Page 95 of The Villain's Beast

Chapter 66

Gideon

“You never seem to learn from your mistakes.”

My father’s voice dripped with vitriol, and I was quick to leverage myself out of the pool to meet him toe to toe. I’d been swimming laps for half an hour and my muscles were finally starting to loosen and get warm. Two days for him to show up after the Angelinis were given proof of his double dipping had seemed like an eternity, but here he was now. Dressed as impeccably as he always was, but his face was flushed, his cheeks unshaven, his hair disheveled.

“What do you mean?” I asked, not bothering to dry off.

My fingers itched, so I balled them into fists at my sides instead of throwing him over the edge of the pool before I had a chance to say my piece.

He closed the space between us, heels of his expensive shoes clacking against the wet concrete pool deck, and when he was close enough to reach, he slapped me across the face. His signet ring had turned toward his palm, immediately breaking open a cut on my cheekbone. The pain was barely noticeable, but I pressed my fingertips against the wound to still the bleeding.

“Don’t play stupid.”

I chuckled. “I’ve been doing a lot of work behind your back, Father, so I’m going to need you to be more specific in this instance. There are at least half a dozen indiscretions you could be accusing me of right now.”

He growled, but he was so small and so scared.

“Is this because I’m fucking Fletcher?” I tilted my head to the side and smiled at him. “Or because I’m fucking Bellamy Marchant.”

“You’re a fool.”

“Is it because I don’t wear this with enough pride for you?” I patted my hands against the brand on my chest.

“It looks better on me, better on anyone who isn’t you.”

“I’m such a letdown.”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” He loosened the knot on his tie, which felt preemptive and futile, but he’d find that out eventually.

It was an unreal moment, almost out of body.

There’d been so many times in my life, especially my teenage years, when I’d daydreamed about killing my father, but I’d never thought myself brave enough to see it through. Or worse, if I killed him, what then? It would spiral me into another unknown. Maybe one that put Fletcher’s father in a place of power and I’d find myself dead beside my father. I didn’t know.

My freshman year of high school had been the first time I wasn’t living in fear. The way Sin made me feel, the way his skin burned against mine and the way he kissed me like he had every right to my mouth. He still kissed me that way, and I was man enough now to know it wasn’t a feeling I could ever walk away from again. Not from him and not from Bellamy, not from Luca and Daren who were brave enough to risk everything not just for themselves, but for us.

“Again, I’ll need you to be more specific.”

“You handed over our financials to the Angelinis?”

“Technically, I handed them to Fletcher.”

“They’re going to kill me, Gideon,” he warned. “They’ll kill you.”

“I’d like to see them try to kill me.” I swallowed, taking a step toward him. “You, on the other hand…that’s nothing you have to worry about.”

“You stupid little shit, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“They’re not going to kill you,” I told him, closing the space between us so I could whisper his fate directly into his ear. “Because I promised them I would.”

“You insufferable and arrogant?—”

I didn’t want to hear the rest. I didn’t need to hear it. It was more of the same garbage he’d spewed to me my entire life, that for so long, I’d believed. I collared my hand around his throat and lifted him off his toes, turning us both and carrying him back toward the pool ledge. He kicked out at my legs, shocked by my strength or my determination. Maybe both, but it didn’t matter.

“Go on,” I prompted, holding him over the water. I couldn’t keep him up for long, but I didn’t need to. He was fully dressed and I was in my swimsuit and, for the first time in my life, I believed I held the upper hand.

He opened his mouth to say something to me, and I dropped him into the water. I went down after him, knees banging against the ledge so when he came up, I was there and I was ready. He broke the surface, gasping and sputtering like a drowned rat, and I shoved him back beneath the water.