65. Brogan
Days later, everything came full circle.
After hanging up the phone, I was now glad I’d decided to have my investigator look into Declan’s crash.
He’d wanted to brush it off as an accident because he’d lost control of his car after being chased.
It was still surreal that he was just so blasé about strangers following and chasing him everywhere.
I preferred my privacy, and I liked having control in my life, but Declan just accepted it as something that came with the territory of being famous.
At first, I thought that might’ve been the case, especially sitting at his bedside as he lay in that coma.
I’d been unsure whether or not he’d even wake up and how things would be between us once he did.
That mattered very little when it came to him living.
And with nothing more to do, I'd vowed to find the truth.
“It’s likely someone trying to get a picture to pay off their Christmas debt,” his father had solemnly joked one day.
His own parents thought it was some out-of-control paparazzi, but now that I had the truth, I felt vindicated. It brought me little pleasure because the culprit was someone much worse than I’d even thought.
The investigator had been able to track down the vehicle, and they'd questioned the driver. Granted, the asshole hadn’t wanted to give up information right away and hadn't done so willingly. It’d been forced out of him, but the name was eventually revealed.
It wasn't placed into the man's mouth or anything else, so I knew it was the truth.
The one responsible was someone I knew very well, and this time, it was someone who wouldn’t get away with what he’d done.
It was what I’d vowed to Declan last night when the text message first came in.
He’d been quiet, and at first, I’d thought he might’ve even been mad that I’d gone behind his back and questioned it after he’d told me not to.
In hindsight, I think he knew it was the best thing because even if it was a paparazzi or a crazed fan, that sort of reckless driving was dangerous to everyone involved.
Even if the accident hadn’t hurt him like it had, it could’ve had serious consequences, so it was a matter of public safety.
Now, I knew the only one that’d ever been in danger had been Declan.
That much was confirmed when I found out who the mastermind had been.
The public was safe, but the man I loved was not, and if he’d tried this time and failed, I knew the culprit would try again, which was why he needed to be stopped for good.
“You've been staring at your phone for twenty minutes, Brogan. Are you sure you want to do this? We’re talking about your father, and—”
“He's not my father.”
“I see,” he said in a tone that had me grinding my molars together. “Regardless of whether you want to claim him or not, that's exactly what he is to you.”
I finally raised my eyes from my phone screen to look at the man I loved. Even now, he was so nonchalant about everything. “He’d tried to kill you, and he very well might’ve succeeded.”
“But I'm here and I'm fine. Do you really believe he’ll try again?”
“Of course, he’ll try again.”
We’d had this conversation last night when I detailed everything I’d done to my father the day I took back control of my life and the company generations of Sinclairs lived and died for. I’d even mentioned how I’d told him I had everything about Layla in my back pocket.
“Maybe he’s learned his lesson,” Declan offered up, causing me to roll my eyes.
“I thought the chemical castration would’ve been enough to make him walk the straight and narrow from this point forward.
I thought he’d finally stay the fuck out of my life and my business, but I was wrong, and it almost cost you your life.
That night, we hadn’t even been together, yet he assumed we were because I’d never told him differently. ”
I’d never revealed that Declan and I had broken up for a short period of time, even when I’d been at Rikers and he’d visited me.
He’d been under the impression that Declan and I were together, so of course when I was released and blew him off during the holidays, he’d retaliate.
When he’d realized he couldn't fuck with me, he’d tried to take away the one person who’d meant more than anyone else in this world to me.
And he’d almost succeeded. My free hand balled into a fist, and I felt like slamming it down onto something.
I wouldn't, at least not yet. Once I got to my father's house, that might be a different story.
“We really don't have to do this.”
“Are you honestly trying to protect him?” I asked incredulously.
“The one I’m trying to protect is you, Brogan. We could just give the information to the police.”
I let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Do you really think the authorities are going to do something to the almighty Stanley Sinclair? He has a team of lawyers who’d eat those officers for lunch.
Besides, there are many within the NYPD that owe him some favors.
Hell, even the mayor does. He'll get out of this like he's gotten out of everything else.
He's never been stopped before, but he will be today.”
“So you’re going to do what? Let him know that you know and threaten him? We could just call him to do that.”
“Do you want to do this with me or not?” I asked as my voice rose a few octaves. “I’ll do this myself if you’d prefer to stay here.”
“No, that's not what I'm saying. You and I are in this together. We're in everything in this life together. I'm just saying that I hate what this is doing to you, and I don't want…” his voice trailed off.
“You don’t want what?” I asked, and when he flashed a guilty expression, I narrowed my eyes. “Just say it. You don’t want me to disassociate again.”
“Of course not, Brogan. I don't like the power this man has over you.
I also don't like seeing you in pain. Is it that terrible that I don't want you to get hurt because we know that all confronting him is going to do is hurt you.
Do you think he's going to apologize for what he's done? That he’ll promise to never do it again? He's going to taunt you… degrade you… break you. I don’t want you to give him the power to once again destroy your psyche.” I still said nothing, so he continued. “Is it really worth it?”
“I have to let him know that he won't get away with this. He may get arrested, and the charges may even get dismissed, but there will be justice one way or another.”
“I don't like the sound of that, Brogan.”
“It's ironic I'd once been arrested when I never would’ve murdered Layla. Stanley Sinclair, however, you better believe I would.”
“Brogan,” he warned as, this time, his voice rose higher.
“Don't worry because I'm not going to kill him. Besides, you're going to be there with me because we're in this together. If you still mean that, we should go.”
Declan threw his hands up in surrender. “There's nothing else I can say to make you change your mind, is there?”
“No, and you have as long as it takes me to get to the car to change yours.”
“I’m coming with you,” he assured me as he grabbed his cell phone off the table.
We left my penthouse, and it wasn't long before I reached the outskirts of the city where my father lived. I got to the gate, and surprisingly the code was the same. I would’ve thought for sure after I’d ambushed him in his home the last time that he would have changed it, but he hadn’t.
It had to be because he thought I was weak.
He thought I was easily controllable. And even after what I'd done to him, he must’ve thought I was finished.
If he thought I’d let bygones be bygones after trying to kill Declan, he was wrong.
He’d tried to hurt me once more, and this time he had the ability to do so because losing Declan would completely destroy me.
As I’d told my lover before, I couldn't breathe without him in my world.
I wouldn't live without Declan. It was one thing when we'd been broken up, and I'd been consumed with anger because I knew he was still here.
To know and have him gone from this earth while I was left languishing upon it was not something I was willing to accept.
If I let my father have his way, he’d try to take him from me again, and the next time he might even be successful.
No, he’d be dealt with today. There was no other way.
After driving through the gates, I parked out front.
Before I could put my hand on the door handle, Declan placed his hand on my knee.
“I need you to promise me something, Brogan.”
“What is it?”
When I turned to look at him, I saw concern swirling in his cerulean eyes. “Promise me you’ll not commit any crimes in this house. If I were to lose you to Rikers or somewhere worse again, I don't know what I’d do. I can't lose you a third time.”
I reached over and cupped the side of his face with my hand before leaning in and pressing my forehead to his. “I promise you, baby. I won’t do anything that’ll take me away from you.”
“I love you,” he told me.
“And I love you, so are we ready?”
He nodded, then I pulled back and got out of the car.
Declan followed me to the front door, and I decided to try the knob instead of ringing the bell.
When it opened, we stepped inside. The house was eerily quiet, but I knew my father was home.
Not only was his Bentley parked in front of the garage, but I could see a light coming from his study.
The man had no business anymore, so I didn't know exactly what he was working on.
Probably different ways to fuck up my life by taking out the man I love.
As the earlier anger returned, I entered his office without even knocking.
“What the fuck, Brogan?” My father asked and didn’t even manage to hide his displeasure as he looked over my shoulder. “What’s he doing here?”
“Are you surprised that he's here?” My father's eyes narrowed. “Probably not.”