The Rebel’s Redemption: Mershano Empire Series

by Foss, Lexi C.

  You can do this.

  My quivering soul said otherwise. However, I had no choice but to face this head-on and see what damage control could be done.

  I turned, resolved, and found Jamie’s father leaning against the wall just inside the room with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket. Curiosity mingled with some discreet emotion in his eyes as he studied me. I couldn’t quite read it, nor was I sure I wanted to.

  “Mister Mershano,” Scott said, startled. “We didn’t—”

  “I want to see him.” His abrupt words held a note of authority that sent a chill across my skin. “Where is my son?”

  I steadied my breathing and straightened my spine. “Preschool.” Something he would know if he had anything to do with Jamie’s life prior to today.

  “Where?”

  “In Acworth.” Another thing he should already know. “Where he lives.”

  “Lived,” he corrected me. “Take me to him. Now.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “He’s my son. I want to see him. You’ll take me.” He pushed off the wall with an expectant look. “Our lawyers can chat afterward.”

  Garrett walked in at that moment and tucked his phone into his pocket. “What did I say about staying in the hallway?”

  Wickedness lurked in Wyatt’s expression as he faced his lawyer. “You should know by now that I never follow your advice, G.”

  “Clearly.” Those piercing blue eyes traveled to me, then back to his client. “What did I miss?”

  “Avery just offered to take me to my son. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” Delight danced in his gaze as he grinned at me.

  Pompous prick. My fists curled as several retorts lined up on my tongue.

  “She did,” Scott said before I could voice a far more accurate response.

  “Excellent.” Garrett grinned. “Then we’re in agreement already?”

  “Not quite.” Wyatt’s intense stare captured and held mine. “I want to see my son first. Then we’ll continue our discussion.”

  My heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by that? Was the decision not set in stone? He never wanted Jamie before; why would that change now?

  Scott mentioned the possibility of visitation rights, stating they were at the discretion of the father. Did Wyatt want to discuss them?

  Garrett gripped his client by the arm and yanked him into the hallway with a “We’ll just be a minute.” The glass door slammed behind them, silencing their conversation as the two men squared off against each other.

  “That… was unexpected. But potentially a good sign, Avery. He might be willing to work with you.” Scott’s words barely registered.

  All of my attention fell to Jamie’s father as he raised one dark brow at his lawyer. Wyatt seemed both amused and bored—a contradictory reaction. Perhaps his expression just defaulted to haughty arrogance.

  His full lips moved lazily as he responded to Garrett, almost as if trained to only give smart-ass replies.

  My sister sure knew how to pick them.

  I rolled my eyes upward, chastising her in my head, when the door opened.

  “Ready when you are, sweetheart.” Wyatt’s deep voice grated on my already tired nerves.

  “Avery,” I corrected him in as polite a voice as I could manage. “Or Miss Perry, if that’s easier to say.”

  The edges of his mouth twitched. “Okay, Miss Perry. Let’s go.”

  “We’ll reconvene first thing in the morning, Scott.” Garrett pulled his phone out again and took off at a brisk pace down the hallway without a backward glance.

  Scott shuffled on his feet. “Uh, yeah. I’ll clear my schedule tomorrow, then.”

  It seemed I would be doing the same. Family always came before work, something my boss thankfully understood. Still, he wouldn’t be pleased by me rescheduling all my project calls.

  Anything to keep Jamie.

  Wyatt cocked an impatient brow. “Miss Perry.”

  “Mister Mershano,” I returned. “Sorry, did I offer to drive you as well?” I couldn’t help the sarcastic note.

  “Indeed, you did.” He sounded so sure of himself. So overconfident. And not at all like a dad.

  My brain flickered to life as I recalled Scott’s words from minutes ago.

  Unless you can prove him to be an unfit father…

  Could I accomplish that? What would it take?

  I’d have to ask Scott for clarification.

  But first, I’d take Wyatt to his son and see how they interacted. Something told me Mister Mershano didn’t have a whole lot of experience with four-year-olds.

  “All right. I’ll take you.” Not that I had a choice in the matter, but if I played along, I could observe them together and perhaps stumble onto something I could use against him.

  Because I refused to go down without a fight.

  Wyatt’s last name might intimidate Scott, but it didn’t scare me.

  And if my coward of a lawyer wasn’t up for it, then I would find someone to help me win.

  I vowed to protect Jamie with my life the moment I met him. No way would I let this overconfident prick break that promise on my behalf.

  2

  Avery

  Wyatt’s presence overwhelmed my SUV. His minty aftershave taunted my senses, as did the subtle leather aroma coming from his jacket. Being stuck on I-75 in midafternoon traffic did not help matters.

  He fiddled with his phone beside me, smirking at whatever message had dinged seconds ago. His long fingers typed something back while I fought to focus on the road.

  Not that there was much to look at. Just the rear end of a car stopped in front of me.

  Days like this made me miss rural Pennsylvania. Sure, nothing existed out there aside from farm fields and trees, but at least I could drive the speed limit.

  I tapped the steering wheel and blew out an irritated breath. This was why I refrained from going downtown during weekdays, but I couldn’t avoid this afternoon’s meeting. Had I known the outcome, however, I may have tried.

  This can’t be real.

  I refused to accept it.

  Introducing Wyatt to Jamie was one thing, but if he tried to take him tonight… My grip tightened. Not going to happen. Ever.

  “Are you always this uptight?” Wyatt asked as he pocketed his phone.

  I cut him a sideways glance. “It hasn’t exactly been a great day, Mister Mershano.” Or a great few months, for that matter.

  He remained quiet for a moment as I inched the car forward. “You’re like an older version of Jean.”

  I snorted. “She was my younger sister by five years, so I should look older. But thank you for commenting on my elderly appearance.”

  “Someone is touchy about her age,” he teased softly. “I didn’t mean it as an insult. I just meant that you look very much like her, only more mature.”

  I almost replied that Jean would resemble me in a few more years but caught myself before the words could escape. Because they weren’t true. She would never catch up to me in age. She’s dead.

  My nails bit into the leather of the steering wheel as I forced the tears to back off.

  Crying fixed nothing—a phrase I repeated numerous times over the last few months. I had to be strong for Jamie.

  “You might look like her, but you’re clearly nothing alike.” Wyatt sounded far too amused, which only irritated me more.

  “Oh? And what makes you say that?” I regretted the words the second they came out, but I couldn’t take them back fast enough.

  “Well, for one, she’d have offered to suck my cock by now. And secondly, you’re far more high-strung than she ever was.”

  My mouth parted on a response that didn’t exist. How did one reply to that? The cock-sucking comment? Uh, no. I so did not want to even think about what—

  My eyes went to his crotch of their own accord. I quickly forced my stare back to the road ahead. No. And as to the other statement, well…

  “Jean lived a carefree existence. M
eanwhile, I grew up and handled everything. Including raising your son since neither of you could bother to be there for him.” My voice came out softer than I intended, but talking about my sister hurt.

  We had our differences, but I still loved her. And although I knew logically there was nothing I could have done to save her, blame sat heavily on my shoulders.

  Maybe if I’d tried just a little harder, she wouldn’t have overdosed.

  Maybe if I had forced her into rehab, she wouldn’t have died.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried not to ram into the bumper of the guy in front of me as traffic started to move again.

  The stages of grief sucked.

  I spent so much time being angry and frustrated with Jean and not nearly enough time helping her. But Jamie had been my primary concern. Such an innocent life—he didn’t deserve to be pulled down because of his parents’ lack of involvement.

  I chose between them…

  “Raising my son,” Wyatt repeated, a touch of curiosity lining his voice. “While Jean did what?”

  “Great question.” Because I didn’t know half the time, and if I’d paid more attention, then—

  “No, I meant that. What was Jean doing if she wasn’t raising Jamie?” The hint of authority in his tone said so much about him. Wyatt Mershano led a privileged life where everyone conceded to his every demand.

  And given our situation, I fell right into the same category.

  If I wanted any chance of keeping Jamie, I had to play nice. Even if it rankled my nerves.

  “Jean, when she came home, typically only stayed a few hours, maybe a night. She worked odd jobs, which I thought was part of her bizarre schedule. But her death showed me a whole new side of her that I didn’t know existed.” The party world she resided in that she never mentioned. The one that addicted her to opioids.

  I flinched as I always did when I considered her secret life.

  How could I have been so blind?

  She’d always been erratic and unpredictable, but I should have seen the signs. Instead, I chalked up her behavior to her being typical old Jean. She favored danger at a young age, frequently accepting dares first or coming up with a few dangerous challenges of her own. My parents called her the wild child, while I was the straight-A student with a big future.

  Until Jamie.

  I would never regret my decision to leave graduate school for him. Ever.

  “Odd jobs.” Wyatt didn’t appear to approve of the term. “She worked?”

  “She had to help pay for Jamie somehow,” I pointed out. Which piqued a few inquiries of my own. “You clearly come from means, Mister Mershano. Why didn’t you help her financially? Give her a place to stay? Or, I don’t know, take care of your son? Why now?” I bit my lip to keep from throwing additional words at him because the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.

  Would Jean’s life have been different if he’d stepped up and taken care of her and Jamie?

  And why did he decide to show up now?

  “Very interesting questions that have me wondering if you know anything at all” was his reply. “Tell me, what preschool have you enrolled Jamie in?”

  I growled the name at him and added, “Something you would know if you bothered to be involved before today.”

  His amusement radiated through the SUV. “Very different from your sister, indeed.”

  I rolled my eyes and maneuvered toward our exit. The back roads would still be littered with cars but not nearly as bad as the highway.

  “What do you do for a living, Avery?”

  “What do you do for a living, Wyatt?” I countered.

  “My family owns a multibillion-dollar hotel chain. What do you think I do?”

  “Impregnate women and disappear on them?” I suggested, unable to help myself.

  He snorted. “You can do better than that, sweetheart. And Jean would be the only one I’ve ever made that mistake with.”

  I bristled at his word choice. Mistake. And yet, here he was, trying to claim that mistake as his own. Unbelievable.

  And you’re driving him to meet Jamie.

  God, how was I going to introduce them? Jamie, here’s the father who abandoned you and wants you back now that Momma Jean is dead?

  Fuck. I ran my hand over my face as I waited for the red light to change.

  I missed the days when being late to pick up Jamie was my biggest concern.

  I missed wine.

  I missed being able to breathe.

  My chest ached as I turned right. Hot and cold lined my veins, sending spasms of panic down my limbs. But I had to remain calm. For Jamie.

  Everything I did was for that little boy.

  “Where will you take him?” I whispered, my voice heavy with emotions I couldn’t hide. “I don’t even know where you live.”

  “We’ll discuss it after I see him.”

  “That’s not good enough for me.”

  “Well, it’ll have to be.” His tone brooked no argument and further sliced my heart open. I pulled the car off into a random parking lot, killed the engine, and stared blankly out the window.

  “No.” One word. A single syllable. Flat. And yet underlined in pain. My pain.

  I took a steadying breath and turned to face him. Smoldering brown eyes captured mine, set in the face of a handsome man used to controlling everyone around him. The confidence practically radiated from him, as did the underlying hint of wickedness.

  He liked to play.

  I’d met men like him dozens of times, perhaps not as well-off but just as cocky and otherwise devious.

  My sister’s type of man.

  Not mine.

  My backbone settled, strengthening the words I needed to say, as I threw all sense of caution to the wind. Because when it came to Jamie, reason no longer mattered.

  “I don’t care who you are, or how much money you have, or who you think you are to Jamie; I will not take you to him until you tell me your plans for him. At least for tonight. Because I have to be the one to explain to him why, after four years of loving and protecting him from every hurt in the world, I have to release him to a complete stranger. You can at least give me this after demanding I give up the most treasured being in my life to you.”

  His dark irises dropped to my lips, lower, then returned to my face and flared with obvious irritation. “At no point did I demand you give him up. I merely requested you take me to see him, after which we will continue the discussion.”

  “Your lawyer said—”

  “Garrett does not speak for me, Miss Perry,” he interjected coolly. “I own all of my decisions, this one included, and I cannot arrive at a proper course of action until I have seen Jamie. But I can assure you, I have no intention of taking him anywhere tonight. I merely wish to see him, which the law clearly grants me the right to do.”

  The intensity in his features had me sitting back in my seat, stunned. Gone was the arrogance, and in its place, determination and conviction.

  But it was his words that shocked me most of all.

  I have no intention of taking him anywhere tonight.

  He could never know how those words relieved me. Temporary, yes, but part of me feared he intended to rip Jamie from my arms the moment we arrived and leave without a backward glance. Not that he had a car to drive off in, but the nightmare remained.

  I lowered my forehead to the steering wheel and battled for control.

  Funeral planning took so much out of me, mostly because I kept having to explain to Jamie over and over that Jean would not be coming home. So many mornings, he asked me when she would be done playing with the angels and return to him. And every time, I had to explain again that death was permanent.

  All the unending paperwork, the long meetings with the lawyer, making up work through all hours of the night… I was exhausted. With no family to help, it all fell on me, and I couldn’t show any weakness around Jamie. He needed me to smile, to foster his childhood, and to hide all the darkn
ess.

  But I couldn’t hide this. Not the very real possibility that he could be taken away from me.

  Even if Wyatt said it wouldn’t happen immediately, the word eventually hung between us. Unless I could prove him to be an unfit father. Surely four years of not providing any assistance for Jamie qualified? Especially when he clearly had the means.

  Too much, my heart cried. Too much.

  But I couldn’t break.

  Not here.

  Not with this stranger, this man who threatened everything.

  I had to keep going and find a way to fix this.

  There had to be a way to fight him.

  I couldn’t give up.

  For Jamie.

  3

  Wyatt

  I refused to console Avery or say another word.

  She’s another version of Jean. Just a more attractive, slightly older version.

  But the motives had to be the same.

  Fuck my life.

  I never wished anyone dead, but I wouldn’t mourn Jean, either.

  All the lies and deceit… and the endless blackmail. I wouldn’t miss it or her.

  Avery straightened beside me, her expression one of resolve. She’d avoided my question about her job because she probably didn’t have one. And without permanent guardianship of my son, she couldn’t force a dime out of me. Which was no doubt the purpose of going behind my back to claim legal custody. Then she could require child support. Too bad for her, she stood no chance of accomplishing that.

  Still, she put on quite the emotional show. I almost believed she knew nothing about my financial arrangement with Jean. This SUV certainly added to her charade. With the amount of money I sent her sister every quarter, they both could have afforded much better cars than this outdated model.

  “Okay,” Avery whispered. She cleared her throat. “Okay, I’ll take you to see him. But let me introduce you.”

  “Sure.” Why not? He was four. How difficult could it be?

  Except I knew all too well how much a four-year-old could remember.

  No. This was different. Avery isn’t his mom.

  She restarted the car and pulled off onto a side street that led into a residential area. I observed in silence, confused by our direction. When she pulled into a driveway, I glanced at her. “This is Jamie’s preschool?”