“What the fuck, Dad? You can’t just fuck with people’s lives.”
“I can for you, Brantley. For your career.” He looks smug, so self-righteous, like he’s a hero who’s sacrificed everything for his son.
“I. Don’t. Have. A. Career.” I bite out every word, and the sharp pain in my chest as the words sink in is brutal. I’ve been wrestling with my loss of purpose for almost a year, and I know this is truly the end of it. Ryan Michaels was enabling me the whole time. I wanted to play in the NHL so badly, but not like this. He hurt people. For me.
He straightens, and wipes his hands down his suit as if he can brush off the bloodstains and looks at me, offering one last chance. “You have nothing and you’ve probably pissed away all your money, so if you walk away from me, I hope one of these sexual deviants can support you.”
“Fuck you.”
Rage flares in his eyes, and I hate how much I look like him. This cold, heartless bigot.
“You think everything that’s happened since Fiona’s mother died is a coincidence? I thoughtshe,” Dad points at Fi, “was out of your life after college, so imagine my surprise when I saw her at the hospital by my son’s side.
“So you made it your mission to kill me?” Fi snarks. “That’s a little extreme.”
He shakes his head, looking annoyed. “Nedry wasn’t supposed to do that. Dennis owes mea lotof money. He claimed he could pay me with your mother’s inheritance.”
Fi’s eyes widen. “You…”
“Your stepfather does a lot of shady shit, as you probably know. He’s worked up quite the debt over the years. But clearly, I made a miscalculation when I trusted him. He can’t even get you to sign some fucking paperwork. Of course, we also weren’t expecting you boys to be following her around like a pair of cunt-drunk bodyguards.”
I swallow, and look over at Fi, whose face is bleached of color.
“I heard that there was no trace of Nedry’s body, much to Dennis’s chagrin. But whatever. I’m done with all this now. Dennis’s debt will be his undoing, so he better hope he’s apprehended. A life sentence will be preferable to what my guy will do to him.” He cracks his knuckles. “Have a nice life, Brantley.” He looks between Fi and Bastian like he smells something bad, then turns on his heel and marches out of the parking lot.
Fi watches him go with apprehension in her eyes. “Why did he come here alone? Why wouldn’t he bring his muscle and take me to Dennis?”
I smile sadly. “My dad likes to hold people accountable. Dennis has to be the one to do it, or his life is forfeit. Plus, I think he just wanted me,” I whisper. “Despite his actions, my dad never blamed Aiden or you for my failures. He blamed me forallowingmyself to care about something beyond him and hockey.”
I hate how I feel watching my dad turn the corner and disappear from sight. I never got closure when I thought he had abandoned me, but I didn’t realize that I still harbored some bit of hope that the man who raised me actually loved me in his own fucked-up way. But now that he’s shown his true colors, there’s no going back, and my hatred for him mixes with a keen sense of loss. I look over at Sebastian and Fi. “I’m so sorry,” I say, my throat thick with emotion. “I honestly didn’t know about any of this.”
“B,” Fi says, wrapping her arms around me, “none of this was your fault.”
I hang my head and close my eyes. “After my mom died, I thought if I could just impress my dad, maybe he would love me like she did. I saw how rigid and bigoted he was, but I looked the other way, even after he forced Aiden to leave, because I just wanted a family, you know?”
“Brantley.” I look up at Sebastian. My first name sounds so good on his lips. “We love you, and we’re your family, and that’s all that matters now. Got it?”
I swallow and nod, butterflies fluttering in my stomach as he places a gentle hand on my sore jaw and wipes my cheeks dry with the pads of his thumbs. “Now, let’s get you some ice, lock ourselves inside, and pretend everything isn’t fucked up right now. Agreed?”
Fi and I nod, and we walk toward the door.
I smile. “Since we’re a family now, can I call you Daddy?”
Fi snickers.
“You are literally older than me.”
“Pretty please?”
“No,” Bastian says darkly.
“Worth a shot.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
FIONA
Igo to shower as soon as we reach the bedroom. When I have the bathroom door firmly closed and locked, I start the water, sit down with my back to the tub, and put my face in my hands. My heart hurts, like it’s about to split in half.
