by Tijan
“There was no piece of paper.”
Matthew was standing in the doorway. His torn eyes held mine before he pinched at his forehead as if combatting a headache. “You weren’t supposed to hear us. You weren’t supposed to hear any of that.”
Abby jerked out of her chair.
Finn did, too, his hands in the air. “You should leave, brother.”
I didn’t think that was a good idea. Matthew had answers. I wanted them, and for once, I wasn’t leaving until I got them. He owed me that much.
Matthew only gave Finn a scornful look, his lips pressing together a moment before he straightened from the doorframe. He had his suit jacket thrown over one shoulder, but as he moved, he pulled it forward and folded it over one of his arms. “You’re all right. I should leave, but you don’t know the truth. Any of it.”
He produced a folder of papers and tossed it on the desk in front of me.
He pointed at them, walking toward the windows, but he only turned his back to the window. He faced us. “Those were the papers I was going to ask you to sign, Morgan.”
I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed them, and then thrust my arm toward Finn. “Lighter.”
He handed it over, glaring at Matthew the whole time.
I had the papers on fire within a few seconds, and I walked around the desk, taking them into the bathroom. I held the file as long as I could before letting them fall into the toilet. The fire was immediately snuffed out. A column of white smoke filled the room, and I went back to the office.
The smoke was drifting in there as well.
I met Matthew’s gaze. “You have my answer.”
He was watching me, and I swore I saw a fleeting grin tug at the corner of his mouth. He nodded before asking, “Did you have fun hanging out in the barn earlier?”
“You knew?”
He gestured to Finn. “When your boy toy had Finn take all the cameras down, they missed some. I still have two up, the entrance and exit of the barn.”
“But—” My mind was racing.
Abby and Finn didn’t know what else was said at that meeting. They didn’t know most of it.
Matthew sighed, pointing to the bathroom. “I never snuck in an extra piece of paper where you would’ve signed your rights away to the land. He thinks I did because that is what he wants.” He gestured to the bathroom. “You just set fire to the movie crew’s amended contract for when they come back to finish filming the movie.”
“Oh.” Abby cocked her head to the side. “Didn’t see that coming.”
Finn winced. “What are you saying?”
“Dad thinks the movie’s a ploy, a way to showcase our land to a very select clientele that would want to buy it. He doesn’t want any general buyer. He wants the best buyer he can get.” Matthew looked at me. “I found a recording at the main office in New York.” His eyes grew hooded, but I caught a flash of sympathy. “I know what he did.” So did I. “I know what happened that day.”
I looked down.
No one knew.
Matthew continued, “He doesn’t know I know about the recording, but then he started pitching plans on how to sell the land to the best buyer.” His voice broke into a whisper, “I couldn’t let him hurt you again.”
“Say what?”
I looked up. Finn was skirting between Matthew and me, his eyebrows arched high. “What is going on here? I’m not following any of this.”
Matthew paid him no attention. “The movie idea was mine. I told him it’d get the land publicity that we couldn’t buy, and that we could trick you into signing papers that you’d never question. I told him I could get you to sign your home away.” His voice grew thick again. “I’m sorry, Morgan. For everything.” He reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a small device. He tossed it onto the desk.
Finn gripped the back of his neck. “What the hell is that?”
“A listening device.” Matthew regarded his brother for the first time. “I’ve been working with the FBI to help build a case against our father.”
Abby could only gape at the device. “I’m not understanding any of this. Matt.” Her bottom lip started trembling. “What is going on?”
I stood. It was my turn. “Your father sent my father here.” And I waited.
Silence.
No one moved. No one made a sound.
And then, “What?” from Abby.
“Hide, Morgan. Hide.”
I stood taller. “She died because of me. Your father wanted me gone.”
I ran toward the barn.
Run.
Hide.
I was doing both.
I could feel my own tears falling. I was so scared, but I did what she said.
Under the fence.
I kept going.
Down the hill, through the fields.
“Morgan!”
“I was in the house when he came.” I couldn’t tell them how I thought it’d been them at first, how happy I had been. “She knew it was my father. He was pounding at the door, and she told me we were going to play a game.”
“Oh my God.” Abby stumbled backward, but Finn caught her. He turned her into his chest, his arm coming around her.
I could hear her crying, and a part of me was thankful. I should be the one crying, but I couldn’t. I turned off like I always did. There were no tears, not from me anyway.
Our house was high on the mountain. I was over the first slope in the hill. But—no. I got back up and looked behind me.
He could follow my footsteps.
Mama . . .
I wanted to go back, but she said to hide.
I had to get to Shoal. He wouldn’t be able to find me if I were with her.
I kept going as fast as I could.
Under the next fence, and then I was free into the terrain.
There were woods. The river. I kept going and going. I was getting so cold. She said to hide for days. I’d need Shoal.
“Morgan!”
I couldn’t form words. It took a moment for me to choke out, “I could hear her screaming.” But then he started screaming. “He came after me.”
The room was completely silent, only breaking up for Abby’s crying.
The back of my neck started tingling. I didn’t understand it, but I looked anyway. There was no sound. No movement to announce his presence, but I felt him anyway. And standing in the doorway, like Matthew had been moments earlier, was Brody.
My eyes met his, and he said it for me. “Her mom told her to run. She never stopped.”
I wanted to go to him. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, tell him everything that happened, and let Brody fight for me, but I had made a promise. I was staying. If I went to him and let him touch me, I’d crumble. I had to hold firm, for now.
Finn sighed in relief, getting up and shaking Brody’s hand. “Perfect timing, buddy.”
Brody nodded. Abby went to him, giving him a hug, but Brody was back to looking at me.
He saw my torment.
He nodded, just slightly, and then focused on Matthew.
The two stared at each other.
Both clenched their jaws.
Matthew narrowed his eyes. “This is a family meeting.”
Brody smirked. “I think I have more reason to be here than you do.”
“He stays.”
Matthew swung his head to mine. He wanted to challenge me, but I stared him down. When his chest rose and fell, I knew I won.
I murmured, “I shared. Now you share. Tell us everything.”
Abby asked, “You said you’ve been working with the FBI?”
He pointed to Finn. “I took that recording to the cops, but they wanted more, so I told them I would get it. And in all our meetings, he never once said what really happened back then. We talked about the movie, about tricking Morgan, and he made a lot of statements about how Karen wasn’t supposed to bequeath her land and money to Morgan. He was her husband, so he was supposed to inherit it. He was angry about that, but he never
confessed that he was the one who sent Morgan’s father to the house.” He looked at his brother. “Because you forgot to take those two cameras down, we have what we need on tape.”
Abby gasped, jumping to her feet. “You have video of him talking about it?”
Matthew jerked his head in an abrupt nod. “Yes,” he rasped out. “The police already have a copy.”
My knees gave out. I almost fell back onto the desk chair.
“You turned Dad in?”
Matthew nodded at Finn, smiling. “I’m sorry for not looping you in.”
“He may be a bastard, but he’s still your father.”
That came from Brody.
Matthew looked up, and the two shared a look. Whatever passed between them had Matthew’s shoulders rolling back. His voice was a bit clearer than before when he continued, “They’re arresting him right now. I came to tell you before it’s all over the news.”
“Fuck.” Brody shook his head. “Shanna must be shitting herself in gold right now.”
“Yeah, well.” Matthew cleared his throat, lines of pain forming around his mouth and eyes. He tugged at his collar. “I actually can shut down the movie.” He looked at me. “If you want. There’s a clause in the contract, but I want you to make the decision. I don’t think anyone has the right to make it for you.”
There was no question.
“I want it made. For her.”
Brody
I held Morgan that whole night through.
There’d been no words I could use to express how I felt when I walked down that hallway and heard what they were talking about. It was perfect timing in some ways, but my arms had been itching to take her, hold her, and carry her away. Once Matthew, Finn, and Abby left the room, Morgan leapt at me at the same time I was going to her.
Her arms and legs wrapped around me, and it was all the permission I needed to carry her from the house and down to my cabin.
When I realized she’d been sleeping in my bed, a wave of tenderness filled me. But again, there’d been no words.
I set her down, and our lips found each other’s. I showed her how I felt that night, and she showed me.
After only a few hours of sleep, the police were knocking on the door. They questioned Morgan, and once they were done, they assured us they had enough to press official charges against Peter Kellerman, who was already in custody.
The gossip already swirling about Morgan and me went up a whole other level with Peter Kellerman’s arrest. So, when the news broke, I wasn’t surprised when ABC, CBS, and CNN picked up the story as well.
We were all in the living room at the main lodge watching the press release when Gayle called.
Morgan was on my lap and looked down. She saw the name, and without saying a word, she shifted to the side so I could stand. She snuggled into where I’d been sitting as I crossed the room and went out to the patio, shutting the door behind me.
“Is it true?”
“Hello to you too, Gayle.”
“It’s true then.”
I sighed. Some days we didn’t need to use actual words to communicate. “When are you coming?”
“Now. Shanna’s with me.”
I looked back. Morgan was watching me, not the television screen.
I’d have to use a car and pick them up or send someone. “When?”
“We’re arriving in an hour.”
I barked out a laugh. “That’s the real reason you’re calling.”
“You’ll pick us up?”
“I’ll be incognito and everything.”
She laughed from her side. “How are you?”
She wasn’t asking about me. “She’s strong. So I’m strong.”
“You picked a good one then.”
I heard her begrudging respect, and my smile grew. I nodded to myself. “I know. See you in an hour.”
Morgan shut the television off when I came back. “That was your manager?”
I nodded, saying to the whole room, “She’s arriving in an hour with Shanna.”
Matthew cursed but was smiling at the same time. “She’s coming to make sure the movie is still a go.”
“Yeah.” I glanced to Morgan and then Finn. “I was going to go and pick them up.”
“You have a car?”
I rented a motorcycle. I hadn’t been able to help myself, so I asked, “Could I borrow a car?”
Abby laughed, the sound filling the entire room and hall. She stood and gestured to Finn. “I think they’ll go crazy if they see you, even if you wear a baseball cap and sunglasses. They’ll still recognize you.”
Probably. They all saw my disguise yesterday.
“We’ll go.” She and Finn both started for the door. “We’ll get food and—”
“We’re out of wine.”
“—we’ll get some booze too.”
Both Abby and Finn laughed.
I warned, “They’ll want to stay here.”
Abby turned around at the door. She glanced to Morgan. “Is that what you want?”
Morgan shook her head. “It’s Brody’s call.”
They all waited for my decision.
They’d want to stay here. I wanted them at the hotel. I sigh before saying, “They should stay here. They’ll be swarmed in the hotel lobby every time they leave otherwise.”
“Decision made.” Abby followed her twin outside and waved over her shoulder. “Be back in an hour and a half with two more if all goes accordingly.”
Once they were gone, the room became awkward.
Matthew laughed to himself. “And on that note, I have some business to take care of.”
He was halfway to his office when Morgan called to him, “You’ll kick him out?”
Matthew stopped. His shoulders tensed, and he took a breath before he turned back around. His face was fully guarded as he nodded. “Yes. I already have the board of directors working on removing him. He’s been arrested. His position will be stripped from him.”
Morgan’s head cocked to the side. “Another item you’ve been planning.” Her tone was knowing.
“I started planning this the day I found out what he’d done. Yes.”
“You’ll promote Finn and Abby?”
Matthew’s eyes narrowed a bit, studying Morgan. “I had already planned on it.” His eyes flicked to me and then back to her. “If you wish to come to the company, you could have a position there.”
“Do you know who my grandfather was?”
I didn’t know if it was the sudden jump in topic or the question itself that surprised Matthew more, but his eyes went wide as he shook his head.
“My mom never talked about him, but the money I have is from him.” Morgan shifted on her feet. “I’ve never looked for him.”
“And you want to know now?”
“Do I have other family? Do you know why she was estranged from her family?”
Matthew hesitated again. I could see his reluctance, but his head lifted again. “Your grandfather died and left most of his estate to Karen, but not all of it. The rest of your family didn’t like that she got the majority, and they fought her. They took her to court to try to get more of the inheritance, but they didn’t win, and she left after that. I don’t know all of it, but I did overhear her telling my father that she feared her family would come for you and also your money one day. She took up with your father because she thought he would protect her. She took up with my father to help protect against him. In some ways, it was a sad cycle.”
As he spoke, Morgan’s head lowered a centimeter at a time. By the time he was done, she was fully looking at the floor.
I stepped forward, my hand going to her shoulder. I drew her against my side.
He added, “I wish I could say they were people worth knowing, but if Karen was scared of them, I doubt they would be.”
I nodded to him. “Thank you for telling her.”
Morgan didn’t say anything. She turned and moved into me as I wrapped both my arms around her.
> As Matthew left, with some reluctance again, I just held her close to me as we walked back to my cabin.
An hour later, I shifted to my back and pulled her against me. I skimmed a hand down her arm. “You were hoping to find more of your family?”
She rolled her head to look at me as her free hand caught mine. She laced our fingers together, gently kissing my hand before resting them on her stomach. She settled more against me, getting comfortable.
She murmured, almost too quiet for me to hear, “I think I’d always hoped.”
I traced a hand down the side of her face, lingering over her cheek and lips before I skimmed down her knee and leg.
She closed her eyes at the touch, as if it helped to steady her. “It’s a sobering thought to think you’re completely alone. Creatures aren’t meant to be alone.”
I sat up in bed and grinned at her. “Creatures?”
“Four-legged or two-legged. We aren’t supposed to be on our own.” She bit down on her lip. “I think I might look for my mother’s family, and judge for myself if I should stay away.”
A strand of her hair fell forward, coming to a rest on her cheek.
I lifted it, tucking it back in place, before moving to tug her lower free from between her teeth. “How will you know if they’re good people or not?”
“They probably are not, but I have to see myself. I’ll know.” She grinned. “I have horse instincts, remember? We can tell who are good and who are not.”
I grunted. That was true enough.
I traced my finger over her face again, down her chin, resting in the cleft there before falling back to my side. “I worry about you.”
“Why?”
“Because I care about you.” It was more. We both still hadn’t said the words.
She smiled. “I’m fine. I’ve always been fine.” She laughed, poking me in the chest. “It’s you I worry about. You aren’t fine, unlike me.”
I started to laugh and then thought about it. “Shit. You’re right.” I slid my hand against hers, lacing our fingers again. “You’re more stable than I am.” I couldn’t help myself. She was an inch away, an inch too far. I tugged her onto my lap, and she squealed until she straddled me.
I was tired. I wasn’t hard, but he would rise again. It wouldn’t be long. I ran my hand down her back, around her ass, and cupped her there. I couldn’t stop running my hands over her. I felt my dick stirring. It wouldn’t be long at all.