Good. If she was mad, she couldn’t be thinking that there was something more between Tammy and me.
“Two million dollars,” she replied, licking her lips.
That was just around a quarter of what my investments were worth, which meant that she only knew about the Bitcoin. I didn’t give a shit about the money. If it would make her go away, I’d give her everything.
“And a kiss,” she added.
“I thought you were here for money,” I said tightly.
And then I saw her, Tammy, practically running toward the house.
No, no, fucking no.
I didn’t want her around Eliza, especially now when I wasn’t sure what the bitch knew. God, if Eliza had any clue—got any whiff—of how much Tammy meant to me, there was no telling what she would do or what lives she would ruin just for fucking fun. Because that’s what people do when they don’t know and don’t have any sort of real relationship—intimate or otherwise; they try to destroy people for fun.
“I know.” She shrugged. “I am. But you don’t know what I’ve had to go through to get it, so I’d like you to suffer a little, too—and I know losing the money won’t even bother you. Nick Frost, the man who went from Mr. High to Mr. High and Mighty and now thinks he’s above the rest of us. Well, you aren’t. And I want a kiss.”
Tammy was reaching for the door and I was out of time.
There were a thousand ways to handle the next few minutes and only one of them hurt Tammy but didn’t destroy her. In that moment, I didn’t care what happened to me, what Eliza took from me, as long as she left Tammy and Lila alone. In that moment, keeping Tammy safe and off of Eliza’s radar was more important than keeping Tammy with me.
Which is why I gripped Eliza’s face punishingly, swallowing the bile rising in my throat, and pressed my lips to hers. She closed her eyes, but I didn’t. I kept them focused on Tammy and then the door… and then Tammy as I broke her heart.
I felt it the second Eliza realized that we were no longer alone. I needed to get Tammy out of here. Right. Fucking. Now.
I’d sell my soul to get her out of here. It was the only option.
I didn’t even look at Eliza as I pushed away from her, my skin crawling all over begging for a bleach bath to get any trace of her off of me. Each step toward Tammy felt like I was walking out in front of a firing squad, except I was the one holding the gun.
“I told you I couldn’t promise you anything. You never should have come here. Lila needs her mother and her father. I owe her that,” I said, trying my damnedest to look past the way tears streaked down her face like there’d been bets placed on who would cross her jawline first.
It wasn’t enough.
I needed her to go and not look back—not hope for my fucking lost cause until I got all of this shit under control. I was a selfish bastard. I knew what a fucking mess my life was and still, I let her in—my beautiful, compassionate, strong, perfect Priss—because I didn’t want to live without her any longer. And now look what I’d done.
“And,” I rasped as two more tears slipped from her eyes, my voice sounding like it belonged to someone on death row about to get the needle, “I want Lila to have siblings; I want to have more kids.”
The words were caustic lies on my tongue. I’d never thought about siblings for Lila until Tammy came into my life. I didn’t care if the kids came from her or if we adopted. I loved seeing her with my daughter and I wanted to give her more of that. Every goddamn day. I wanted a family with her in whatever perfectly broken way it was pieced together.
Of all the shitty things I’d done in my life, the people that I’d hurt, the hearts that I’m sure I’d momentarily broken, I’d never forget the look on Tammy’s face.
She was perfect.
But she could never be mine.
Cup of Joe was dead this time on a Wednesday. And it was a good thing because Jackson could have been a navy-fucking SEAL for all I cared, I was ready to throw myself at that motherfucker for taking so fucking long to find this information.
Truthfully, I wanted to throw myself at anyone that I would lose to. I wanted to have the shit kicked out of me because maybe then I would forget the look on Tammy’s face from yesterday. Even Lila had known something was wrong and I didn’t have the strength to even fake a smile, let alone lie to her.
“Daddy’s sad because he hurt Tammy,” I explained gently to my inquiring daughter.
“Why, Daddy?” Lila asked, pulling back from me angrily.
“Because I love her.”
“Then just say you’re sorry and make it better.”
I chuckled. “It’s not that easy when you’re an adult, Princess.”
“But I want her to stay with us,” she said with a wavering voice and I saw giant, round tears forming in her light blue eyes. “I want her to be my mommy.”
I wiped my eyes because I was crying, too. “I want her to be, too, Princess. But Daddy has to fix things first. Daddy has to fix a lot of things.”
And then tiny arms wrapped around me in a hug that I didn’t deserve but would hold onto with my last breath.
“Love you, Daddy.”
“Love you, too, Princess.”
“Please bring Mammy home.”
“I’m going to do my best.”
My hand flexed at my side as I waited. It was already bruised from where I’d punched the wall yesterday after kicking Eliza out, assuring her that the funds would be in the account that she gave me by the end of the week and that I never wanted to see her fucking face ever again.
I hoped she crashed her bright red Mercedes on the way home.
I didn’t give a shit if that made me a horrible fucking person. I never pretended to be otherwise.
“Mr. Frost.”
I felt the dark scowl brew over my face hearing the massive PI’s low, raspy voice.
“What the fuck took so long?” I demanded
His eyes narrowed in annoyance at me, like I was a fly he could crush if I really provoked him to. And he probably could.
“I assumed you came to me because you wanted it done right, Mr. Frost, not done quickly,” he replied calmly. “Rushing leaves holes. It leaves you vulnerable.”
The way he spoke made it sound like rushing had made him vulnerable and he’d learned the lesson the hard way.
“So, was it done right?” I asked tightly, taking my seat again.
He sat and pulled out a folder from his bag, setting it on the table and sliding it over to me.
“I’ve found the source of both of your problems.”
I flipped open the tab and pulled out the stack of paper, scanning each page one after another, understanding and rage spiraling through me simultaneously.
“They have no money left?” I asked in astonishment, looking over the first set of papers again. “Is that really what you found?”
“Essentially, yes. Aside from the value of properties or retirement accounts and a few other assets, it looks like Stone and your mother—”
“Jane,” I corrected him sharply.
“It looks like they have spent through the inheritance and life insurance policy money that was given to your—Jane upon your father’s death. I didn’t include the specifics because at this point they don’t really matter, but from my preliminary research, it looks like it was Stone who spent most of the money. More than half of it gambled away.”
“Jesus Christ…” I swore and looked through the statements again.
They were broke. All that money. Gone.
And I had no doubt that Stone was the major culprit. Jane had liked nice things—and lots of them, but even her spending habits couldn’t have melted through that amount of cash in just a few short years.
“Does she know?” The question was out before I could stop it.
“I don’t think so.” Jackson shook his head. “At least from what I’ve determined, it doesn’t seem like it. I think he took over their finances and has kept most of his squandering hidden from her. I can
look further into it if you want, but I would keep reading first.”
My eyes flicked to him before I moved onto the second larger set of tabbed papers. This pile wasn’t just documents; there were photos, too.
Holy fuck, were there photos.
I didn’t ask Jackson any more questions. I didn’t need to. He’d found the holy fucking grail of information on Stone. On Eliza. The shock of it all almost dulled the pain that had consumed me for what I’d put Tammy through.
“Good thing I didn’t end up going with Cunninghaven Security then, huh?” I asked rhetorically, standing and closing the folder. Holding my hand out, I shook his firmly. “Looks like it’s time for me to have a little chat with a certain group of people.” I sneered as a shiver of anticipation ran up my spine.
These fuckers had no idea what was coming, but their time of toying with my life, my daughter, and now, my money, was over.
“Thank you for this,” I said with a voice that sounded way too fucking heartfelt than it should have for a business transaction, but the man had fucking saved me.
“Of course,” he said with a firm nod and the hint of a smile.
I didn’t know how he found out all of this shit—especially all the dirt on another security agency—but he did. If I didn’t think the man had secrets already, I sure as shit thought it now. Maybe one day I’d ask the giant motherfucker out for a drink and find out what his story really was.
All I knew right now was that Jackson had given me the ammunition to end the shit invisible prison of my life—to end all the ones who sought to keep me there.
And the freedom to go grovel to the one who calmed the chaos inside of me.
THE FRONT DOOR SLAMMED BEHIND me as I stalked into the main house.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do is master the chaos in yourself. I’d been thrown into the fire for so long; tonight, I was the fire.
“What the hell is the meaning of this?” Stone’s hoarse voice yelled before the echo of the door completely disappeared.
I cleared my throat. Christ, the man smelled like he bathed in tobacco-scented cologne, nauseating and deadly.
He stood at the edge of the sitting room, the steel tips of his crystal-studded cowboy boots peeking over the edge of the carpet onto the marble. A second later, Jane appeared behind him.
At least I wasn’t going to have to search them out.
For the first time in a long time, I pitied her. And I let myself indulge in the feeling because I finally saw this for what she couldn’t—a sham. Jackson had shed a new light on my mother—with all her faults—had been duped and abused that, in some ways, was worse than what Stone did to me; I was never under any impression that the fucker cared about me. She was.
“I just thought we could have a little family chat about some things,” I said casually, strolling past them and taking a seat in one of the armchairs in the sitting room. I couldn’t tell you the last time I’d sat in this room.
“Nick, what is going on?” Jane asked, wringing her hands and looking between Stone and me nervously.
“Do you want to tell her or should I?” I asked harshly, leveling a cold stare at Stone.
A deep sense of satisfaction spread over me as I saw him instantly become nervous and agitated, his thick face reddening angrily.
“What the hell are you talking about, you piece of shit?” His eyes looked like they were about to pop as he glared at me, ignoring Jane as she looked at him in confusion.
I laughed because I was actually getting a sick pleasure from this—after everything that he’d done to me. And because it made him all the angrier.
“The fact that you have no money,” I stated bluntly, all humor evaporating off of me.
“How dare you—”
“Levi, what is he talking about?” Jane gasped, her hands visibly shaking now. “What’s going on?”
“I wondered if you knew,” I began, now turning to address her. “I figured he’d tried to hide it—from everyone.” I stood again, standing just a few feet in front of him, daring him to come after me as I spoke. “Your dear husband has spent not only all of his money but all of your money, too. Aside from selling property, which you can’t since, according to Dad’s will, I’m required to sign off on any real estate sales, you are broke. Actually, worse than broke. Stone here has some substantial unpaid gambling debts.”
In my periphery, I watched as Jane reached up to cover her mouth, asking breathlessly, “Is this true? Are we really… do we really have no money? Why didn’t you say… What have you done?”
“I’m going to destroy you, boy. And that stupid brat of yours,” he growled viciously. “You just wait.”
“For what? To try and blackmail me into giving you some of my investment money?” I paused for the surprise effect. “I have records here of the security company that you paid to hack into my computer and see my accounts, that has broken numerous federal laws in order to spy on me for you. So, no, I don’t think you are going to do anything to me unless you want to spend some quality time in prison.”
“Levi,” Jane pressed. “Is what he’s saying the truth? It can’t be.”
Oh, it fucking could.
The fucker didn’t even have the decency to look at her when he answered. Instead, he leveled a vengeful and cancerous stare at me and replied, tightly, “I may have made several poor investments.”
“And the gambling?” I countered, crossing my arms over my chest in amusement.
“I didn’t realize how much I was losing at the time.”
I could see that he was itching to come at me. His fists flexed and his lip twitched like it was taking everything he had to hold back his lumbering form.
“Hmm,” I said with a smirk. “Well, not only are you not going to do anything to me, you are going to do something for me,” I said calmly. “You are going to leave here and never come back. You will not contact me for money. You will not live in any of my father’s properties. And you will never approach neither me nor Lila. Ever.”
“Oh, Nick,” my mother began to sob. “This isn’t necessary. I-I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding. I’m sure he didn’t mean to do that, right, Levi? I’m sure there is an explanation. You know y-you tend to overreact about these things.”
I gritted my teeth and let the slight barb slip off of me, chalking it up to the fact that the woman who’d never had to worry about money, was now as broke as a bat.
“And as for you,” I continued, turning to partially face my pitiful mother who stood in agonized disbelief at what was happening, “I’m giving you a choice because as much as I don’t like it, you are my mother and this fucker has used you. You can go with him and I will never think of you again; you can leave and effectively forfeit your relationship to me and Lila. Or you can divorce him and continue to stay here. Maybe I’ll even learn to forgive you one day.”
She sobbed again, looking back and forth between us. I knew what she was thinking—what was going to come out of her mouth as soon as she put a hand on Stone’s arm.
“But Nick, he’s my husband… a-and we all make mistakes… I c-can’t leave him.” She sniffled. “Please don’t do this,” she begged for him.
She had no idea. But she was about to.
The front door opened and slammed shut as Eliza’s sick, sing-song voice burned throughout the startled silence.
“Nickyy, I’m here!” she said.
Perfect timing.
I’d texted Eliza on my way home and told her that if she wanted the money, she had to come here and sign a document saying that she would never approach Lila or me again. It was complete BS, but I knew that she wanted that money and she’d sign away her soul (a lie because she didn’t actually have one) to get it.
“Come join us!” I yelled back and I saw the blood drain from Stone’s face when he realized what I was about to do.
“Jane, you’ve met Eliza,” I said coldly, ignoring Eliza’s wary expression. “And yes, Stone has made mistakes, however, I wonder
if you know that fucking Eliza is one of them?”
Immediately, Jane’s hand fell from his arm and she stepped back.
“You fucking son-of-a-bitch,” Stone raged, prowling toward me but then stopping himself.
“I wondered how you found me,” I said to Eliza. “Turns out, you’ve been sleeping with Stone for a while, living the high life in Denver off of his money—or should I say my mother’s money. When did you realize that he’s my stepfather?” I chuckled. “Doesn’t matter.”
This was a goddamn fucked-up circus—but I was the ringmaster and fuck, was I going to enjoy putting an end to this nightmare.
“So, let’s see if I’ve put all the ducks in a row here,” I said, shooting an entertained glance at Stone. “You’ve been screwing Eliza on the side for, well, it doesn’t matter. For a while. At some point, you” —I looked to Eliza—“realized that he was my stepfather and said something. At that point, you” —my gaze flicked to Stone—“realized your opportunity—your way to freedom—by bringing Eliza back here to threaten me to get what you wanted.”
He shifted uncomfortably where he stood, and I knew I had this motherfucker by the balls. And I was going to fucking squeeze.
I continued steadily, “You hired a shady PI firm to spy on me, waiting for them to find the piece of information that you could bring to my hearing to keep me under your thumb forever—and put my inheritance under your control. But what did they stumble on? An even greater and more expeditious prize: the truth about my wealth beyond what my father left. And because your debts are racking up astonishingly fast, you came up with a new plan. Simply blackmail me into giving you the money you need right now. Am I on track so far?”
The two guilty parties just stared at me in angry shock at being discovered. My mother’s hands remained covering her mouth as tears trickled down her face. She’d had no idea. No fucking clue.
“I wonder,” I continued, shooting an entertained glance at Stone. “Does she know that you’re broke? Oh, wait.” I tapped my finger on the side of my head, pretending to just remember. “She does know because they came and tried to repo her car the other day because you’ve lapsed on the past… ten payments?”
The Winter Games Page 141