Page 97 of The Villain's Beast

I might not have a choice.

“If he comes back, send him upstairs.”

“The door is locked,” my father shouted.

I closed my eyes and sighed. “Bellamy stole the key, Father. I’ll be right there.”

Bellamy hadn’t stolen anything. Gideon had given me a key two days before, in case of emergency. But my father didn’t need to know that. He’d find out soon enough.

“Be safe,” Luca whispered, brushing his knuckles against mine.

I nodded, the most assurance I could give him.

Climbing the stairs, I made my way to the office, finding my father pacing in front of the locked door. I swiped the fob across the lock panel, barely holding my balance as my father brushed me out of the way.

“Where did Marchant find the financials?” he asked, almost giddy.

“A false-bottomed drawer.”

He trailed his fingertips across the ornate edge of the desk, and it took all my control to not tell him I’d just had my ass in the same spot, getting stuffed full of Gideon North’s beastly cock.

“I’m glad he was worth the investment.”

I slid Gideon’s keys into my pocket. “I’ve been meaning to ask. What did Bellamy’s father get out of that deal with you?”

“What did he get out of it?” My father laughed. “Nothing. He got the honor of doing business with the Sinclairs.”

“No return?”

“It depended on how useful I found his son.”

“And?”

“And I won’t make him give me the money back,” he said.

I’d wanted more information. I wanted more of an answer for Bellamy, but it seemed the only thing he’d been offered up for was opportunity.

My father made himself at home behind Gideon’s stately desk, and I went to the other side of the room, behind the chaise lounge to the small balcony door. It was, of course, locked, but Ihad the key. With a quick beep, the lock disengaged and I pulled open the door, stepping onto the narrow iron balcony.

“I’m glad we’re here,” I said to him, “In Gideon’s private space.”

“This is a lesson, Fletcher.” He splayed his hands across the top of the desk. “On the importance of maintaining the upper hand.”

“You’re not wrong,” I agreed. “That’s why I want to tell you a secret.”

He arched a curious brow.

“I’m in love with Gideon North,” I said simply.

My father’s mouth twitched into a smile that quickly fell away, turning into something darker that I hadn’t seen in years. He pushed the chair back and stalked toward me, backing me against the railing with a furious glare.

“It won’t save him.”

“I think it might.”

“It will be the end of you both,” he warned.

I tried to straighten to my full height, but my father was too close, too broad, too overpowering. He always had been, and I was that scared sixteen year-old again, listening to my whole world unravel at the sound of his voice.