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I smiled, not that he could see. He was already rattled.
Larson remained silent.
“What. The fuck. Was that?” he roared.
I rounded to stand in front of Larson, forcing him out of my way.
“A counteroffer,” I replied.
“Ariel,” Dad said with a sneer.
“I got your message. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you can’t have me. Or Raphael and Gabe. Or, for that matter, Jackson, who Larson apparently filled you in on, or anyone else connected to me.” I curled my lip. “You can’t have any of them because they’re mine. So I’m telling you now to call off your dog.”
Dad steepled his fingers, his expression settling to frosty with a side of patronising. “I admire your spirit, but—”
I spoke over him, not giving him the floor.
“Shut your damn mouth and listen. You’ll accept my offer or I’ll expose every crooked thing you’ve ever done. All the ones Larson listed and far more, because trust me, I can bring the receipts for each. I tried to forget your existence, but my memory is infallible, and I was always there. I remember every meeting you held in our house, all the phone calls, every person you wined and dined or dealt with. I can give the dates, locations, and what was said. Every single gang member or crooked politician you fucked over will get my exposé. Daisy’s family are in the shit. They’d willingly trade that info with the feds and let the politicians fight over it.”
I smiled, the image of the savage daughter he’d accidentally created but neglected to notice.
Then I spoke my killer blow.
“Or worse, I’ll feed it to Mom. Isn’t that what you wanted? For me to talk to my mother, not my father? I realise now that you were trying to punish her further by reminding her of my existence, but it only made me consider how her man would love getting evidence of how you undercut and sold out people who are far more dangerous than you. And the man your wife left you for is the worst of all. Isn’t that why you let her go without a fight?”
His expression had dropped the more I spoke.
Now, he went white.
I held my ground, controlled my racing pulse, and looked him in the eye. “Believe me, Dad, for the sin of underestimating your daughter, I’ll do it all with a smile on my face. Now call off your dog. Permanently.”
For a long minute, he glared back at me. Breathed through his nose.
Then he stabbed at his phone, hanging up.
Chapter 39
Jackson
Collectively, we all released a breath. Glanced at each other.
Raphael lowered the phone, turning a puzzled expression on his sister. “He used to say to me that to show fear was the greatest form of weakness a man could display. Worse than that, he’d say to even feel that fear was a sign I was weak.”
In the doorway, Ben made a noise of disgust. “That’s bull, and the type of toxic shite that winds up with men exploding in emotional outbursts of anger. Fear is healthy. It’s a bodily warning designed to keep us safe.”
I watched Ariel. “What does that mean that he reacted like that? He was afraid, aye?”
She inclined her head. “I think so. But I don’t know what he’ll do next. Either it’s over, or he’ll explode like Ben said, and I’ve brought the war Larson promised.”
Seated on the chair I’d been tied to, Larson waited, unperturbed. The guy had to be a psychopath for how little emotion he showed.
Then his phone dinged with a message.
Raphael squinted at it. “It’s a code.”
“Show me,” Larson asked.
Raphael gave a soft laugh. “No dice. Tell me the code you’d expect him to send.”
