Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Barrett
These fucking Russians. And now it isn’t just the Russians, but Cam’s father is involved.
It’s not that I wouldn’t put it past the man to have had some shady ties with criminals.
Hell, in my life, I’m more surprised when someone doesn’t.
But this all ties into what happened with Sami.
There’s no concrete proof that her father knew she had something so damning to him and his associates, but I’ve learned to trust my gut throughout the years.
It’s been screaming at me since Sawyer uncovered the wire transfers—something is really fucking off about William Fuller.
Sam’s death was ruled an accident, and considering her past with alcohol and drugs, it wasn’t a hard story to sell.
But what if that’s all it was? A story to cover something up.
I woke up before my girls. Usually, I’d wake Camryn with my tongue between her legs, but it was early as hell and I figured she could use the sleep. I’m a gentleman like that.
It’s been just over a week since her accident, otherwise known as the most terrifying moment of my life. I’ve never gone down on my bike, and to have the first time be with Camryn on the back? That shit shook me to my core.
Being thrown from the impact was honestly the best-case scenario.
The alternative would have been one or both of us being dragged under the bike.
That would have had a very different outcome, but the thought of what could have happened is never far from my mind.
Fuck, if it were up to me, I’d wrap both of those girls in Bubble Wrap.
Camryn probably senses that, so she hasn’t complained about me never being more than two feet from her for over a week.
We finally had our first snowfall two days ago. It’s cold as shit, but that isn’t stopping me from taking my coffee and sitting outside on our front porch. It’s quiet out here. Open. The frigid temperatures are the second-best way for me to wake up. The first being sliding into Camryn.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out. It’s a number I don’t recognize. Except for the area code.
“Hello?”
“Barrett O’Neil. This is William Fuller.”
He didn’t have to introduce himself. The second he said my name with that signature sneer in his voice, I knew exactly who was on the other end.
“Do you remember me?” he asks.
“Kind of hard to forget,” I reply.
“Because I made such an impression on you the first time we met, or because you’ve fucked both my daughters?”
I lean forward, gripping the phone in my hand. “Watch your fucking tongue, old man. I’m not a scared teenager who you can lie to and pay off to leave town.”
“It was obviously a wasted effort since Sydney ended up finding you.”
“I love it when some rich asshole’s plans fall apart. Wish it would have happened sooner.”
“You think you have a nice little setup in Shine, don’t you?
Playing Daddy with my granddaughter and sleeping with my daughter.
Do you think it makes you less of a piece of trash now that you have two Fullers living with you?
You think you can trade on my name or that it gives you some sort of importance? ”
“You’ve always thought your name gave you something it doesn’t. No one respects you, least of all the Russians you’ve been doing business with.”
William is silent for several moments on the other end, probably trying to figure out how to play this conversation.
“My daughter is going to get tired of you, you know. Camryn was always too smart for trash like you, unlike her sister. You’re nothing more than a plaything. Once she has the rest of her inheritance, she’ll be out the door so fast it will make your head spin,” he spits at me.
“It’s funny that you think you know so much about a daughter who, as far as I know, hasn’t spoken to you since coming to Shine.
Even before that, she barely tolerated your conversations.
I know exactly who Cam is, and you’re dead wrong about her.
” If there’s one thing on this planet that I am completely certain of, it’s my woman’s feelings for me.
Nothing is going to shake that foundation.
Getting her to trust me, to believe in me, was a hard win, but I did it.
And once Cam makes up her mind about someone or something, good fucking luck changing it.
“I know you didn’t call me to get an update on the family you don’t give a fuck about, so cut the bullshit, Fuller. What do you want?”
“You have something that doesn’t belong to you. And judging by your comment about the Russians, I think you know what that is.”
“You don’t know what I have or what I know.”
“Now it’s time you cut the bullshit, O’Neil.
You have the flash drive that Samantha stole from one of my associates, whom she was fucking before she died.
She had a lot of information she shouldn’t have had before her accident.
” The way he says accident immediately confirms my suspicions.
“I know she did something with it, and now I know you have it.”
“What if I do?”
“Give it back and destroy any copy you may have made, and I’ll talk to my associates about staying out of Shine.”
“Easy as that?” I ask.
“Of course. They have some personal vendetta against your club that I couldn’t care less about. Those Russians are big on ego, small on brains. This is business. There’s no place for petty feuds. Take your accident, for instance. It was poorly planned, and the execution was even sloppier.”
Rage threatens to burst from me. “You know that those assholes could have killed your daughter?” I ask with all the calmness I can muster. If he hears the emotion in my voice, then he thinks he’ll have won whatever little game he’s playing.
“After the fact, yes. Of course, any harm that came to Camryn was a simple byproduct of that messy execution. Had it been up to me, you would have been killed and Camryn would have come home—undoubtedly with my flash drive.”
“Well, unfortunately for you, I survived. Your associates hurt my woman. Any deals that I would have made with you are off the table, Fuller. And it seems you’re the one with the big ego and lack of brains if you think I’ll let that shit go.
I’m not scared of the Russians. We’ll handle them like we have any other threat to our family.
Then I’m coming after you. You should have known better than to fuck with me and mine.
Guess you’ll be learning a hard lesson that we have no problem teaching the Russians. ”
“You have no idea who you’re threatening, boy!” he yells into the phone.
I’ve gotten to him, and I’m fucking relishing in that fact.
“I know exactly who you are. Now it’s time for you to find out who I am.”
I don’t wait for a response before disconnecting the call. He confirmed everything we needed to know. We have something he wants back, and he’s getting desperate. Desperate people make mistakes and give us the opportunity that we need.
I hit Ozzy’s name in my contacts, and the phone rings twice before he answers.
“Hello?” he says sleepily.
“Got a phone call from Cam’s dad. He admitted to being in league with the Russians. We get to him, we get to them.”
“Shit. Okay. I’m calling church. Meet us at the clubhouse.”
“On my way.”
Ozzy disconnects and I walk back into the house.
Cam is still asleep when I open our bedroom door.
I sit on the bed next to her and brush the hair away from her face.
Her father was so fucking wrong about her.
It makes me realize how little he actually knows about the woman he supposedly had a hand in raising.
That man didn’t do shit for her. I’m honestly happy he didn’t have the influence over her he wrongly assumed.
If he had, she wouldn’t be the perfect and amazing woman I fell in love with.
Cam stirs and blinks her eyes open, her smile instantly warming me.
“Hey, how long have you been up?” she asks when her gaze travels over my fully clothed body. “I don’t get my morning peep show?” she asks with an adorable pout on her pink lips.
“Not today, baby. I have to head to the clubhouse for church.”
Cam sits up in bed, and my gaze instantly focuses on her nipples poking through her shirt.
Focus, Barrett.
Her brows draw together. “I didn’t know you had church today.”
“Last-minute thing. You want to get dressed and come with me?”
“Not really. I haven’t had coffee or breakfast yet, let alone a shower. I don’t want to keep you waiting.”
I don’t love the idea of leaving her here alone since I haven’t been more than an arm’s reach from her for the last several days. Plus, her father seemed to know a lot about our living arrangement, which leaves me to wonder if he knows her new address, too.
“I see those wheels turning,” she continues. “We’ll be fine for a couple hours.”
I pull my phone out and dial Danny’s number. When he answers, I tell him to be at my house in ten.
“Barrett, do you really think that’s necessary?”
“I do,” I tell her. I’m not ready to tell her about the phone call yet, not until we have a plan in place.
“Fine,” she says with a light laugh. “Go to your meeting—”
“Church,” I correct, and she rolls her eyes.
“Go to church and bring us home some coffee. I’ve been dying for one of my girlie drinks. Oh, and if there are any chocolate croissants left, grab a couple of those, too.”
My lips tip up in a small grin as I lean over to give her a soft kiss on the mouth. “Anything else?”
She purses her lips as if she’s considering something. “Not that I can think of. But I’ll let you know.”
I kiss her again, then stand. “No going anywhere without me, yeah?”
“The only place I plan on going is back to sleep.” Cam rests her head on the pillow, and I smile at my girl. A morning person she is not. At least not when I keep her up all night.
“Okay, baby. I’ll let Danny in when he gets here. I love you.”
“Love you, too. Don’t forget about the croissants,” she reminds me, her eyes already closing.