Chapter 30 #2
His nostrils flare like a dragon preparing to raze an entire city to the ground.
“Dammit, Brodie.” He stalks to a high-backed armchair.
“I hoped it wouldn’t come to this for a second time, but you leave me no choice.
You think you know my daughter. I expect you remain somewhat in love with her.
So maybe, unlike three years ago, you can answer this question correctly. What is most important to Savannah?”
I blink. They’re the exact same words he asked me before.
My answer then had been instinctive.
Me. Us. Our relationship.
We were so deeply in love, surely most important for Savannah was the same as most important for me?
But then Aiden Archer had delivered his knockout blow.
If I didn’t walk away, he’d cut Savannah off, killing her career in Arch Holdings.
Seriously. You can’t really believe Savannah would choose you over her entire future?
In one fell swoop, he ignited all the self-doubt instilled in me by my own father, hammering home just how insignificant I really was in the grand scheme of Savannah’s life.
And now here we are again.
Me once again wanting to answer his question with total conviction in mine and Savannah’s relationship. And I should be able to, right? She doesn’t even want her role in Arch Holdings anymore, so what can he possibly hold over me this time?
But unlike before, although my heart is lost to her, my eyes are wide open. However much we love each other, I know that me or our relationship is not the answer.
I take in the view—Vancouver’s high rises towering around us—and then meet Mr. Archer’s eyes dead on. “Most important to Savannah is that something good comes from the tragedy of her mother’s death.”
If he’s shocked, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he nods.
Once. “So let’s strike a deal to help her with that.
You stay here. You reveal all this to Savannah.
You continue to pursue a relationship with her.
I’ll throw the entire Vancouver fire department into chaos.
The initial step is already in place: An article written by you is ready to go to print as we speak, pulling back the veneer and revealing the true disgusting colors of our firefighting heroes.
And after that’s hit, I’ll throw my weight behind a campaign to drain the entire swamp.
If, however, you take my offer, when Savannah reveals to me in a few hours that she’s chosen a new career path, I’ll play the doting father, worried for her safety but proud of her conviction.
I’ll kill the article, and I’ll donate all the funds raised at Thursday’s gala to the city’s community fire halls, including Hall Eight.
You go, you’ll be giving Savannah the most perfect parting gift.
It’s your choice, but you have to decide now. ”
Holy fucking hell.
I don’t manage to control my hands anymore as they furiously rake their way through my hair. And then I begin pacing. The suite’s thick-pile carpet bouncing under my feet.
As ever, he’s playing the dirtiest card. Driving the hardest deal.
But something needles at me. It’s still not fully adding up.
He hates me, that much is clear. Maybe it’s a power thing.
He told me no, I ignored him, so now he’s coming at me with all his might to squash me into the dirt.
But why go to so much trouble to get rid of me?
What the hell is it about me in Savannah’s life that throws him into such an aggressive loop?
And why is her relationship with me even worse than her decision to join the force?
I grind to a halt, realizing I’ve stopped right next to the photos scattered across the velvet couch.
Scooping up a collection of the pictures, I study them closely, one by one.
Again, my pulse is unyielding against my neck.
Savannah is my everything. The brightest, most incredible light in the world.
And I can’t be responsible for dimming that light and destroying her dream.
Her father has once again given me absolutely no choice.
I turn to face the man and match his steely expression with one of my own. “Okay. I’ll walk away, but not on your terms. I don’t want your money, or job. I’ll step out of Savannah’s life and will never see her again, but I need one thing from you in return.”
“Name it.”
“The truth.” I grip the back of the sofa. “What’s really going on here?”
Aiden Archer slumps, just a fraction. It’s the weakest he’s ever appeared in front of me.
I suspect ninety-nine percent of the people he comes into contact with have never even seen him with slightly rounded shoulders.
A long pause drags out, his face passive but the tension in his jaw says his brain’s whirring as he calculates his next steps.
Eventually he sighs, his forehead pinched. “I cannot allow you to be in Savannah’s life because when I look at you, all I see is the man who chose to save Savannah over my wife.”
I home in on his expression. “What do you mean?”
He meets my gaze, his dark and finite. “Your father was the lieutenant in charge at the scene when my whole world was destroyed by a fire.”