughter around for the family?” I ask out of curiosity since my dad is in a talkative mood, going back to the conversation he abandoned.
“An associate who thought they would gain much from the family, which only ended up in them being takenoutby the family,” he says, lifting his glass to his lips to take a drink.
“Let me guess, someone married her?” I ask.
That’s when my dad’s lips curve up into a grin. “Yeah, me.”
It’s not at all what I expected him to say. I’m not sure what I thought he would say, but it wasn’t that. My dad decides to shock the shit out of us some more and continues speaking.
“She wasn’t eighteen yet. Dean wanted her, but my dad had already chosen his bride, and she was within the realms for a wife. However, she was also related to someone who could be useful to have in the family. So while it was a good match, it was not the one he desired. I watched your mother for several years, keeping tabs on her, and when she was finishing up college, I went for it.”
