by Sam Crescent
“You’ll never do it. You’re a fucking pussy.”
The smile was back.
Gideon didn’t know if their father had a death wish or what this was all about. Clearly, they had all underestimated Landon.
“I know where Tamsin is,” Landon said.
“What?” Jacob asked. “Where is she?”
Landon tapped his nose. “It’s a secret.”
“What the fuck, Landon? This is no time for games.”
“She’s safe wherever she is. No one can get to her, and I imagine she’ll have a lot better life than being the pussy and ass of the Savona men. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“We’re your brothers,” Jacob said. “This is not how to do things.”
“When you see the mess he’s caused, the deals he already has in place, you’ll thank me for hiding her. She needs to be kept safe. He promised her she’d be safe. I’m just making sure she is. No matter her attitude, she deserves a life away from all of this. Away from the blood, the pain.”
“I’m sorry about Sarah,” Maddox said.
The words were so surprising that even Gideon was impressed.
Silence fell in the warehouse, and he watched as Landon stared at the man he held a knife to.
“You’re sorry?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. You’ve always been so volatile. When Rick called me to tell me what had happened, I panicked. I couldn’t have you flying to England to her funeral. You wouldn’t have survived it.”
Landon stared at their father, and Gideon waited.
The blade never once faltered.
“You would have let me go to Sarah’s funeral?”
“Yes, so long as you didn’t go mad.”
Another few minutes of silence.
Gideon didn’t know what the fuck to think. He had mixed feelings. He wanted Landon to slide that knife across the bastard’s neck, to end his miserable life. The bastard had put his hands on Emma, intent on hurting her, and he didn’t want that man near his woman. Not now, not ever. He loved his brother. Killing their father was a death sentence. He didn’t want Landon to die.
Not now.
“I know the truth, Dad,” Landon said.
This made Gideon stop as the color drained out of Maddox’s face.
“You should really learn to clean your office. After dinner when you were dealing with your guests, I went in there to look for the details of the man who was accused of killing my Sarah. I found what you did.”
“What did he do?” Jacob asked.
“The man that is sitting in jail didn’t kill her. Dad organized it. Sarah was coming out of the doctor’s. She’d gotten sick, and it had been a routine checkup. She stood at the side of the road. Dad paid fifty thousand pounds for him to push her. That’s all it was. Just give her a simple push.”
“You arranged for her to be killed?” Jacob asked.
Maddox said nothing.
“Why?” Gideon asked.
“Because he needed a son to marry the youngest daughter in the Castillo family, isn’t that right, Dad? You can’t exactly make bargains and deals without someone there to push in their direction. Sarah was merely in the way.”
“What the fuck has been happening?” Jacob asked.
“His reach and pull have been greatly shifted. The once-powerful Denton name no longer has its reach. He’s grasping at everything he can. The Castillo and the Savona each own the cities that surround us. They are both powerful in their own right. Combine together within marriage, and they are a force to be reckoned with. He wants more power. More control. It would all be within his grasp. Sarah paid the price for his … desperation. She’s gone because he wanted to sell me off like he did Tamsin.”
Gideon felt a lump in his throat as he stared at his brother. Landon shouldn’t have to face this.
Not now.
Not after everything.
“I’ve got nothing. All of my happiness and love died with Sarah. I’m empty inside. I’m already dead.”
Just like that, Gideon watched as he slid the blade across their father’s throat. No emotion. No remorse.
Nothing.
Empty.
None of them made a move to stop him.
Landon moved to face their father, who struggled to breathe.
The blood was seeping out of his wounds.
“She was everything to me, and just so you could keep the Denton name moving another day, you ended her. She didn’t deserve that. I was going to marry her. Share my life with her. I loved her more than anything in the world. You think that bounty keeps you safe. I’ve got nothing left to lose. I win, old man.”
Slowly, Maddox Denton died.
When it was over, Landon got to his feet and stared at each of them. None of them were angry.
Their father had done the unspeakable. He’d killed one of their women, and he had to pay the price no matter what.
Chapter Fourteen
One month later
Landon disappeared.
Emma knew what had happened, and she also knew what Gideon had told her. Without a body, no bounty could be claimed. He and his brothers burned the warehouse to the ground, setting his body on fire after they had rid any chance of evidence, teeth crushed, nothing that could come back to them. To the outside world, Maddox had disappeared as well, escaped the hell that he’d started.
Emma looked out over the beach, taking a sip of her coffee. Gideon would be arriving any moment, and they were going to have their honeymoon.
Since Maddox’s disappearance, Jacob had taken the throne. He’d been the one in charge of making deals, of having to come up with a solution for Savona and Castillo.
Gideon worked tirelessly to make sure his brother was protected.
Owen and Wyatt became part of the close fold of Dentons. They worked to help build up what Maddox had nearly destroyed.
“You look very deep in thought there.”
She turned to see Gabriel leaning against the rail, staring at her. Her brother looked laid back, relaxed, happy almost.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” she said.
She’d rarely seen Gabriel in the last few weeks. He’d been busy with helping Jacob with the running of things.
“Why? I wanted to come and see you. This is your honeymoon, and I’ve not been able to say anything to you. I wanted to clear the air between us. I know you’ve been angry with me.”
“You abandoned us, Gabriel. We were supposed to be a team.”
“We are. I couldn’t let anything happen to you or to Owen and Wyatt. I didn’t trust Denton at all. I had to focus on them, Emma. I didn’t leave you. When Gideon made his claim, I didn’t like it. I didn’t want him hurting you anymore than you already had been. I wanted you to have a different life, but I couldn’t give it to you. I saw the way he looked at you, and then of course, I saw how you looked at him. You loved him, and I couldn’t get between that.”
“I do,” she said. She hadn’t told Gideon the truth yet. Soon, she’d tell him soon. With everything that happened with his dad, she really didn’t want to distract him. Enemies were always lurking, and seeing as they were finally getting their honeymoon, she hoped to tell him soon.
“You’re my sister, Emma. No matter what.”
“Were you plotting Maddox’s downfall?” she asked. “I know you didn’t want him in power.”
“I saw the madness he intended to do. I didn’t realize the full extent of it otherwise I would have put a stop to it. No one should have to lose their life for the needs of another.”
She thought about poor Sarah. The girl didn’t deserve to die, but she’d been nothing more than a pawn in the way for Maddox Denton.
With Tamsin gone and Maddox dead, Charlotte had gone to Europe. She wanted nothing to do with the Dentons right now.
Emma wasn’t so surprised.
Landon was the only one out of them all to know Tamsin’s whereabouts, and he’d gone, too. No one knew if he was
alive or dead.
“I’m going to leave.”
Gabriel looked past her shoulder, and she followed his gaze to see Gideon walking toward her.
She couldn’t help but smile.
Gone was the penguin suit and in its place, a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt. He looked every bit the tourist.
He moved to her side, pulling her against him, and she smiled at Gabriel.
“Trying to talk her out of being my wife?” Gideon asked.
“Not a chance. Only you can tame her. Have fun, you two. You both deserve it.”
She watched her brother go and turned to Gideon. “Is everything okay?”
“Jacob has told me to enjoy these two weeks. It’s going to be a long time before I get to have you all to myself after our honeymoon.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Savona refuses to give up Tamsin. His sons are hunting her as we speak, and to make matters worse, we can’t afford a war right now. We don’t have the numbers. Funds are at an all-time low.” He ran his hand down his face, and she saw the stress it was causing.
“I love you,” she said.
He paused and turned to look at her. “What?”
“I love you so much. There are times I don’t even know if I can stand it. I love you more than anything else in this world. You’re the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with. It scares me how much I love you. I think I knew from the moment I attacked Gabriel. To stop him from hurting you. I couldn’t let anyone hurt you.” She cupped his cheek. “I have no doubt that we’re about to face trying times. Possibly uncertain, and it’s going to get dangerous. So incredibly dangerous, but I love you. I will always love you.”
He slammed his lips down on hers, silencing her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling him so close. She had no idea love could be like this. It was the kind she used to dream about as a young girl when she didn’t think love could be bad.
“I’m never letting you go. Never.”
“Good. I don’t want you to. I love you more than anything in the world, Gideon. I belong to you.”
He took her hand, and together they walked down the beach heading toward their villa. Their honeymoon took some time to get there, but it didn’t matter. They were together, which was how it was supposed to be.
****
Landon smiled as he watched Tamsin. She wore a plain white dress, her hair pulled back with a single flower in it. For the first time in so long, she looked happy.
The moment she saw him, she tensed. He stayed leaning against the car though. She didn’t try to run from him.
She walked toward him. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey.”
“Are you here to take me back?”
“Not a chance. I wouldn’t do that to you. I got your details here. I figured I’d see you one more time before I hit the road.” He held out the envelope he’d gotten from his guy.
She took it.
“How are you finding life, Tanya? You happy?”
“I am. I’m living with a woman who owns the diner. I’ve enrolled in school here. No one knows who I am, and I get to walk home every single day. I work at the diner to help pay my keep. It’s … amazing.”
“I see the real happiness in your eyes. You’ve got to learn to be careful though, Tam. The Savonas will keep looking. They’ll breeze through this town, and if they find you before our brothers, it’ll be bad news.”
“I’m not going to be stupid. You don’t have to worry about that.” She glanced around them. They were off the beaten track, so no one could see them. “What’s going on?”
“I killed Dad.”
“You did?”
“I had no choice.”
“Why didn’t you have any choice?”
“He killed Sarah. He organized it all. Selling you was also part of his power shift, Tam. Don’t be sad for him.”
“I’m not. He changed. He wasn’t the same person we knew.”
“The only problem is, there’s a possible bounty on my head.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m not planning on ending my life. Not even close. I’m heading out. See where life takes me.” She didn’t need to know that he intended to steal the Castillo daughter. To take her, to hurt her, and to make them all pay for Sarah being taken from him.
For now, he just wanted his little baby sister to look at him with that smile that soothed him. The one that told him he wasn’t an animal.
She rushed toward him, throwing her arms around him. “Thank you so much, Landon. I’m so happy here.” She stepped away, cupping his cheek. “I hope you can in some way find the same happiness that I have.”
He didn’t say a word, watching her go instead. She held the documents close to her chest. He’d come and check in to make sure she was never hurt or wanting for anything.
His little sister would have a good life.
Of that, he was determined.
Climbing into his car, he took off, not looking back. He had plans to make.
No one would steer him away from this path.
Picking up the picture of his intended victim, he smiled. She looked so calm, so happy. Soon, he intended to take all of that away and make her life a misery.
She would serve him well.
His father had taught him everything he knew, and besides, his soul was empty now. Any kind of happiness he could have experienced was gone.
Pocketing the picture, he headed to where she’d be.
****
“If Dad finds her first you know you won’t get a chance with her,” Connor said.
Mason stared at his brothers. Connor and Reese were both staring down at their phones.
“He’s not going to find her.”
“How do you know? You saw the way he was looking at her over the dinner. Sick fuck that he is.”
“We’ll find her, and we’ll protect her. She won’t know our father’s touch.”
“How can you be so sure?” Reese asked.
“Because I’m the one in charge here. I know all of my father’s moves, and I won’t let him hurt her or any of you.” From the moment he discovered the truth of his father’s acts against young girls, he’d been fighting to take the reins. With the union with the Dentons, even at the cost of his freedom, he’d thought his time would come.
Now Tamsin was gone.
Maddox Denton was dead.
A new era in the Denton line, and Mason knew the only way for him to seize power was to take Tamsin, to make her belong to him. Of course, he didn’t want a young girl. He’d have to wait. When he found her, he would keep her in his sight and only when she was of age would he take her for himself. It was the only way to get rid of his father and to form a share of power with a Denton.
He saw the path he needed to take, and he only hoped they would all survive it.
Epilogue
One year later
“You don’t have to panic like this. We’re only going to see the baby, Gideon. It’ll be fine.”
He paced up and down the private doctor’s office. It was her first ultrasound. She cupped her stomach, feeling the large bump. The life she and Gideon had both created. Even now, she couldn’t believe they were married and expecting their first child.
“I’m restless. I just want this so bad. I’m fine.”
In the past year a lot had happened, but at the same time, nothing had changed.
Jacob and Gabriel worked together tirelessly to build up the Denton name. From what Gideon had told her, it meant working with the Savona family and having to become part of deals they hadn’t wanted in order to do business.
They were held hostage by what Maddox had created for them. They were doing the best they could, and at times it didn’t seem enough.
She saw the fear and anger in Gideon’s eyes whenever he came home.
He didn’t like the way the family was going, but they could do nothing to stop it. With Tamsin missing and L
andon gone, everything that could go wrong, had.
The money Maddox stored to pay for the bounty was still missing. She knew Jacob and Gabriel were trying to close that bounty. They didn’t want anything to happen to Landon, and they didn’t know how far Maddox’s reach was.
“Mr. and Mrs. Denton, please.”
She took hold of Gideon’s hand, and together they walked into the doctor’s room. She got up on the table and answered all the necessary questions.
“Would you like to see your baby now?” the doctor asked.
Gideon held her hand a little tighter as they both said yes. She was so nervous. Excited, happy, and completely over the moon, but a baby right now in their world wasn’t exactly welcome news for all of them. With enemies at every turn, being pregnant put her in a vulnerable position.
Still, they were here now, and as the gel touched her stomach, she held in her breath.
Seconds later, they heard the sound of their baby’s heartbeat.
She fell in love, and she saw Gideon had as well.
“Well, do you want to know the sex?”
“Yes.” They both spoke at the same time.
“You’re going to have a baby boy.”
Gideon held her close, kissing the top of her head.
“I’ll give you both some privacy.”
The doctor left, and she turned her head to Gideon.
“We’re going to be parents. Did you see him?” Tears filled her eyes as happiness consumed her. “I love you, Gideon, so much.”
“I love you too.” He took possession of her lips, and she melted against him.
Regardless of what they faced, they would do it together.
The End
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