37. Lincoln
37
LINCOLN
“I’m sorry to bother you,” Nina said across the line. “I know you’ve got a lot going on.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m not available if you need me,” I said, stepping into the small garden in front of The Collective. It was clear that an artist had designed it. The narrow stone pathway formed an intricate design as flowers sprouted all around, leading to a mosaic bench in the center.
“It’s your dad.”
I stiffened, my hand tightening around my phone. “Is he going for another of our potentials?”
We’d locked down information even more after what had happened with Ice Edge, but it sometimes felt like my father had eyes everywhere.
“Not anyone we’re considering.” Nina paused. “I’m pretty sure he’s going after the Sparks.”
Everything in me stilled. My father hated that I owned a hockey team. Just like he hated that I’d played the sport in high school. It was beneath him. If I wanted to play a sport, he expected it to be from his list of approved endeavors. Tennis. Golf. He might’ve even been okay with lacrosse.
He said the violence of the game was beneath our station. But at least that was honest. Philip Pierce’s violence was far more deceptive—a true snake in the grass. He would simply place the dominoes strategically and watch them fall. Just like he had with my mom.
“What do you know?” My voice was so tight I barely recognized it.
“I’m sorry, Linc,” Nina said softly.
Her gentleness made it worse, but I battled not to bite her head off. “Not your fault. Just tell me.”
She knew I needed her to rip off the Band-Aid. In a flash, she slipped into unemotional territory, her business mode activating. “I’ve gotten word from three different sources that your father is having some careful conversations with strategically placed individuals.”
“Who?” I ground out.
“I’ve received confirmation of three specifics. Still working on the rest. Brent Lucie in substance testing. Carl Owens on the Board of Governors for the league. And Ewen Maxwell.”
It got worse and worse with each name. Brent being up our asses with testing would be annoying, but I trusted my guys to play it clean. We made it clear there’d be no tolerance for anything less.
Carl was concerning because they could open an investigation if they had falsified proof that I was mishandling the team in some way. But Ewen was a knife to the back. He was one of the longest-standing members of the Sparks’ board of directors. As far as I knew, we had a good relationship. He wanted to play things a little safer, but we usually met in the middle.
The fact that he hadn’t shared that my father had contacted him was a betrayal. And it could be more. The start of a move to oust me as the team’s owner. Because it was impossible to lead a team if no one believed in your leadership.
“I want a full list,” I clipped into the phone. “And then I want to talk strategy. ”
“It might be time to go on the offensive. If you don’t fight back, he’ll never stop,” Nina said quietly.
It was like a playground bully who wanted you to run or fight back. I kept thinking the best course of action was to simply ignore him, but maybe I was wrong. “I need to think about it. Give me a day or two.”
The best business decisions were never made in the heat of anger or excitement, and they sure as hell weren’t made with ego in mind. But the Sparks? That was my favorite company. Because it was so much more. It was a brotherhood. And I hated my father even more for trying to ruin that.
“Okay,” Nina said. “I’ll get to work.”
“Thank you.” I hung up before she could ask if I was okay because I didn’t want to lie to my partner and friend. Instead, I shoved my phone into my pocket and raked a hand through my hair, tugging hard on the strands.
“That bad?”
I turned at the sound of Arden’s voice, all smoky care. “Hey. You okay?”
She made a tsking noise. “You first.”
“It’s nothing?—”
“Linc. You really wanna do this? Then it’s give and take. Both of us.”
“You just fired your friend?—”
“And I can hold that and whatever you’re about to tell me.”
I sighed and pulled her into me, inhaling the scent of fresh cherries and letting it wash away the taint of my father. “We think my dad’s making a play for the Sparks.”
Arden reeled back, pulling herself from my hold and taking that scent of cherries with her. “What?”
I nodded. “Laying the groundwork in a variety of ways, just like he always does.”
Arden’s brows furrowed. “He’s done this before?”
I lowered myself to the mosaic bench, dropping my head and pinching the bridge of my nose. I didn’t know how to explain it. Even coming from someone who’d lived through it all, it sounded unhinged.
The scent of cherries returned as Arden sat, moving in close. She stroked a hand across my back in soothing circles, the kind of comfort I hadn’t gotten in well over a decade. “I’m here.”
Such a gentle promise. But grounded, too. Just like Arden.
“My father has a need for dominance in all things.”
Arden didn’t say a word, just kept up those circles.
“With every hobby I had as a child, he had to show he was better or that the activity was dumb. Everything from building model rockets to playing piano.” Countless memories swirled in my mind. Him accusing my mom of coddling me when she praised a painting I’d brought her. Stepping in during a piano lesson to show me how it was really done . I hadn’t even realized that I’d started hiding the things I loved most from him in self-preservation.
“As I got older and saw who he really was, I pulled away,” I went on.
“I bet he didn’t like that.”
My lips twitched. “No.” My fingers gripped my knees, digging in. “My first serious relationship my sophomore year of college, I got an envelope by courier two weeks before we were supposed to move in together. Photos of him fucking her.”
Arden sucked in a breath. “Linc.”
“He always wants to take everything I care about. Won’t be happy until I come home and toe the line. Let him control every last thing in my life.”
“And that’s what he does to Ellie, too, isn’t it?” Arden asked softly.
I nodded, misery sweeping over me. “It’s a little less overt with her. More strategic. But he knows I already know exactly who he is. So, he doesn’t hide it. I think he actually gets a thrill out of me knowing.”
Arden took my hand, lifted it from my knee, and slid one of hers beneath it while covering it with the other. “It sounds like he’s sick.”
I was sure he was. People didn’t become that way in a vacuum. Maybe it was how my grandfather had been with him. But I wasn’t sure the reason mattered anymore .
“Sometimes it feels like it’ll never end. I keep thinking if I ignore him long enough, he’ll just…stop and let me live my life. But it never ends.”
Arden’s fingers tightened on mine. “Think he’d accept my challenge for a jujitsu match?”
That startled a laugh out of me. “Gonna take him down for me?”
“Oh, I’d love to. Maybe go for a nice castration at the end.”
My fingers curled, pulling our hands even tighter together. “Love you, Vicious.”
A flash of panic flared in her eyes, but she fought it back. “I talk about castrating your father, and you tell me you love me?”
“Well, you do say the sweetest things.”
Arden let out a soft laugh before sobering. “What can I do?”
“I don’t think there is anything to do until I have more information.”
“You’ll fight it, though?” she asked, and I didn’t miss the hint of hope in her voice.
“I’ll fight it. I just don’t want to stoop to his level in the process.”
“Hey.” Arden pulled our hands toward her, my attention along with them. “You won’t. You just need to remember that fighting him doesn’t mean you have to play his game. Just like a match. You don’t let your opponent force you into their game, you keep playing your own. But that doesn’t mean you don’t fight back.”
“You’re wise, you know that?”
She leaned in, her lips brushing mine. “Damn straight. And I can’t wait to watch you kick his ass.”
I barked out a laugh. “My vicious girl.”
Arden stood, pulling me with her. Not that it was much of a battle; I’d go anywhere with her. “Come on, Cowboy,” she said, a smile playing on her face. “I’m taking you somewhere.”