Kade (Fallen Crest #9)

1. Mason

1

MASON

M y brother and I exchanged a glance when we arrived at our father’s company, and it wasn’t a good look. No words were needed. We both knew whatever we were walking into would not be welcomed. It was midnight. Our dad’s business had morphed into a huge corporation, and his headquarters had grown with it. At this time of night, no one was here.

Logan shut his car door first, and I moved to follow, but as we hit the pavement, I took the lead. He angled himself to cover my back, literally and metaphorically. I hadn’t needed him to have my back in so long. A lot had changed in the last few weeks. I retired from the NFL and we recently moved to Fallen Crest, but me and Logan, our dynamic hadn’t changed. It never would. He was my brother. We’d been each other’s shadows our entire life.

“You feel that itch?” Logan asked once we were inside and waiting for the elevator.

I grunted, not wanting to admit it, but fuck, it was there. “Yeah,” I said gruffly, glancing over my shoulder. No one was there.

The elevator arrived. The doors opened. We stepped in, and Logan said as he hit the button for our dad’s floor, “I don’t like this.”

I nodded. I was right there with him.

The elevator began to rise, and the closer we got to the top floor, impending doom blanketed me. I didn’t want to talk. Logan must’ve felt the same because he was quiet too.

Absolute silence.

I didn’t know what we were going to find upstairs.

James sent us a text telling us to see him immediately. Our dad included the location: his office.

He’d been struggling, and before we moved back, we started visiting more often because of this. Analise died six months ago from cancer. His wife was also the mother of my wife, and the reason I’d met Samantha and fell in love with her when I did. I would have met Samantha and fallen in love with her anyway—it was inevitable—but the timing had been all about Sam’s mother. She dated my dad and decided to leave her husband.

I still remember when I first saw Sam. It was at a gas station, and she blew me away.

That had never stopped or changed. I was still blown away as she planned our daughter’s upcoming eighteenth birthday with Heather Monroe. Her best friend. They’d been laughing like school girls in the media room when I’d popped in to let her know I needed to run out to check on my dad. Sam sobered enough to give me a sharp look, the unspoken question in her eyes if I needed anything. I gave her a short shake of my head, answering without words before I took off. She’d settled back, but I knew she’d be awake and waiting for me when I got home.

She was like that. Fucking amazing.

As we approached James’s office, there was a soft glow of light coming from under the door.

Logan cast me another glance as we got to the door, but I opened it, striding inside. I wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

Once inside, I stopped and took inventory before saying anything.

The light was coming from Dad’s computer screen, but he wasn’t in front of it. He was standing at his floor-to-ceiling windows, his back turned to us as he stared out over Fallen Crest. The town had grown steadily over the last few years, becoming a vacation destination for celebrities and the wealthy.

A near-empty bottle of Jack Daniels hung from James’s hand.

He always kept himself trim, but the last few months wore on him. His hair was messed. His shirt was wrinkled. There was a defeated slump in how he stood. The proud man he used to be wasn’t in this room. I didn’t recognize this father of mine anymore.

He waved his empty hand toward the window. “Look at it. Look at that, sons.” There was a slight slur to his words.

Logan stepped up to my side with a dark look. I understood how he felt.

It wasn’t unusual for us to walk in and find our father trashed. However, after being a horrible husband and a horrible father most of our lives, when his wife had needed him during her mental health struggles, he stepped up.

He became a decent human being.

He was also a good grandfather to my kids, and to Logan’s kid. They loved their grandpa, and they’d been heartbroken when Analise passed away—another giant step, because she’d been a truly despicable parent to Samantha. When she’d committed to staying in the hospital until she was stabilized, she also changed as a person.

I wasn’t quite sure if I could say I’d gotten a father back after James changed, because I wasn’t sure I ever had one to begin with. Samantha felt the same about her mother, but in the end, they’d tried, and they were good to our kids. That was good enough for me.

“What are we doing here, James?” I took the lead, stepping forward.

Logan fell back a step, the usual shift in our dynamic showing itself in our stance, but then he growled. “Taylor’s sick and pregnant, and I left her side to be here .”

James’s head lowered, and he stood there a moment as if in contemplation before he took another long drag from the bottle. He turned to us, using the back of his hand to wipe his mouth. He was grief stricken, which I knew. I’d been prepared for that. He’d truly loved Analise, and without her in his life, he was losing himself.

I’d be the same without Sam, I was certain. But enough was enough.

“Dad,” I demanded. “Fucking tell us why we’re here. Samantha’s a wine glass away from being Ninja Sam, and if I time it right, she’s going to be glowing and happy when I get her to bed. I like seeing my wife glowing and happy.”

“I like holding my wife when she’s puking in the toilet because she’s about to give us our second kid.” Logan glared at James, his words biting.

James swallowed. I could see the usual grief in his eyes, but this felt like more. Utter destruction read on his face. He shook his head. “My grandbabies. Your babies.” A single tear slipped down the side of his face. “I’m so proud of you both. What you have become—the way you love your wives. Both of you. I know I had nothing to do with that, except to teach you what not to do, but I’m proud of you. I love you both so much.” He whispered the words, grief strangling him.

That impending doom was getting worse in my gut now.

“Dad?” My head lowered. “What’s going on?”

He blinked, as if clearing some of the grief away, and he nodded briskly. “Right. You’re taking over for me, son—both of you, but Mason, since you’re here and retired from football, I need you to take the helm.”

I met Logan’s gaze in surprise. He seemed just as shocked.

“What are you talking about?” He moved to stand at my side. His shoulder brushed mine. “Are you stepping down?”

James’s eyes flooded again with unshed tears, his hand trembling as he placed the bottle roughly on the desk. He motioned to the computer. “Everything’s in your name, Mason. I changed all the passwords to Maddy’s birthday.” He nodded to his phone. “Logan, your son’s birthday is the password on there. You can get into everything through my phone. You’ll be at the helm. Logan, you’ll be at his side. You were always joined at the hip. That’s the way to go through life.” He stopped and drew in some air, a wheezy sound rattling from his throat. “There’s no other way I can see around this, but with the change in leadership, it’ll stall them. He can’t run over you the way he can me. Not you both. With your connections. You know how to stand your ground and fight. I know you’ll do just as well in the boardroom. I know it. It’s the only way.”

“Dad.” I stepped forward again. “You don’t have to retire or step down. Just take time off. I’ll step in and run everything. The way you’re talking, this is grief clouding your thoughts.”

Suddenly, a light shone from his eyes like clouds parting, and I saw some clarity.

I started to relax until he said, “This is the only way.” He said to Logan, “You’ll need to research them. Know who exactly you’re going to be fighting but ask Monroe. He’s connected to that world. He knows their true business. He’ll know why I did this. He’ll understand. I’m so sorry, boys. I would’ve loved to hold my grandbabies as long as they would let me, but this is for the best.”

“Dad,” Logan growled. “What are you talking about? Who ?”

James lowered his head, but then he met my gaze. Seeing the level of torment in him, I felt punched in the stomach. It was worse than I thought. Way worse than I thought. His voice was raw as he said, “They’re trying to move in and take over everything. Don’t let them.”

He moved in a flash, before I could register what was in his hand.

He raised the gun and placed the barrel under his chin.

Every muscle in my body turned to ice. “DAD! NO—” I started for him.

“Monroe will know him,” he said calmly. “Kai Bennett.”

He pulled the trigger before I got to him.