Chapter 50
COLE
My parents’ formal dining room was too quiet. I didn’t know where the fuck my mother was, Delaney sat across from me with perfect posture, and my father headed the table, cutting his steak. He was in a good mood tonight, and that alone was enough to tell me to be cautious.
“I’ve been reviewing some paperwork,” I said. I’d never tried to talk business at a meal with him, usually choosing to sit in silence, sulking because he hated the part of my life I love the most—hockey.
He looked up, fork paused halfway to his mouth, then put the fork down and waited for me to continue.
“Real estate holdings,” I said, “because of that meeting with Benedict Ford’s lawyer.”
My father didn’t say anything. I remembered a lesson from my childhood, that silence was a weapon that could be wielded as effectively as words.
“There are several properties listed under my name,” I said, “and several listed under shell companies I don’t recognize.”
“Are you thanking me for my investment in your future?” he asked, going on the offensive, and I knew I needed not to feint but to ignore the attack.
I laughed. “I should! The buildings downtown are good investments. I just want to better understand the portfolio.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you’re taking an interest in the business.” I hated the pathetic part of me that still wanted him to think I was worth something.
“Why the transfers? Why put them in my name instead of, say, a holding company?”
His eyes narrowed slightly, but his voice stayed pleasant. “Estate planning and to reduce my tax burden.”
Bullshit. He was hiding his assets and using my name so they couldn’t be taken away, or so they didn’t lead back to him and his criminal fucking empire.
“But you’re selling them.”
My father folded his napkin, placing it on the table beside him. “I am. I adjust our family’s real estate portfolio relatively frequently. I buy and sell your mother’s property for her too. Right now, I need capital for an opportunity.”
“What opportunity?”
His eyes flicked to Delaney, and I wondered if I’d pushed too far.
She smiled brightly and said, “I’ll ask the kitchen to bring out dessert in a few minutes,” as she pushed her chair back, subtly removing herself from the conversation and giving my father and I a moment of privacy.
My father’s expression softened. “She’s a good choice for you, son.”
I nodded. On paper, Delaney was perfect. And if I weren’t in love with three people who had no desire to fit into this world, Delaney would have made a perfect partner for an ambitious son of a billionaire determined to conquer the world.
Too bad I only wanted to take my father down, play hockey, and curl up with my partners at the end of a long day.
“She’s good people,” I said finally, “unlike her father.”
My father shrugged. “It’s business, nothing more.” As if he weren’t as corrupt as Nate Hartwell. He leaned back in his chair, studying my face. “Carter Industries needs to be positioned for the future, and that requires strategic investments.”
Code for bribes and political manipulation. That was why he was selling the buildings under his own name and not Carter Industries—keeping the business clean.
“The Russian situation,” I said carefully, watching his reaction. I wasn’t supposed to know about it. “That’s related?”
His smile widened with approval. “You’ve been paying attention.”
Fuck yes, I have. To end you, Father.
“It’s a personal disagreement,” he said, his tone dismissive.
“He’s turned it into a business dispute and has spent considerable resources trying to damage Carter Industries through political channels.
” He waved his hand as if swatting a fly.
“The specifics don’t matter. What matters is containing the damage. ”
“What’s the disagreement?” I pressed.
My father’s eyes sharpened, just for a second, before his expression smoothed again. “Doesn’t matter. Tantrums have consequences, and I refuse to indulge this one. Politics is a game like any other. You just need to know the right players.”
“And do we?”
“We’re meeting with Senator Reynolds tomorrow evening. He’ll be joining us for the Marauders game. He serves on the committee that oversees FCC appointments.”
My pulse kicked up, but I kept my face neutral. Senator James Reynolds, in his third term, had a reputation for being in every wealthy donor’s pocket. I guessed that included my father.
“He’s dirty,” I observed.
My father’s smile turned genuine, and my stomach twisted. “Reynolds is practical. He understands that government serves those who fund it. In particular, he’s interested in ensuring Carter Industries maintains its position as—” He stopped and tapped his fingers on the table. “As a market leader.”
“For a price.”
My father scoffed. “Everything in this world is for sale if you’re willing to pay the price.” Something he’d repeated over and over during my childhood. I hadn’t realized how much of his business dealings I’d missed out on by spending my entire life on skates.
Dinner ended soon after that. Delaney made small talk about venues for our engagement announcement, my father responded when expected and nodded at appropriate moments, and I played the dutiful son, learning at my father’s knee.
On my way out, my father’s hand landed on my shoulder, heavy and warm. “I’m glad you’re finally seeing sense,” he said. “You’re smart, Cole. I’ve always known that. No matter what it took to bring you back into the fold, I’m glad of it.”
Delaney gently cleared her throat, saving me from responding. She was a fucking lifesaver.
I opened the car door for Delaney, only for my father’s sometimes enforcer and bodyguard, Slade, to meet me in front of my car.
Delaney met my eyes through the windshield and obviously, visibly, put in earbuds and looked at her phone.
“She’s smart,” Slade observed astutely.
“Yeah.”
“Not your girl, though.”
“Nope.”
“Something’s wrong,” he said quietly. “Your father hasn’t provisioned the account I use to pay for our…” He trailed off then smiled. “For his less savory activities.”
That was odd. I wasn’t even supposed to know about how those cash payments worked, except that Slade had taken over driving me to hockey practices as a kid, and, by necessity, he occasionally had to do business with me waiting in the back seat of his car.
“Why are you telling me this?” Slade was my father’s creature, no matter how well he’d looked after me as a kid, how many of my father’s rages he’d saved me from.
His lips twisted in the moonlight. “I remember what happened to your first girlfriend—and who did it.”
My eyes flew to his, as blank and unemotional as they’d been since the first time he’d picked me up from the floor outside my father’s office, where I’d sat crying after a beating.
Before I could respond, he walked away, leaving me standing there in the dark, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I dropped into the driver’s seat of my car. Delaney pulled out her earbuds. “I don’t want to know,” she said, shutting me down.
No, she didn’t.
After I dropped Delaney off at her hotel, I sat in my car for long moments, hands gripping the steering wheel, the leather biting into my palms.
My father was giving me exactly what I wanted—access, information, and ways to bring him down.
I should have been beyond needing his approval, needing anything from him.
But every time he praised me, told me how fucking pleased he was that I was smart, that I was part of the business, that I was finally following in his footsteps, part of my hollowed-out soul filled up.
Even with Slade telling me to fucking run, I wanted my father’s praise. The urge hit me in the car. My hands shook, and I clenched them around the wheel until my knuckles turned white. I could taste it already—the burn, the warmth spreading through my chest.
One drink.
Just one.
I could go back to my apartment, review what I’d learned, maintain the careful separation I’d build between my old life and whatever the fuck I was building with Eva, Tristan, and Alek, but I knew if I did—
Fuck!
I screamed in the car as I drove, ashamed and frustrated and craving what I couldn’t—shouldn’t—have.
Fuck this.
This was stupid, reckless, even. It wouldn’t take much for my father to figure out I didn’t spend the night in my own apartment.
I didn’t care.
I needed them like I needed a fix. More, even.
I needed Tristan’s easy affection. I needed Alek’s steady presence that never expected me to be anything other than the man I was. And most of all, I needed Eva and her quiet bravery, making me want to be the kind of man she deserved.
So, I drove to Alek’s apartment, where I knew they’d be waiting.
And I let myself have the only thing in the world I could truly call mine.