67. Fletcher
Chapter 67
Fletcher
I sent Daren after Bellamy, hoping the both of them would keep quiet and out of sight. Daren’s door had barely closed before my father threw open the front door to the house, a smirk on his face.
“You did good, son,” he said in lieu of a greeting. He wrapped me up in his arms and clapped his hands against my back, ignoring the way I went rigid beneath his touch.
“I told you I would.”
My father stepped back from the hug and nodded at me like he was proud, like ruining the lives of his enemies was the best thing I’d ever do.
“We should go celebrate.”
I swallowed, thinking of Gideon at the pool with his father and the radio silence that had ensued. “What did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking we could go to Rose Hall and share a toast in front of Gideon North.” My father grinned. “Let him know who’s in charge of things now.”
“I’m surprised you don’t just want to call in a bulldozer while they’re all asleep over there,” I said.
My father hummed a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat, probably debating the merits of my suggestion. “I’m proud of you for coming around, Fletcher.”
I swallowed thickly again, nodding and gesturing toward the front door. “Why don’t you drive?”
My father rambled on about some nonsense the entire drive across campus, and my silent phone burned a hole in my pocket the entire time. When we pulled up to the house, Luca was pacing the porch, golden eyes worried behind the frames of his gold glasses. He stopped and straightened when he saw us roll up the driveway, and I offered him a fleeting and apologetic glance before my father had a chance to open his mouth.
“Where’s North?” my father asked, brushing past Luca and not even giving him an opportunity to answer.
“He’s at the pool,” Luca said, following us into the house.
My father gave the room a disapproving onceover, then turned his attention on Luca.
“Where’s his office?” my father asked.
“The second floor,” Luca answered. “The only door.”
“We’ll wait for him there.”
Without another word, my father headed upstairs. I glanced at Luca, lowering my voice.
“Still no word?”
The footsteps overhead went silent, and Luca shook his head.
“Okay,” I said.
Gideon’s absence didn’t change what I was supposed to do. I had to have faith that he had his own father under control, and that I could take care of mine. Killing him, while an enjoyable thought, wasn’t necessarily my plan. I’d lost sleep over the prospect of it, knowing if it came down to it…
I might not have a choice.
“If he comes back, send him upstairs.”
“The door is locked,” my father shouted.
I closed my eyes and sighed. “Bellamy stole the key, Father. I’ll be right there.”
Bellamy hadn’t stolen anything. Gideon had given me a key two days before, in case of emergency. But my father didn’t need to know that. He’d find out soon enough.
“Be safe,” Luca whispered, brushing his knuckles against mine.
I nodded, the most assurance I could give him.
Climbing the stairs, I made my way to the office, finding my father pacing in front of the locked door. I swiped the fob across the lock panel, barely holding my balance as my father brushed me out of the way.
“Where did Marchant find the financials?” he asked, almost giddy.
“A false-bottomed drawer.”
He trailed his fingertips across the ornate edge of the desk, and it took all my control to not tell him I’d just had my ass in the same spot, getting stuffed full of Gideon North’s beastly cock.
“I’m glad he was worth the investment.”
I slid Gideon’s keys into my pocket. “I’ve been meaning to ask. What did Bellamy’s father get out of that deal with you?”
“What did he get out of it?” My father laughed. “Nothing. He got the honor of doing business with the Sinclairs.”
“No return?”
“It depended on how useful I found his son.”
“And?”
“And I won’t make him give me the money back,” he said.
I’d wanted more information. I wanted more of an answer for Bellamy, but it seemed the only thing he’d been offered up for was opportunity.
My father made himself at home behind Gideon’s stately desk, and I went to the other side of the room, behind the chaise lounge to the small balcony door. It was, of course, locked, but I had the key. With a quick beep, the lock disengaged and I pulled open the door, stepping onto the narrow iron balcony.
“I’m glad we’re here,” I said to him, “In Gideon’s private space.”
“This is a lesson, Fletcher.” He splayed his hands across the top of the desk. “On the importance of maintaining the upper hand.”
“You’re not wrong,” I agreed. “That’s why I want to tell you a secret.”
He arched a curious brow.
“I’m in love with Gideon North,” I said simply.
My father’s mouth twitched into a smile that quickly fell away, turning into something darker that I hadn’t seen in years. He pushed the chair back and stalked toward me, backing me against the railing with a furious glare.
“It won’t save him.”
“I think it might.”
“It will be the end of you both,” he warned.
I tried to straighten to my full height, but my father was too close, too broad, too overpowering. He always had been, and I was that scared sixteen year-old again, listening to my whole world unravel at the sound of his voice.
“It’s the end of you ,” I whispered, words trembling as they left my mouth.
“Do go on, Fletcher. Tell me what you think you’ve done.”
“Right now, Francis North is at the bottom of a pool,” I said. “His lungs are full of water, his face is blue. Gideon’s hands are wrapped around his throat.”
“One less North for me to manage,” he sneered.
“I’m glad you feel that way because it’s time for things to change.”
“What are you on about?”
“I’m doing the one thing you never could.” The words shook as they left my mouth, and my father heard it. He laughed in my face, his breath smelling like stale scotch.
If I closed my eyes too long, I could see Gideon’s teenage face when I told him Gideon North and Fletcher Sinclair were the only things we’d ever be. Neither of us understood, back then, that was enough. That was everything.
“I’m the one taking control of the North empire,” my father said. “The Angelini family?—”
“The Angelini family doesn’t want to see you in charge anymore.”
A flash of doubt on his face. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying, but you’re not listening,” I said, forcing my spine to straighten, bringing us face to face. “I have stronger allies than you. I’m the one who’s a step ahead.”
“Fucking the heir of a displaced dynasty isn’t worth shit, Fletcher.”
“I’m not fucking him; he’s fucking me.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“He fucked me on that desk,” I said, voice low. “He fucked me there after he handed over the financial records and the keys to his house. I told him I loved him and promised I wouldn’t make the same mistakes a second time.”
“The Angelinis won’t?—”
I didn’t care what he had to say or what he thought they would or would not do. I had Vince’s word, and between him and Gideon and myself…we’d decided things were going to change. We were done letting other people pull the strings.
“You’re too much work,” I said with an unimpressed shrug. “You aren’t willing to bend when flexibility is required so, in the end, you’re going to break.”
“What have you done, Fletcher?”
I didn’t need to tell him because he knew. He lunged for me, both of us limited by the small balcony, but the railing was my leverage in more ways than one. I ducked and twisted, and it was enough for my father’s hip to launch over the wrought iron railing, a tangle of roses and thorns meant to confine in the ways it always had. It wasn’t enough anymore, and with a high-pitched yell, he was on his way down.
I didn’t push him over the edge.
But I didn’t reach for him as he fell either.