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“I think you’ll find she won’t be going anywhere with you,” Theo spoke, his hand clapping onto Benson’s shoulder, causing him to startle enough that his hidden hand moved out from beneath the table and revealed he’d been lying about having a gun. “You, however, will be coming with us.”

Benson’s face grew red and mottled with anger. I could practically see the steam pouring out of his ears, and the mental image caused me to smirk before I remembered he had men holding my guys hostage at their table.

“Those aren’t his men, Jellybean. They’re mine. They spotted Benson entering the hotel and heading toward the restaurant with his little entourage and intercepted his men before they could get to your men. Turns out, they prefer guaranteed cash to a questionable check.” Theo moved to stand at the side of the table, his hand still gripping Benson’s shoulder as he used the other to casually flip open one side of his suit jacket, flashing a real gun in the process. “Now, I believe it’s best we move this somewhere more private. If you two will be so kind as to come with me.”

He hauled Benson from his chair, positioning himself to walk beside him as his free hand slipped the pistol free and pressed it into Benson’s side. I turned to look for my guys; they were still seated at their table, anger clear as day on their faces as they watched me.

“Your men will be along behind us, Jellybean.” Theo said. “Come along now.”

Not sure what else to do, I stood and followed as Theo led us from the restaurant to an elevator in the main lobby. He shoved Benson against the back wall as soon as the doors slid closed, keeping the gun aimed at him as he pulled out a key card and swiped it to take us to the penthouse. None of us spoke until we stepped out of the elevator into the chic living room area the doors had opened into.

“Have a seat, both of you.” Theo ordered. “Would you like something to drink, Jellybean?”

“No.” I replied, shaking my head as I eased around him toward the closest couch. “I want you to tell me what the hell is going on.”

“As do I.” Benson snapped.

“You aren’t owed anything except a bullet between the eyes, Benson.” Theo spat before turning to me with a softer expression. “You, however, deserve answers and I will give them to you just as soon as your men arrive.”

As if on cue, the elevator doors slid open, and Craig, Leighton, and Az stepped into the penthouse with wary expressions on their faces. Unable to stop, I shot off the couch and launched myself into Az’s arms.

“You’re alright, Love. We’ve got you.” He murmured, his hands rubbing soothing patterns across my back.

“I didn’t know what else to do when I saw the men at your table, so I came with him when he told me too.”

“It’s okay, you did the right thing.” Az assured me before giving his attention to Theo. “Would you like to explain to me why you had five men hold us at our table with guns before they shoved us into the elevator and sent us up here to you?”

“This is absolutely ludicrous!” Benson shouted, lurching from his chair and starting toward where I stood in Az’s arms. “Not only have you threatened me with a gun, you’ve brought the same men that put a price on my head straight to me, and now they’re pawing all over my woman–”

The sound of a single shot caused me to jump and left my ears ringing momentarily. I blinked up at Az in confusion and then turnedaround in his arms to find Benson clutching his chest, his mouth gaping open in horror.

“I would apologize for not being a good enough shot to make this quick, but after what you did to my daughter, you deserve to suffer.” Theo said calmly as he stalked toward Benson with the gun still in his outstretched hand.

Theo fired another shot, causing Benson to jolt backward before falling to his knees. Benson’s free hand went to his abdomen, where blood was slowly blooming through his white button-down shirt. Another loud pop and Benson’s shoulder jerked backward, another and he fell completely over. Theo moved until he stood directly over Benson. Then he squatted down, pressing the gun to Benson’s temple. My eyes squeezed shut at the same time as Theo’s finger squeezed the trigger.

“As much as I enjoyed seeing that fucker get what he deserved, I believe you have some explaining to do.” Az said, handing me off to Craig behind him.

“Yes, well, why don’t we adjourn to the kitchen so we don’t have to stare at the mess while I explain? I’m sure we could all use a drink after that anyway.” Theo replied.

I kept my eyes squeezed shut, allowing Craig to lead me from the living room. I didn’t open them until he whispered in my ear that we were in the kitchen, just as he settled me on a barstool at the island counter.

“Where would you like me to start?” Theo asked, pouring himself a glass of what appeared to be scotch.

“I know you had an affair with my mother and that my father isn’t my father.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Theo froze momentarily before sitting the crystal bottle of liquor beside his glass and pinning me with his gaze. “I did, and he isn’t. I’m your father.”

“Bullshit. I saw the paternity tests. Neither of you are my father.”

Theo sighed heavily. “Your mother paid to have the results falsified. Hugo had already found out about the affair and she was afraid of what he would do if he knew the truth. I think she was afraid of whatIwould do if I had known.”

“I–” Theo held up a hand, silencing me before he slipped from the kitchen. I looked at the guys, who all looked just as flabbergasted as I did.

“Here,” Theo spoke when he returned a few minutes later. Striding to the island, he laid a file folder before me. “This should be enough to prove I’m telling the truth.”

I opened the folder and carefully looked over the information inside. There was a paternity test from a different company with an address well outside Sacona. It was dated prior to the one that Joey had given me, and it stated without a doubt that Theo was my father. Flipping to the next page, I found a bank statement, with a large deposit highlighted, from just a few days before the date on the results from my father’s house. Making a note of the name on the bank statement, I flipped to the next page and found the answer to the question I hadn’t yet asked. There was an employment record for the same name as the bank statement from the testing facility.

“All I had to do was follow the money.” Theo spoke, flipping to the last page in the folder. “This is a bank account that belonged to your mother. The highlighted line is a transfer out of the account for the same amount as was deposited to the technician.”