Chapter Twenty
WARREN
I tap my fingers impatiently on the table, my eyes fixed on the gate where the prisoners are currently lining up.
I’d left the office in a hurry, so Leoni couldn’t question me, seeing as she’s in charge of my diary. I don’t want to lie to her, but the more I think about explaining everything, the more I realise I can’t. If she knew it all, she’d run a mile.
The gate slides open, a buzzer sounding as prisoners start filling the room, each rushing to a different table.
A large man sits before me, his dark eyes burning into me with such hate that I almost smile. This is a man who’s seen too much and knows what my family is capable of.
“He knows,” is the only thing he says. A statement, not a question.
I give a slight nod.
“And that’s why you’re screwing her?”
“He wants you to suffer,” I say. “To watch while he rips your family apart.”
“And then he’ll kill me?”
I shrug. “I don’t know the ending. He’s playing his cards close to his chest.”
He shakes his head, his hands clasped tightly in front of him. “Of course that’s the ending. I know him better than anyone.”
“You were fucking his wife,” I say, my tone laced with disgust. “My mother.”
His eyes flash with anger. “He treated her like shit. She deserved better.”
I laugh. “And that was you? A run around. A low life scumbag. A nark.”
This time, he grins. “Looks like you have me all figured out.”
“Look,” I say firmly, leaning closer. “I don’t give a shit about you. Or what happens in the end. All I care about is her. And right now, because of you, she’s in danger.”
“And you’re here so I don’t blow whatever fairy tale you’re selling her?”
“Warning her off me, will leave her exposed to my father, and worse, to Erik.”
His face falters, a subtle inhale, like the name strikes something inside him. “What?” I ask, my eyes narrowing.
“Erik,” he repeats, his eyes shifting to avoid me. “He’s my son.”
I stare open-mouthed, the chatter in the room fading as my eyes burn into him. That can’t be right. That would mean their affair was…
“You’re lying,” I hiss. Because if that were true, if Erik is my half-brother, that means Isaac was…
“I loved her,” he almost whispers. “No matter what he tells you. What lies you’ve been conditioned to believe.
She was a good woman. Strong. Independent and a fantastic mother.
And he made her small. Made her conform until she was broken.
The day she decided to leave him, was like a light coming back on.
She’d saved money, she’d found a place to live, and she was going to take you both. ”
“Lies,” I snap.
“And he wouldn’t let her. As far as he was concerned, she was his and there was no way in hell he’d let her take his little foot-soldiers. His weapons in the making.”
My jaw clenches in anger.
“He knew she was seeing someone. He’d suspected for years. But as long as she stayed, he didn’t care. So when she told him she was out, he went to town.”
I stare down at the table, my eyes tracing the words carved into it. I remember the fights. The anger. The way she’d drive him insane with jealousy. And the way she cried. The way her eyes were always swollen from tears.
I take a breath and straighten my shoulders.
“Does he know?” I ask. “About Erik?”
“Maybe. That could be how he’s found out about me and her.”
I think back to a few months ago, before my father hired Leoni. “He had blood tests done,” I mutter, more to myself. “Erik was ill, he went private for treatment and blood tests were routine.”
Mick nods. “Then he knows.”
“That’s when he stepped up his plan,” I add. “Hired Leoni.”
“Took out Isaac?”
The question hangs between us, but I know better than to confirm what he already knows.
“Do you love her?” he eventually asks. I stare blankly, and he sighs.
“We do things for love that we wouldn’t normally,” he continues.
“I watched Elena suffer for years. I watched Nico raise my boy. I have so many regrets I can’t take back.
If you love her, set her free. Walk away before your plan touches her.
We both know once this life taints her, she’s as good as dead anyway. ”
I rise slowly, deliberately, letting the silence stretch. Then I lean in, close enough that my mouth brushes his ear.
“You almost killed your wife with your own hands,” I say carefully. “So don’t give me advice on how to treat a woman.”
I straighten, adjusting the cufflinks on my sleeves, precise, unhurried, like this conversation is already finished.
“Now,” I add quietly, “leave Leoni alone. No urgent calls. No visiting.” I pause, just long enough for the silence to become uncomfortable. “And she cannot know about Erik. Or it’s not my father you’ll need to worry about.”
I slide into the car and lean my head back against the leather, letting out a slow breath that doesn’t come close to steadying me.
Anthony pulls away from the curb. “How did it go?”
“He got the message.”
“Did he give us anything else?”
I hesitate. Just long enough to know my words will change everything and nothing, all at once. “He’s Erik’s father.”
The car doesn’t slow, but Anthony’s eyes flick up to the mirror, sharp. “Say that again.”
“I think that’s how my father connected the dots,” I say quietly. “Remember the blood tests Erik had done a few months back?”
“Holy shit.”
Silence drops heavy between us, the engine the only thing filling the void, before he asks, “Does Erik know?”
I shake my head. “No.”
I scrub a hand down my face. “You realise what this means, right?”
“That when Erik finds out, he’s going to lose his mind.”
“That Erik killed his half-brother,” I correct. “He killed Isaac. On my father’s orders.”
Anthony exhales slowly. “Jesus.”
“And Nico knew,” I add. “He knew exactly what he was doing when he gave that order. And when he instructed him to go after Leoni.”
I breeze into the office to find Leoni mopping up coffee from the floor by her desk. I eye her warily before going straight to my office and slamming the door.
A minute passes before she tentatively opens it and pokes her head in. “You okay?”
“What’s my next meeting?” I ask, irritation lacing my words even though she doesn’t deserve it.
“Your father had me clear your schedule for the day.”
My eyes snap to hers. “Why?”
She scoffs, “Do you think he tells me that information?”
“And you didn’t think to question him?” I snap, pushing to my feet.
“Sometimes, Warren Baxter, you can be a real dick,” she mutters.
“Get in here,” I bellow, loud enough that a few heads from the other offices turn our way.
She steps inside, slamming the door closed. “In this building, I am your boss,” I yell.
Her eyes burn with anger. “Understood,” she spits, folding her arms.
Rage suddenly switches to desire. “Close the blinds,” I mutter, sitting back in my chair.
She hesitates before reaching for the first cord and closing it. She moves around the room painfully slow and then turns to me.
“Lock the door.”
She does it, her cheeks beginning to flush red as she realises what I’m about to do.
“Now get on your knees,” I order, unfastening my belt. “And crawl to me.”
LEONI
A smile tugs at my lips as I think back to our lunchtime encounter, tapping my pen against the notepad in front of me.
Warren left half an hour ago for some mystery meeting with his father, but he hadn’t looked nearly as angry when he’d gone. I snort softly to myself. Maybe bending me over his desk had been the stress relief he needed.
“What’s got you so happy?”
My head snaps up at Erik’s voice, as he strides into the office carrying a box. He places it squarely on my desk.
“A delivery for you.”
“A delivery?” I lean closer. There’s no name, no address, just discreet branding that screams expensive.
“From your boss,” he adds with a smirk. “He asked me to give it to you, then take you to him.”
I frown. “He went to a meeting with your father.”
“It’s wrapping up,” Erik says. “He’s taking you to dinner.”
“Usually he’d send Anthony—”
“Anthony’s driving him.” His tone sharpens. “Look, are you going to put the damn dress on or not? Because if you’re not, I’ve got better things to be doing.”
I flinch at the sudden edge in his voice but lift the box carefully anyway.
He holds up a bag. “Shoes.”
I head to the bathroom and change quickly, staring at my reflection once I’m done.
I look pretty. The dark blue silk skims my body perfectly, soft and expensive, and nothing like the clothes I usually wear. I smooth my hands over it, my heart fluttering.
When I step back out, Erik hooks his arm toward me. I hesitate, then take it. The heels are far higher than I’m used to, and the last thing I need is to embarrass myself by faceplanting in front of him.
We drive in silence for twenty minutes before he turns onto a private road. It winds through tall trees, opening out onto a large country-style building set back from the drive.
Erik pulls to a stop.
A man in a dark suit opens my door while the valet takes Erik’s keys.
“You’re coming inside?” I ask as he offers his arm again.
“It’s a…” He pauses, choosing his words. “A party of sorts. A celebration. My father insisted you come.”
My heart thuds harder in my chest. “And Warren knows I’m coming, right?”
“I assume so,” he says with a shrug as we climb the steps.
I stop abruptly. He sighs, rolling his eyes.
“I should call him,” I mutter.
Erik smirks. “He really has you fooled, doesn’t he?”
“What?”
“Do you need his permission to attend an event my father invited you to?”
“I—no, I just…” My words tangle. “It’s just—”
“Maybe Warren doesn’t know you’re here,” Erik says lightly. “Maybe this is something you need to see for yourself.”
“I’m calling him,” I say firmly, digging into the silk bag that came with the dress.
Before I can find it, Erik reaches into his pocket and lifts my phone, holding it up just out of reach.
“He’s been calling you non-stop since we left the office.”
My pulse spikes. “Why do you have my phone?”
“I think your bodyguard tipped him off.”
I frown. “Bodyguard?”