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Brent

? Two Weeks Later

“M ister Vaughn,” our doorman opened the door to my office.

“Mister Vaughn is my grandfather. What is it, Frank?”

The door opened to reveal Garrett standing outside my office. “You have a visitor with an urgent request. Shall I let him in?”

The fucker was already here, inside our estate. How much more ‘let him in’ could there be?

Flicking my hand at him, Frank ushered him in and retreated out. Someone needed to tell him visitor requests were to be handled at the entrance to the property, not my fucking office.

“How’d you get onto the property, Bradford?”

“I spilled some info they knew you’d want to hear about Fallon.”

That was a convincing statement. My attention perked up at the mention of her name, despite it coming from this guy’s mouth. Why he was here talking about her was my next question.

“So, tell me what you have.”

“First,” he said, holding up a finger and sitting down in the chair across from me, “I need to tell you that this is big. Huge , even. The Fitzgerald family, the Whitmore family, and others are wanting to steal the spotlight. A group effort has been launched to attack families like mine who don’t pick sides, and my father is awaiting a prison sentence because of it.”

What did I care about his family? There were takedowns on a regular basis in our world and his family wasn’t anything special.

“You’re not in our circles, so what the fuck could you know? You were the one cozying up to her to get in the good graces of the inner circles for your family.” I poured myself a drink, kicking my feet up on the table.

God, it felt good to act in charge. I could get used to it.

He scoffed. “Believe what you will, but I’m out here fucking hiding from everyone. I’m sticking my damn neck out here for the sake of her .”

The Bradford family had been grasping for straws in recent years, unwilling to play by the unwritten rules of the inner circle. The look on his face told me he was serious, but he could have been playing well.

“Hiding? Wonderful. If no one knows you’re here, I can bury you in my garden and no one would be the wiser. I suggest getting to the point of your visit.” I tipped the glass back, drinking up all the whiskey from my glass. Being in front of the man who almost had everything I wanted was testing my patience.

“Fine.” He crossed his arms and glared at me. “Fitzgerald wants Montgomery. As in Fallon Montgomery. Whitmore decided she wanted to meddle to get back at you.”

“Tell me something I don’t already fucking know, Bradford. Tick tock .” Pressing a button on the keypad in my office, I paged for Dave to sit in on my little meeting.

He shifted in his seat, looking at the keypad warily. “Fallon is to be ousted from her company.”

“As I said, I already fucking know .” Standing, I placed my hands on the desk, leaning over to tempt him with my anger issues. Everyone knew I had them, not many were stupid enough to try me. “I am running the Vaughn family, and I know everything about everyone. Tell. Me. Something. I. Don’t. Know.”

He breathed out. “She’s to be contracted to the Fitzgerald company as his wife for her company to be spearheaded by some other person who has the authority to do so.”

“Well now, you’re going to tell me exactly how you got this information and who said it. And if I don’t believe you...” I looked over to Dave coming into the office space to stand guard at the door. “You don’t get to leave. Don’t forget what I’m doing for your family.”

––––––––

“G ive me the status of Wilder.”

Reaper sat in typical fashion with some demon mask on today. He adjusted his over the ear headphones as he took a swig from the bottle of rum he brought in with him.

He burped. “Ah, the troublemaker. I followed that girl around and she’s been a real headache. Her daddy is sending her out to collect intel to use for blackmail. On whom? Don’t ask me.”

I rubbed the back of my head, hoping to stir up some thoughts. “Her family takes people out. Collecting intel, are you sure?”

“About as sure as I am that I have a huge dick.”

Gross.

“Anyone else drop dead in the last few days? Casualties have been stacking up and we are close to all the answers on how to handle it and make our moves. The Dictator just got back from Eastern Europe making some agreements and acquiring some deals for Montgomery Group; he’s expecting some answers from us.”

Fallon has been pretending things have been normal with her roommate missing. Well, as normal as she could be with beefed up security going to classes like nothing is wrong. Going to the obligatory parties and gatherings and minding her p’s and q’s while observing—learning.

Our job was planning and doing our best to prevent any event that would stop her from her takeover as CEO. Things were running smoothly with strategic efforts from a couple of families running counter plans to the split off group.

The insider’s circle had a large fissure down the middle. We knew the goal was to implement new leadership, kicking us out of the top.

Crabs in buckets .

“No one of importance to spook the news crews. Out in New York there has been an uptick, and here in Willow Bay, we have the initial group of college kids that got nixed. That Wilder girl was responsible for that kid bouncing on concrete and the staged suicide last week.”

I needed another drink. Fallon had been living with the enemy this whole time while others were concerned about her ex-boyfriend.

A thought occurred to me. “What about that guy Wilder was seeing earlier in the semester? That drug dealer?”

“No idea.”

Nothing had been said when her boyfriend was suddenly dead. I made a mental note to investigate it later. We had more pressing matters than a missing frenemy.

“Follow her and get some of the guys to look into her dead man. Something is fishy there.”

Leaving him in my office, I climbed the antique stairs that squeaked under each foot. I memorized this house as a toddler, unaware that I’d be grown and conducting business of my own. The dark wood and great craftsmanship became old news to me after years of seeing it. Everything was grand and expertly crafted. A truly traditional mansion with reinforcements in security for the modern day.

I stopped at my grandfather's door, mentally preparing myself for the final countdown to April. Blondie’s birthday. The moment of truth. We were so close, yet so far from knowing what would happen.

My knuckles rapped at the door, and I let myself in.

“Brent,” he said, lighting up a cigarette.

My name? When did I get upgraded?

“New intel complicating the Montgomery situation. What’s the game plan?”

A puff of smoke swirled around his pensive face. I could see that he was having trouble with all the problems piling up around us. Whatever plans he was preparing might have a slim chance of success.

He always had a contingency, though.

“Continue as normal.” His voice was softer today. Less angry.

The lines in his face were deeper than usual and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His age showed. To top it all off, he was smoking a cigarette instead of his signature cigar and there were no bottles of alcohol in sight.

Something was off.

“We are also working on cleaning up house at the Montgomery Group. We have men combing through the company looking for any overlooked details. Legal documents undermining Fallon have been planted for years. We need to figure out loopholes for our end.” The squeak of the leather chair beneath me was the loudest sound in the room as I leaned forward.

He was staring at an old picture on the wall. Pictures of the past. The easier days to stay on top. “Tell me about the girl.”

“Sir?”

“Tell me about her . What is she like?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. My mouth hung open slightly. “She’s, uh, nice. A bit green behind the ears but has a tenacious spirit.”

“Is she ready?” His eyes met mine and I knew what he was asking.

“She will be. Initial shock has worn off and she’s continuing as normal.”

Preparing myself for what I knew was coming next, I pulled out my flask and took a swig.

“I see her as my own, you know. Her mother was family to me. Imagine my surprise at the enigma of her not wanting to bring that little girl around, but she had her own reasonings for things as I have mine. Some days I wonder if I did the same for you as Maria did for her, if you’d be a different man.”

Another pause. Was he telling me the regrets of his past now? We haven’t had a conversation like this—at least none I can easily remember. The fucker had to be dying or something to be talking like this.

I waited silently for him to continue. Interrupting him was asking for a death sentence.

He sighed. “I don’t think you’d be able to handle the company is my point. What we do is a balancing act—the line between life and death. Maria is—was—our family and that girl is the next generation. The future of everything that’s been built over generations. We’ve grown so large, and only with the right leaders, can we keep it.”

Lighting up my own cigarette, I settled into the chair again, wondering where the conversation was heading. If he was announcing his death, I’d be shocked. If he was telling me that I’m the next generation to lead his company, I wouldn’t believe him. Considering how he told me I was worth less than shit in the yard, it would be a cold day in hell.

“Look, boy, you’ve been picking up the ropes like I knew you would. You’ve been in every room learning every perspective.” Ashing his cigarette, he folded his hands on the table. “Are you going to be ready to take all of this over?”

“As in after college?”

“It might be sooner than you’d think. College doesn’t teach you jack shit, and you know it. It’s not like you went there to learn anyway. Once that girl hits twenty-one, hell is going to break loose and a stupid little university for rich brats isn’t going to matter. You’re not going back after this semester.”

That’s not what I expected. Leave school? Stop playing baseball? Join the company in a legitimate manner?

“I don’t have much left, and I enjoy baseball.”

“Fucking hire your own team in the backyard, then! Your team doesn’t even play fair since we pay for the results anyway. The only people who have benefited from that university are the scholarship recipients. The rest of ‘em are just playing Barbie dream house, and that includes you .” He looked like he was about to fish around for a bottle of something when he brought out a small, ornate box from his desk. Pulling out a pill, he popped into his mouth and grabbed another cigarette from his silver case. He lit it up. “If I assume correctly, that girl is just as magnetic as her mother, no?”

“Sir?”

Did he just roll his eyes at me? “I know you’ve stayed at her house as many nights as she allows. You think your men don’t gossip and compare dicks when you’re not around?”

I was confused. My grandfather was talking to me like he was interested in my company. He wasn’t drinking. His face had expressions on it.

“It’s a necessity to ensure—”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved his hand in my direction. “You’re all business about it, but you’ve played the game well. She’s in the Vaughn family for more than one reason at this rate. Don’t think I don’t know the tricks you like to use. At least when she runs, it’ll be to us. I expect an easy transition into leadership for both of you. Connecting our families like this was the smartest thing you could have done for us. Especially with the contingency plan.”