26. All My Fury （Ethan） #2
So much for control.
“Waste not, want not. It’s important to know every detail about the people you’re working with, and the things he found out… ouch.” He clucks his tongue. “Rather shocking, Blackthorn. I always heard you were a young punk, but driving a poor, mixed-up girl to that? ”
I grit my teeth against the wave of fury.
If all he heard was what I said to Hattie, then he probably thinks I did something more nefarious, too.
I’m sure he has all sorts of theories, but it doesn’t matter.
He has the truth—a distorted version of it, but the truth nonetheless—and that’s enough.
And I can see the new trap he’s set for me.
A conversation designed to needle them out of me, to send me into a berserker fit.
He’s fishing to see whether I’ll take the bait and defend myself.
He wants me to attack him, to lunge for his throat, and disgrace Blackthorn Holdings for good, opening the door to pull damages from the company and bankrupt me personally.
He glances at his coffee, makes a sour face, and looks back at me.
“So tell me, how’s your lovely fiancée, anyway? I’ve been hearing all kinds of sordid rumors. Was your past a little too much?” He sucks his teeth. “Can’t say I blame her.”
“Leave her out of this, Daley.”
“Or what?” he asks sardonically. “You’ll throat punch me like the overgrown, entitled, stupid Neanderthal you really are?”
My hands curl into fists, so ready to do just that—beat the hell out of him, consequences be damned.
I could kill him on the spot.
But even in death, he’d ruin me, and none of the people counting on me deserve that shit.
Blackthorn Holdings deserves a leader. A man who puts the common good first.
That may not be me, depending on what happens next, but while I still have the chance, I’m damn sure going to act like it is.
Even as I rack my brain, there’s a putrid taste in my mouth.
Gramps would make the same decision.
That’s what it means to be his grandson.
Cooper runs a hand through his bleached blond hair, letting it fall back into the same carefully arranged dishevelment.
I stare at him for an eternity, weighing my options.
None of them are fucking good.
What if he tries to drag Hattie down, too?
I can see the headlines now.
No Bookish Fairy Tale for Struggling Ex-Fiancée of Disgraced Blackthorn Heir!
That’s not the press she needs.
Fuck, if that happens, nothing will stop me from murdering this man. But his goal isn’t Hattie.
She’s a means to an end—to get to me—and that’s a bridge we can cross later. Right now, I need to defuse Cooper Daley’s bomb.
I came here with a plan. This revelation, though unpleasant, doesn’t change anything.
I lean back in my chair, steepling my fingers.
“Go ahead,” I growl.
Cooper blinks. “Go ahead and what?”
“Go tell the whole world if that’s what makes you feel better. Knock yourself out. Tell them what you think you know. Spread your ugly gossip and rumors to the moon and back.” I hold his gaze and smile.
Clearly infuriating, judging by the way his mouth curls and his cheekbones redden.
“And you’re fine with that?” he demands.
“Sure. What will hearsay prove?” I lean forward, cocking my head mockingly. “What do you really have on me? An eavesdropping waiter is hardly a smoking gun.”
For a second, he bares his teeth.
Yes, it’s a dangerous game, daring him to destroy me.
But I’m done letting the past control me when it’s cost me so much.
What happened was a tragedy, a cruel mistake, but it’s petrified to ancient history now. It’s not too late to own it on my terms.
It won’t be a slave to anyone but karma.
And it won’t cost me Hattie.
For her, I’ll suffer, even if my reputation goes to tatters.
Somehow, I don’t think it will.
Daley hoped to rattle me into an angry confession right here, served up on a silver platter. I’m sure he’s recording this conversation. He thought he could punch the right buttons and let me hang myself, but he’s going to wind up hog-tied instead.
The bell above the door jingles and I look up, just in time to see Margot storming in, still wearing the same clothes from last night. The elegant bun of her hair looks more like a haystack from what must’ve been a very rough night.
And behind her— Hattie.
My heart stalls.
She’s paler and smaller than the last time I saw her.
Her cheeks have hollowed slightly. Her collarbones stand in sharp relief above her loose pink cotton shirt with the outline of a succulent printed on it. Her hair, pinned up tight, when she normally lets those gold locks flow free.
A bitter growl rises in my throat, knowing she won’t feel as soft if I run my hand down her hip.
I caused that.
I’m the inhuman jackass who did that to her.
And if I don’t stop Cooper here, today, that could only be a prelude to what comes next.
She’s still, without doubt, the most beautiful woman to ever walk into this little café.
Buttery gold wisps of hair fall around her face. She isn’t wearing makeup, but that just highlights her vivid green eyes.
They lock with mine.
Emotions flash between us, lightning fast and incandescent, too quick for me to read them before she shuts them down again.
Then she looks back at Cooper, who turns in his chair with a frown, following my gaze.
“Blackthorn,” he says, “did you—”
Before I can move, she strikes.
Margot picks up the mug of cold coffee in front of me and throws it in his face.
“That’s for your wife, you conniving little shit,” she hisses.
Holy fuck.
“Conniving!” Hattie beams at Margot. “Nice touch.”
“I learned it from you,” Margot says.
Am I dreaming?
I don’t know, but I’m already pushing my chair back and standing to get between them.
What the hell are they doing here? Defending me?
Hattie holds her chin up high as she deliberately avoids looking at me.
Cooper regains his composure, wiping coffee off his face with a napkin as he laughs. Not like before, it comes out high-pitched and angry.
“Is this your big surprise? Having your women fight your battles, Ethan? I should have expected it, I suppose. Without the old man around, someone has to step in.” Scowling, he looks at Margot. “You’re damn lucky the coffee wasn’t hot or you’d be facing prison time.”
“Shame,” she says with a yawn.
“Your brother has enough on his plate, don’t you think? Are you trying to get arrested?”
“No, you prick. It’s a warning.” Margot bristles. “We can play just as dirty as you.”
Cooper looks at her incredulously, stone silent.
“Margot,” Hattie whispers, placing a hand on her arm, gently urging her back.
“I’m sorry she roped you into this, Miss Sage,” he says, smirking. “It must be a terrible fall, a billionaire’s fiancée one week, and a struggling bookseller the next. I can’t imagine.”
“One more word,” I snap.
Cooper looks at me defiantly.
“Say one more word about her and you’ll be shitting your own teeth for a week.” I clench my mug so hard the handle cracks in my hands.
“Ethan, Ethan, always so emotional. So quick to jump to blows.” Cooper sits back down, brushing his coffee-soaked shirt, apparently unbothered by how Margot seems ready to scratch out his eyes.
I’m a hair away from pulverizing his jaw and thousands in dental work.
“I’d say it’s your time overseas—how many of our servicemen never really reintegrate into civilian life?
—but memories run deep in Portland. Everyone remembers what a spoiled, reckless brat you were. ”
“Cooper? I have a question.” Hattie’s face flares red as she says his name, but she doesn’t look away as he turns to her. “Do you know Julia Sage?”
“Julia Sage?” Cooper frowns, the question knocking him off-balance.
“Your wife’s yoga teacher when you’re in Portland,” Hattie says brightly. Recognition flickers in Cooper’s eyes. “You’re so into history and rumors, right? Let’s just say there are plenty there.”
I don’t have a clue what she’s getting at.
But Margot jabs her pointer finger in Cooper’s face, her nail glinting like a blade.
“In case that was too subtle, let me fill you in.” Her smile is pure malice, and I’ve never loved my little sister more.
“There are a lot of stories floating around about certain star developers getting handsy with their wives’ yoga friends.
I mean, really just one developer, but holy shit it’s juicy. ”
That does it.
Daley morphs into a human tomato, deathly red, that short crop of hair on his head like blond leaves.
He lurches up with a rabid snarl.
I step in front of the girls, protecting them.
“Now who’s emotional, Daley?” I bite off, keeping my voice low so we don’t feed the baristas and other customers already watching us. “It’s not good to hold it in. Why don’t I help you let it out? Go on, I dare you.”
He wants to beat my face in, no question.
That feral spark in his eyes hides nothing—especially his outrage that it wasn’t supposed to go down like this.
It wasn’t supposed to be this hard.
I was easy pickings, weak and at my lowest.
Now? He’s face-to-face with a cornered wolverine, and this ferocious fucker is all razor teeth.
A small hand presses into my back, so unexpected I stiffen.
Hattie.
For a second, my blood heats. I forget where I am.
Then I remember.
I smile at Cooper Daley like the devil himself coming for his soul.
Their help was unexpected, but I’ve never been one to turn down a favor.
“Well?” I snap, watching his face go from tomato to Carolina reaper. “Damn shame it’s come down to this.”
“You don’t have anything on me.” His voice quivers.
“Oh, really?” Margot pipes up from behind me. “So you mean you wouldn’t mind if your wife found out? I bet she’ll be so interested in how many ladies from yoga you’ve tried to jump every time you’re in Portland.”
Cooper’s jaw tightens. Every muscle in his eye twitches.
If I wasn’t standing here, I’d think there’s a chance he might launch himself at her. Either that or go flying out the door.
Time to play the final card.
“What a mess,” I sneer. “Tell you what, Daley. To show you there are no hard feelings, I’ll let the land go. It’s yours.”