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“What I see is lunacy.”
“Lunacy? That’d be what you were doing before your parents died. They were trying to help you. Was what you were doing not madness? It was downright dangerous, Fayette. Do you know what might have happened had I not had my men watching over you?”
“Watching? What are you talking about? For how long?”
Master Carmelo glanced behind himself towards Parker but focused back on me.
“Long enough. It’s me you should thank for tracking down your criminal fiancé. Who do you think kept you out of jail? Who paid for your lawyer? You think your boss could afford that attorney for both of you? He was broke. Who do you think took care of it all? Who paid the private detectives that discovered the evidence? Andrew Copeland was no amateur, and he was coming after a lot more than that measly amount you had sitting in your account.”
“I had over a hundred grand in savings! I saved for over a year for that.”
“Like I said, measly. Had I not been involved; you’d be behind bars right now. If anything, you should thank me. I got your boss’s business back up and running. I helped him. I didn’t have to do that. I did it for you. Your life could be a hell of a lot worse than this, if you know what I mean. All I want is an heir. I want family who wants what’s left of me. I want family, just like you. The way it should be. I’m trying. I really am. Was this the best way? No. Was it the only way for the time I have left…I believe so.”
“You’re doing this for family?”
“I have no one. Be my family, Fay. I’ll take good care of you.”
Aimon’s approach from the other room had me pausing.
“Well, well. Look who we have here. Are you two finding more ways to conspire against me? More drugs? Shackles? Should I prepare myself?”
“You should get the hell out is what you should do. You’re not part of this conversation, boy.”
Aimon laughed under his breath, cutting his eyes over to the guards to throw them a threatening look. He didn’t leave. He walked to my bed, plopping down at the end.
“The woman you’re talking to took something from me. What involves her involves—”
“Save it. She took what belonged to me. Not you. You’re not a Carmelo anymore, therefore everything your body carries, distinguishing you as you, belongs to the one man you hate more than life. Your blood. Sweat. Sperm. All mine.”
“If you think anything is happening between us again, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“Really?”
Aimon fisted the comforter as he held his grandfather’s gaze.
“Yeah. Really. Drug me again if you want. I don’t care. I won’t give you the satisfaction.”
“I thought I raised you smarter than that. Don’t you see? You already have. The thing is, I don’t need your physical body to implant her with your child. I thought I’d take the easier route for the two of you. Give you chemistry. History. Let you get to know each other. It’d be better for the baby. But if and when she doesn’t conceive this time, your sperm is already in safe keeping. Courtesy of those drugs you speak of. Fayette will continue our line. And if she doesn’t, someone else of my choosing will.”
Chapter 8
Aimon
For three days, I didn’t leave my room except to shower and use the bathroom. I was livid. Enraged more than I could begin to express. I worked out however I could. I used my bed as a punching bag. What the fuck gave that bastard the right to take this decision from me? We were talking about my hypothetical kid. My choice to have one or not. My grandfather had always been impossible, but this was crossing a line he couldn’t come back from. Dying or not, that didn’t excuse what he’d done. What he was doing.
I yelled out in frustration, forcing myself to finish the set of push-ups I was currently doing. A solution seemed impossible. I’d never be able to prove any of what was happening. It’d be my word against his. Even then, what would that accomplish? I had no money for a good lawyer. And wouldn’t Charles be dead before it went to court anyway? Unless, of course, a child did make itself known. That put me right back where I was now. What, then? If Fay was the person who carried my child, my grandfather would no doubt protect her from anything that came her way, including me. Custody…impossible. Especially now that I was disinherited. What judge in their right mind, especially one that was paid off, would give a father custody when he was up against a wealthy, stable mother? Hell, would he somehow take away my rights and leave me really disassociated from the family? No. I wouldn’t think of that because Fay wasn’t going to be pregnant. And my sperm was sure as fuck not going to be used. He was bluffing. There was no way he’d stoop so low. No way.
Lie.
Standing, I used a towel to wipe the sweat from my face. I must have paced the length of the room a million times in the last few days. I was losing my mind. I wanted out. I needed something, anything but the woman who plagued my every-fucking waking moments. What was she doing, anyway? Reading again? The woman stayed glued with a book in front of her face. From sunrise to sunset, if she wasn’t trying to wheel-and-deal with Thomas on the phone to get out, it was the same thing. It pissed me off. Didn’t she have something better else to do? Didn’t she want to talk to me at all? Even the smallest amount? Even if it was to yell or call me names? Something? Anything?
There were lots of things I wanted to do to her. Things I shouldn’t. Things that were fucking with me. Who the hell lusted after someone who’d done what she had? Who fantasized that it would happen again? I had issues. Too many to count, and not enough to keep me entertained. Thoughts weren’t enough. I needed communication, her attention, even if it made her hate me even more.
I threw the towel down, heading over and grabbing clothes. The moment I entered her room…nothing. Not a glance up from the tablet she held. Not a glare. Not a ‘fuck you’, Aimon. It had me stopping feet from the bottom of her bed as I waited. And waited. And boiled. How the hell did she get technology? Why weren’t the cops here? Did she have internet?
“Great talk we had the other day. Do you plan on going along with his stupid scheme?” Silence. “Fay, I asked you a question.”
Slowly, her eyes lifted. They lowered but shot right back to me. When she swept back her hair to pull out earbuds, I rolled my eyes. Of course I’d been talking to no one.
