Page 14 of Volatile King (The Kings of Wayward Academy #6)

M yles

Nothing good ever came from being called out of the blue by a lawyer. Mitch Spencer was Ethan’s partner, so it probably wasn’t a trap. But it was weird that he had called me. All he said was that it was important. Who said that and then hung up? Worst cliffhanger ever.

I paced the fancy waiting room, glad that I couldn’t annoy the staff anymore since they’d all gone home for the night.

I’d been getting death stares from the secretaries every time I walked past their desks.

Granted, it was every ten seconds, but they could cut a guy some slack.

It wasn’t every day that I got called to a lawyer’s office.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I growled.

Leaving Ren for any length of time was unbearable, and it was killing me.

I stopped at the floor-to-ceiling windows and stared outside.

The sun was starting to set, and the other buildings were casting long grey shadows over the streets and people below.

They looked like ants from up here in the glass tower.

Tired of doing laps, I walked over to the leather couch and sat down.

Did they actually have enough clients and staff here at once to fill this massive space?

The room could easily hold fifty or more people.

The walls were grey, but decorated with bright and colorful abstract images that didn’t match my mood one bit.

Maybe that was the point. To try and put the people forced to come here in a better mood.

Lone footsteps in the hallway caught my attention, and I stood.

Each thump made my heart race a little faster.

Mitch Spencer rounded the corner and smiled when he spotted me.

I’d only met him once before, but he looked the same.

Fifties, dark hair, sharp hazel eyes, stylish suit.

I’d never known him to be involved in our off-the-books businesses, but then again, Lawrence kept a tight hold on information, so anything was possible.

“Mr. McCoy, thank you for coming, and I’m sorry that I kept you waiting.” He held out his hand as he stepped forward.

“Can ya tell me what this is about?” I shook his hand, still confused.

“Follow me, we’ll head to the boardroom,” he said, and my stomach jumped around.

Boardroom? Why? My eyes darted into each office we walked by.

Most were dark, but a few were still occupied with people on the phone or typing away at a computer.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but that didn’t stop me from staying on high alert.

Hell, half of me expected my father to have crawled out of his dirt grave and be sitting in the boardroom waiting for me.

We turned down another hallway, and at the end was a room with glass walls. The blinds were open, revealing a television that took up one end, black office chairs surrounding a long table, and a man. Ethan O’Brien stood staring outside, much like I’d been moments ago.

Mitch pushed open the door, and I had to wonder how anyone had a secret meeting around here.

Ethan smiled and walked toward me. We embraced like normal, and the fact that he didn’t look like I should be pulling a gun or jumping out a window helped me relax.

“I’m really confused. Why didn’t you call me,” I asked Ethan. He sighed.

“This is a strange situation, and I can’t act as your lawyer for this.

Mitch here has agreed to sit in on the meeting just in case you want to use him.

He has also taken the liberty of drafting paperwork for us, which I’ll get to in a minute.

” I eyed him and Mitch once more. “Come sit down and I’ll explain. ”

We walked to one end of the table, and I sat across from Ethan while Mitch took the seat at the head. I crossed my arms and looked between the two men, waiting for one of them to tell me what the hell was happening.

“If at any time you want to end the meeting, let me know and I’ll step in,” Mitch said, and Ethan and I nodded.

Ethan shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. I’d never seen him nervous before. He was always tough as nails.

“After the crash, Nash came and told me that Owen was killed,” Ethan said.

Well, that answered the question about whether Mitch knew anything—he did not.

“Since I’m executor on your father’s estate, I filed the death certificate with the appropriate people.

” Again, he was leaving details out because Lawrence would have been included in that list. “I needed to file it in Ireland as well.”

“Aye, okay.”

“When I did, they sent me copies of files that were held there in the case of both your mother and father passing away,” Ethan said.

He sucked in a deep breath before opening the file in front of him. When he pulled out the same blood test results that Nash had shared, my heart plummeted through the floor.

“Nah,” I said, standing up and pushing away from the table without even picking it up. “I dinnie care what that says, yer not taking me brot’er from me,” I growled as my heart raced.

Ethan’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“You already knew?” He pointed to the test. “You know I’m Filip’s father?”

I marched to the other end of the room, seriously considering jumping to escape. Could I steal Lip and Snowflake and run? No, of course I couldn’t, but it was tempting.

“Aye, I know. I found out not long before the crash.” I pointed at Ethan. “But I don’t care who ya are, he’s mine, ya caint have em,” I said, my accent coming through stronger as my fear formed a solid lump in my throat.

Ethan stood and walked around the table toward me. My body shook, ready for a fight.

“Do you really think I’d do that to you?”

Ethan rubbed his eyes and then glanced at Mitch.

“Can you give us a minute?”

Mitch looked at me. “Are you okay with me leaving?”

“Aye.”

Mitch stood and left, as Ethan turned to sit on the table and stare out the window.

“I want to apologize to you. I…shit. Mistakes always come back to bite you. I need you to know that there was no ongoing affair with your mom. It was a one-time thing in the heat of a really horrible moment, and?—”

“I know what happened. Ma sent a letter explaining and said ya didn’t know.”

I crossed my arms but moved closer.

He shook his head and looked down at his feet.

“I love my wife. I’ve always loved Ella, and we had to work through this when it happened.

I didn’t think she was going to forgive me, but she found it in her to give me another chance.

” He covered his mouth, and I noticed a tear drip from his eye.

“How do I tell her this? How do I apologize to you for even putting you in this position? Honestly, Myles…I don’t know what to do. ”

He looked at me, his eyes filled with pain from mistakes long ago, and I understood him even if it wasn’t for the same reason.

Walking over, I sat down next to him.

“If I’m honest, I wish Ma had told ya. Owen…he never deserved a son like Lip. He is so smart and kind, and I was terrified that he was going to suffer the way I did. I’ve worried every day for my brother. Maybe if you’d known…”

“I don’t know what I would’ve done, Myles.

I wish I could say that I would’ve stepped up and taken Filip, but…

” He shook his head. “It would’ve caused more issues with Owen and your mother, and my marriage was in shambles.

Ella and I were trying to hold it together for Blake and Theo, but she asked me to move out for a while.

I’ve never been so ashamed in my life. I had to face the fact that no matter what I said, it didn’t matter because nothing excused my actions. ”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. I hadn’t expected this, which was stupid because I’d never known Ethan to be mean or cruel.

Ethan looked at me. “What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think you would ask me what I wanted, and then when everythin’ happened with Ren, it slipped me mind.

” Getting up, I started pacing again. It had always helped me think.

Sighing, I turned around and looked at Ethan.

“We can’t be keepin’ this from everyone now, ya know.

It’ll come out at some point and hurt everyone that much more. ”

He nodded.

“You’re right, even knowing this could end my marriage, I have to tell Ella, Blake, and Theo. It’s the right thing to do.”

“If ya decide to claim Lip as yer son, can ya do me a favor?”

“I won’t steal him from you, Myles. He is your brother first. I just learned that I have another son, I promise that I will never do that.”

“Aye, that’s good to know. But I was gonna ask ya to give him yer name. The taint of the McCoys will follow him through life. But O’Brien still means something positive and I don’t ever want him thinkin’ that the stench of Owen will rub off on him,” I said.

Talking about this hurt so much. Yes, Lip would always be my brother, but things would change.

There was no way to stop it, and what that looked like shook me to my core.

Lip was my world. I’d loved him and protected him from the time he was a baby, and to give any of the decision-making up… it was unthinkable.

Ethan pushed away from the table and shocked me by gripping the back of my neck and pulling me into a hug.

“You are not stained, Myles. Your mother had a good heart despite everything she went through, and she loved you. I see her heart in you. I see it in your brother, and I would be proud to call you my family.”

The stupid tears started when I gave in and wrapped my arms around Ethan. I’d longed for a man like this in my life. Someone to look up to, to be proud of, who was good despite this insanely dark world.

My body shook as my worries, fears, and past trauma overwhelmed me.

From the abuse I’d suffered, to my mother’s murder and the fear we had lived with, to the responsibility I’d assumed to keep Lip safe, and of course, my beautiful Snowflake.

She was the shining light in my life, and I’d almost lost her.

The next blow came when we learned that she was going to continue to struggle and that fucking Nash had married her.

My heart broke as quickly as it was repaired with each gasp and sob that wracked my body.

“I’ve got you, Myles. No matter what, we’ll get through this together,” Ethan said, holding me tighter.

For the first time in my life, I let myself crumble completely and handed the heavy load over to someone else for a few minutes. I could be myself with Snowflake, but I hated to burden her with my past. I never wanted it to touch her, like it could somehow infect the good that she symbolized.

Pulling back, I wiped away the tears as Ethan gripped my shoulders.

“We’ll wait until Ren is out of the hospital before we do anything else. Filip is at Golden Oak, and that doesn’t need to change. Are you good with that?”

“Aye.” I looked up and locked eyes with Ethan. This could blow up his entire world, but he would see this through.

He was willing to put his neck on the guillotine and still offered kindness over burying the truth.

When Nash first told me that Ethan was Lip’s father, he kept it quiet for me.

I hadn’t been able to process anything at that moment, but now that Ethan knew, I didn’t want to hide it.

Lip would be protected from so much, including Lawrence, Owen’s past, and anyone he had wronged, and anything Devin had done.

The stigma around the McCoy name couldn’t touch him, and I wanted Blake to know Lip as a brother.

He was my best friend, and keeping this from him didn’t sit well the more I thought about it.

“Ya know…I always secretly wished that you were me da. Thank you for being a decent fuckin’ human, Ethan. I’ve seen the other side, and mistakes or no, yer a good man.”

He gave me a small smile and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“Come on, let’s go get some dinner. I’m starving, and I bet you haven’t had a decent meal in days.”

Right on cue, my stomach growled, making us laugh. There were still bumps in the road on the horizon, but they no longer felt like a bottomless abyss waiting to swallow me whole.