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“Jack was in New York when Zoe graduated,” Thomas stated. “He was tracked to St. Barts then to Texas.”
“Very good,” Jack said, his face full of amusement.
“You targeted my daughter,” Arman growled. “Why? Tell me before I blow your head off.”
Jack tapped his finger across his lips. “Well, she has been in love with Maddox for years. I know my son. I also knew it was only a matter of time before he couldn’t keep his cock in his pants. Being told you fucked her in that greenhouse was the best news in the world. That set the entire plan into beautiful motion. I don’t think you want to blow my head off, Arman. If you attempt to do so, I’ll need to kill that beautiful daughter of yours. After I make her mine.”
I knew the rules of war, the games that were often played when two sides were brought together in conflict, pretending as if they wanted to work out a deal to prevent bloodshed. While the intelligent side of me had reminded me more than once that with a man as crazy as my father, I needed to be very careful with my actions.
But the moment he’d threatened the woman I loved once again, I’d reached a point of no return. Firing a single shot, I caughthim between the eyes, the look of shock on his face providing some level of satisfaction. The surprise at my actions expressed by my father’s men also allowed two seconds of assessing the situation before following the training I’d been put through by Jean Baptiste.
I yanked Devin down to the floor before lunging in front of both Arman and Thomas, pummeling all three of us to the floor a split second before shots were fired. I rolled, the Glock still firmly planted in both hands, firing off indiscriminately.
As the sounds of gunfire from all four of us echoed into the room, another series of images rushed into the forefront of my mind.
My mother before she’d succumbed to her addiction. Her laugh. The few times she’d read to me, promising to keep the boogeyman away. Jean Baptiste praising me, calling me his son so long ago.
The man I considered my brother during high school. Football games. Homecoming dances.
And the woman I’d vowed to protect and would now honor in love.
As the smoke cleared, I rose as if from the ashes, the moments of slow motion and muffled sounds remaining as I walked to my father’s lifeless body. As I peered down into the man’s vacant eyes, I realized that I no longer considered myself the Boogeyman.
Arman flanked my side, gripping my shoulder. “It’s over, my brother. It’s time to go home.”
Home.
I’d hated the world for thirteen years of my life, acting as if I didn’t care about anything or anyone except for my mom. Then Jean Baptiste had come into my life, a driving force in not only surviving the horrors of what I’d been through but in also learning to thrive.
Yet I’d been dead inside until Zoe had awakened my soul and my heart.
Maybe my fucking bastard of a father had done me a favor after all. He’d given me a reason to live.
I glanced at Arman, who gave me a respectful nod, before spitting on my father. It was as close to spitting on the man’s grave as I would come. The bastard didn’t deserve to have me waste another moment of my life on someone so evil.
As I turned away, I felt stronger and more alive than I had in a long time.
It was time to return to my family and maybe for the first time in years, I’d visit my mother’s grave. After all, I had a story to tell, one I knew she’d appreciate. And maybe she’d be able to give me her blessing on my upcoming marriage.
CHAPTER 28
“Familial betrayal is, to me, the most heartbreaking kind—because if you can’t trust your family to love you and protect you, who can you really trust?”
—Alexandra Bracken
Maddox
I’d read the quote somewhere a long time before, so long that it had taken me a minute to remember the person responsible for saying it. I don’t know why it felt important to repeat it over in my mind several times other than to finally put my past where it belonged.
In a coffin, the lid nailed down for all eternity.
Maybe I’d always known my birth father would exact revenge on the fact I’d survived. How many times had he told me over the years that I should never have been born, that I was worthless? And how many times had he threatened to end my life becauseI’d complained that I was hungry or when I’d tried to protect my mother with my frail body?
As I watched the heavy torrent of rain beating against the window of Arman’s office, I was reminded that the sun would shine again tomorrow. It was all about enjoying the beautiful rays after the rain had helped make the flowers and grass grow. It was one of the few things I remembered my mother telling me when I very young.
We’d lost several good men in Texas, too many of them.
I felt Arman’s presence beside me seconds later. So much had occurred since we’d left the Lone Star State. Devin had been thankful that I’d saved his life, agreeing to enter into business with the Thibodeaux family. It would increase both empires by billions eventually.
