“Unfortunately, he’s in one piece.”
“I’ll have to change that.”
“I hit him where it hurts, so no need.”
His eyes searched mine, hawk-like. I’d already said too much, but damn it, when was the last time someone was ready to take up for me? “I bet you did, Sonya.”
I flinched, his use of my name catching me off guard, but he had called me sugar earlier, and I kept some of my promises.
I prepared to make my move. So what if he’d surprised me in a good way? He still deserved a swift kick in the nuts. But again, he was too quick, catching my leg under my thigh.
“Now, now. I thought we were past that, sugar.”
“Somebody needs to do it.”
“I’ve been hit by a hundred-mile-an-hour pitch. Believe me, nobody needs to do it again.” I frowned. “It happened, and it hurt like a motherfucker.”
“Does it still . . .” Was that survivable?
“Work properly?” His lips were a whisper away from mine. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“I don’t give a damn,” I huffed.
“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have asked.” He was everything a woman shouldn’t want, rolled into one bastard of a ridiculously handsome man. Even when he spoke, it was temptation.
“I’m sorry that ball didn’t knock you in the skull,” I said in disgust, trying to move away. It was difficult on one foot.
His cheek almost brushed mine as his lips found my ear. “Keep playing hard to get, Tigress. No one does it quite like you.” He bit my earlobe, winked, and left me standing alone in the kitchen. A straight-line wind, that was what he was. Impossible to see coming and knocking his target flat on its ass.
“Sonya! Something’s burning,” Trish said, rushing back in and thrusting Ella at me so I had no choice but to take her. I held her at arm’s length; this was the first time I’d ever had a baby in my arms. “What happened?” She pulled the cake from the oven and dropped the pan on the counter, giving me an odd look.
“Honestly, I have no idea.”
Chapter Fifteen
Drew
The woman was a magnet. Sometimes we repelled, but most of the time, I was drawn to her even though I knew better. She was bad news. The kind of woman who used men like me to get what she wanted and then spit them out. I knew it, and that still hadn’t stopped me from showing up at Paths of Purpose for the sole purpose of seeing her.
It had been a miserable few days, my mother taking a dive for the worse before making a slight rebound this afternoon. I hadn’t left the care facility since Easton had taken me there. Once she’d gotten a little better, I’d needed to take a break. Not from my mother, but the whole damn situation. Her condition alone made it stressful. Add in the hostility from my family, and it was tense, to say the least. I’d done nothing to dispel the awkwardness.
The harder I shoved Easton away, the further I pushed away the forgiveness he was all too willing to give. He’d been almost eager to, but that diminished with every day that went by. I’d felt isolated from my family for so long, even when surrounded by them, and I was in self-destruct mode. Had been for a long time. There was nearly nothing left of me.
The few minutes I’d spent with the vixen had me in better spirits. I probably should wear a cup over my dick whenever I was around her, given how that knee of hers was determined to connect with my crotch. I’d get her there sooner or later, but the more she denied me, the sweeter the conquest. What I hadn’t decided was how long I’d keep her in my bed. Repeat performances were rare.
Sonya had me by the balls, but I didn’t mind. I was tempted to cut off everything else that had a grip on me like the fucking pipeline that was a sinkhole for money and the new company I’d taken on when I had no interest in it whatsoever. Maybe I could sell it back to my brother. I’d destroyed Carter Energy. That was all I’d wanted. They could take SPE and do whatever they wanted with it. With the damn oil market in the tank, it was a sinkhole for money too, one I’d ignored for nearly a week.
My mother was my priority right now. I shouldn’t have left her at all, shouldn’t have come to see Sonya, but I’d needed a second away to breathe. Now that I’d had it, I felt ready to go back to support her. The facility was within walking distance of Paths of Purpose, which was a good thing, considering I had zero cash. Fresh air on the way over had been good, even if it was colder than hell out. The journey back wasn’t so pleasant. With every step I took, another weight was added to my shoulders. I was tempted to turn around, but Mama needed me. Or maybe I needed her.
Easton was in the upstairs lobby when I arrived, no doubt to play referee for me and Dad.
“I’m here for her. Nothing else,” I said, starting past him.
“She’d hate it if she knew you smoked,” he said quietly, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees.
“She already does.” Mama had busted me fifteen years ago and chewed my ass out to the point I’d quit for a few months. It was a habit I just couldn’t kick. Didn’t see any point in it. I was respectful enough of her not to smoke in her presence or even if I knew I was going to see her, but I didn’t hide it from her.
My phone buzzed. I’d turned it on when I’d left Mama earlier in case anything happened while I was gone. I was tempted to ignore the call but had done that all too much lately, so I swiped my finger across the screen.
“Mr. Carter, this is George Fulton from Salter Steel and Supply.”
Jesus fuck. I knew what he wanted, and I didn’t have it. “George.” I greeted him as if we were long-lost buddies. “I’m glad you called. Listen, I tried to post a payment to you a few days ago and just got notification something went wrong. I was going to call you earlier, but I’ve had a family emergency, so I’ve been out of commission.”
“Oh, nothing serious, I hope,” he said, sounding concerned.
“It’s not good, but we’re going to be okay,” I said solemnly, ignoring the pointed look Easton gave me. The lies rolled so easily off my tongue that even I believed them. I sure as fuck hadn’t tried to make a payment to Salter, because I didn’t have the money.
“Well, if there’s anything I can do,” he offered.
“No, no. Thank you, though. I appreciate it.” I needed to get off this call ASAP.
“If you need a few more days, we can give it to you for extenuating circumstances, but Mr. Carter, we’re going to need at least a partial payment by the end of the week since there’s such a large amount outstanding—”
“Let me get your bank details again. Hang on a sec so I can grab a pen.” I turned my back on Easton and pretended to get something to write with. “Okay. Ready when you are, George.”
He relayed the account information while I lifted my eyes to the ceiling and made a face.
“I’ll make sure this gets taken care of tomorrow. You might want to make sure nothing is going on on your end, though. Like I said, the payment wouldn’t process to you,” I said with false concern.
“Will do.” I opened my mouth to end the conversation, but good old George beat me to the punch. “So we can expect at least $425,000 tomorrow.”
“You’ll have the whole thing,” I promised, yet another fucking lie. “You have a good evening.”
I ended the call and shoved my phone in my pocket, then ran both hands through my hair. Where the hell was I going to come up with the full amount of $850,000 by tomorrow? Only one solution came to mind—rob Peter to pay Paul.
“Problems?” Easton asked.
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Why was your credit card declined at the Four Seasons?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“The hell it isn’t when I bailed you out,” he said, but his voice was calm, not even the slightest bit annoyed. “I can’t figure out how someone who steals nearly a billion dollars doesn’t have any money.”
That damn pipeline had cost way more than any of them had forecast, and buying an established oil company wa
sn’t cheap, not to mention two.
“Who says I don’t?” I asked defensively, regretting my attitude the second I spoke. “What I do or do not have is none of your concern.”
“Actually, it very much is, considering you stole company money.” He dropped his chin and steepled his hands in front of him. “How bad a decision was it to buy that pipeline?” There wasn’t any accusation in his voice. In fact, I got the impression if I showed him the numbers, he’d want to help.
“I don’t know what—”
Easton held up a hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”
I should have walked away, but I found myself moving toward him. I dropped into the seat beside him, leaning my head against the wall.
“As good as you and Mulaney and Dad are, y’all were way off the mark with the projections. Way, way off.” What the hell was I doing? I’d admitted nothing up to this point, but saying that, I might as well show him exactly how I took all that money.
He jerked his head up in surprise. “The terrain,” Easton deduced.
“It sucks. Costs a fortune to build on, and let’s not even get into all the landowners who are trying to hold it up,” I grumbled, leaning forward, mirroring my brother’s posture.
He smirked. “It ain’t going anywhere for a long time, little brother.”
“You’ve got it buried so deep in legislation, it won’t see the light of day in our lifetime.” For all the connections I’d made with politicians over the years, they were nothing compared to those of my father.
“Had to. At least until we can come to some sort of understanding.”
“When the three of you get together, I might as well not even be in the room, so don’t tell me about coming to an understanding,” I said bitterly.
“What can I do to help?” He skipped right over my comment as if I hadn’t even said it.
“Why would you want to help me?” I asked.
“Because you’re my brother. I don’t think you’re totally lost yet,” he said.
Easton was wrong. I’d been gone a long time. “You didn’t give a shit when I needed you before,” I mumbled.
His brows dipped. “What do you mean? Damn it, all you do is talk in riddles.”
“It doesn’t matter.” I’d already said too much. “How’s Mama?”
“She’s okay. Still sleeping. And we’re not done with this conversation.”
“Yeah, we are. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s with Mama. Let’s go sit on the sofa. These chairs will give us permanent back damage.” Easton stood and stretched, then offered me a hand. I took it, and he pulled me to my feet.
“Mulaney here?” I asked as we walked to the room where we’d set up camp.
“No. She had some work to take care of. SPE is in a hell of a mess.”
Tell me something I don’t know. That mess was going to get worse tomorrow, when nearly a million of their funds went to pay Salter Steel.
“I wouldn’t know, seeing as I can’t actually go to work,” I said smartly.
“How did you end up with SPE?” he asked.
I snorted. “They were in worse shape than Carter Energy, and I had nothing to do with that.” Easton gave me an unimpressed look. “I caught wind of their problems and made an offer before word got out. It was one they couldn’t refuse.”
“So forcing Carter Energy to sell was your goal the entire time?”
“The opportunity presented itself, and I took it.” The corners of my mouth turned down. “Looking back, it would have been a lot easier to force Carter to close.”
Easton looked at me incredulously. “Is that what you really wanted?”
“Yeah.”
“Unbelievable,” he said under his breath.
“That none of you figured out what was going on? It is.” Easton scowled, clenching his fist into a tight ball. “You gonna punch me again?”
I hadn’t seen that ass-kicking coming, and it still hurt that we’d come to blows . . . especially over his wife.
“I need to. But not here.” He seemed to hit a reset button, relaxing deeper into his chair. “What’s going to happen with the Rangers this season? Think they’ll take it all?”
I went still. My temper boiled, the crack in my heart growing wider. “I don’t give a shit.”
Easton gave me an odd look as he dropped onto the sofa. “The hell you don’t,” he challenged. “You’re telling me that the most obsessed person with baseball to ever walk this planet doesn’t have an opinion about the Rangers? I know you still keep up. There’s no way you couldn’t.”
“Well, I don’t.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the window frame, staring out. How had he missed I changed the subject every time he mentioned the B word?
“Bullshit. Who had the most home runs in the league last season?” he grilled, refusing to drop it.
“I don’t know.”
“Why lie about that?”
“I’m not lying. I haven’t kept up with any of it in twenty years,” I said, raising my voice as I spun around to face him. “How the hell have you not noticed that I don’t talk about baseball?”
He paused. I recognized the second he realized it was true. His face transformed to a mix of regret and sorrow. I didn’t want sympathy, but it made me fucking furious that he’d really had no idea. All. This. Time. “Is this about Erin?”
I bristled at the mention of my ex-girlfriend. “No.”
“What she did—”
“Is ancient history.”
He stared at me in disbelief. My college sweetheart was the first and only woman I’d ever loved. No one could ever accuse me of not learning from my mistakes.
“She shouldn’t have—”
“Well, she did,” I yelled, immediately snapping my mouth shut at the outburst of emotion. I didn’t need a reminder of what she’d done.
“You lost a lot in a short amount of time.”
Pain lanced through my chest. After all this time, I still wasn’t used to it, when I should’ve been numb.
“Baseball took everything I loved. She broke my heart, crushed my dreams, and left me in a heap on the mound.”
Easton blinked at me. “After your injury, you kept rolling on like it was nothing. I—I was in awe. We all were. Baseball was your life. When it was over, you moved right into your role at Carter Energy. You never looked back.”
It was my turn to stare at my brother incredulously. “What choice did I have? All I ever wanted to do was play baseball. So what if it’s a kid’s dream. It was mine, and my first love turned on me. None of you even cared. Hell, Dad seemed halfway happy he wouldn’t have to force me to choose the company.”
“We didn’t care? You’re the one who brushed it off, almost as if you’d never even played.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t just a dream. You were damn good. Just thinking about what you could have been . . . It’s such a waste you never had a chance.” He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs. “I honestly thought you were okay with how things turned out.”
“Well, I wasn’t,” I said, turning away from him. “I’ll never get over it, and not one of you said you were sorry. Never asked me how I was. If it had been you, I’d have looked for another doctor. Got another opinion. It probably wouldn’t have changed things, but if something was that important to you, I’d have done everything in my power to make it happen for you.”
Horror struck his features. He opened his mouth to protest, then closed it. Our eyes locked on one another’s, the truth a rope between us. “I—I didn’t know what to say. You’d lost everything, and nothing I could do would get it back.” He dropped his chin to his chest. “And we did look for every damn specialist we could find. Remember how Dad was traveling a lot back then? He took your medical records to every doctor who would listen to him.”
My bum knee went weak. It couldn’t be true, but Easton wouldn’t lie. Not about this. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”
“We didn’t want to
give you false hope. How many letdowns could you take? You didn’t deserve that.”
My head spun. I’d been so angry at the world. I thought none of them cared, but had I been too blind to see it?
“That’s why you destroyed the company.” Light seemed to dawn in his brain. “Because it’s important to me and Dad.”
“That company means more to both of you than I ever have,” I spat, the lid containing all my bitter feelings pried open. It had been almost twenty years. Even though a part of me could look at this through Easton’s eyes and see how the lengths I went to were ridiculous, I should be beyond the . . . hurt. Surely, my anger and planning had blocked any emotion. Yet there I was, furious. I hated that it had been my constant state for so long.
Easton was on his feet and in front of me in a nanosecond, his hands on my shoulders. “How can you say that? It’s not true.”
“It is true. But it doesn’t matter now,” I said, resigned to the fact they weren’t changing, and neither was I. “I’m going to check on Mama.”
“Drew, I’m—”
“Save it. What’s done is done.”
The space had grown smaller the longer we’d talked. I had to get out of there, so I stood and walked toward Mama’s room.
After peeking into my mother’s room, unable to stay because my father was at her side, I went to another room where I’d convinced one of the nurses to let me stash some of my things. It hadn’t taken much to sweet-talk her. I’d pretty much been guaranteed anything I wanted when I’d flashed her my killer smile.
I pulled out my laptop and shoved my noise-canceling headphones over my ears, Peter Wolf Crier’s “Hard As Nails” cranked up while I worked. There was only one way to do what needed to be done. Hacking. Now I was going to do it to my own company. Using the login credentials of the chief financial officer for SPE instead of my own, I authorized a transfer of a million bucks into an offshore account. Old George would have his money in the morning as promised.
Thick As Thieves: An Enemies-To-Lovers Romance (Paths To Love Book 5) Page 8