Page 135 of House of Payne

Carlisle’s face is bruised and bloody when he gets into the driver’s seat and slams the door. Katia lowers the window and shoots as the tires screech and we drive off. Once the docks are a speck in the rearview mirror, I reach into my jacket and pull out a handkerchief.

I wipe my face and exhale. “How the fuck did the police find out?”

Carlisle grips the steering wheel tighter and swerves onto a narrow side street, earning a few angry honks. “I don’t know what the hell happened.”

Katia reloads her gun and turns to face me, a few wisps of hair framing her face. “It must’ve been a setup. Everett and Fitzpatrick luring you out to throw you to the mayor.”

“They wanted to serve me up and cut a deal with him. Those fucking assholes. I’m going to rip them apart with my bare hands. Carlisle, turn the—”

The rest of my sentence is cut off by my ringing phone.

I frown when I see my father’s name flash across the screen.

I debate whether to answer for a moment before wiping the blood from my knuckles and the side of my face and taking a deep breath.

“Now isn’t a good time, Father.”

“What the fuck did you do? I’m getting phone calls from the Everetts and the Fitzpatricks telling me you stormed the docks and attacked their men.”

The least they can do is own up to their coup.

Goddamn cowards.

“I wouldn’t have had to if they weren’t meeting behind my back. They’re staging a coup—”

“I didn’t realize I raised a goddamn pussy,” Jack interrupts. “Stop letting your pride get in the way of your job. You’re supposed to strategize and find a way to quietly deal with things.”

White-hot anger pulses through me. “Am I supposed to wait until they stick a knife in my back? No. I don’t care how you do things, but I am not—”

His voice is cold and harsh. “And what’s this I hear about a woman staying in the mansion? Get your little whore out of there before I come down there and deal with her myself.”

Ice creeps up my spine. “I see you’re still spying on me.”

“You forget yourself, boy,” Jack replies. “I’m the one who built you and gave you power, and I can easily take it away. Get that nuisance out, or I’ll take care of it myself.”

I swallow. “She’s not staying in the mansion, and she’s only there to help me blow off steam.”

“Do it somewhere else,” Jack snaps over muffled voices in the background. “So help me God, Mason, if I have to come down there, what happened today will be the least of your problems.”

Without waiting for a response, he hangs up, and I’m left staring at the phone.

I’m not surprised he’s still spying on me.

It’s what Jack Payne does best.

He didn’t build an empire without covering all his bases and making sure everything unfolded a certain way, including his sons.

As the face of the Payne empire, I should have known better.

Why hadn’t I tried harder to hide London?

Having bigger problems to worry about isn’t an excuse, especially after the disaster I just left behind.

London shouldn’t even be on my father’s radar, and a small part ofme is worried about why.

Who sold me out?

And why does the thought of punishing someone make me feel marginally better?