“Talk to me when you findyourbrother kissing your father,” Noah said, flushing to the tips of his ears.
“Former brother,” Aiden teased. “Soon to be your stepfather.”
“Affection, gross,” Adam said, entering the kitchen, hooking a brow upwards when he saw Aiden perched on the counter, Thomas between his knees. “Are we interrupting something?”
Only a conversation Thomas feared he and Aiden would be fielding for the rest of their lives. They would have to publicly address it eventually, but they’d jump off that bridge if they survived this one last trial.
Before Thomas could reassure him that he was not, in fact, interrupting something, Calliope made a strange noise from the living room like someone had just stepped on a cat’s tail, then called out, “He responded. He responded.”
It was a mad dash to the war room with everyone doing their best to get there first. Nobody even tried for seats, all of them standing as Calliope double clicked on the message.
Dear Thomas,
Looks like you were as smart as my father thought you were. You’re right. I think it’s time we meet. How about at the lake house? Where it all began…or ended, I suppose. Either way, it has a nice symmetry to it. I’d tell you to come alone, but I know you won’t. So, bring who you like. I do so love the attention.
Nathan McAvoy
Thomas stared at the message, a thousand questions running through his head at once.
“I thought the lake house blew up,” Adam said.
“I thought his last name was Jeffries,” Arsen added, confused.
“I thought you guys were smart enough to recognize a trap when you see one, so clearly we’re all wrong,” Calliope barked, fuming. “Fuck this guy.”
While Thomas agreed with the sentiment, it wasn’t conducive to fixing the problem. His insides shook at just the thought of setting foot on that property again. “I had the remains of the lake house razed and another home built there. But I could never bring myself to sell it. It’s just a rental property now.”
“Who’s renting it?” Noah asked.
Calliope worked her keyboard magic, then shook her head. It’s empty. It’s listed as for rent.”
“Using his father’s last name in the message is a bold move,” Asa said. “I don’t like it. It screams end game.”
Thomas had picked up on that, too. Blackmailers—especially ones who appeared to also moonlight as serial killers—didn’t sign their name to things. Nathan had a plan and they were playing into it somehow.
Avi nodded. “This is a suicide mission.”
“But for him or us?” Felix asked.
“I think I should go alone,” Thomas said. “It’s safer for you all.”
His sons began to angrily talk over each other until Thomas had no idea what they were saying. It was only when a loud whistle shrieked through the space that they all fell quiet, looking at Calliope with wide eyes, August particularly irritated.
“One at a time. Arguing helps nobody,” Calliope instructed.
“There’s no way he’s going alone,” Noah said.
Before Thomas could respond, Aiden was nodding. “Yeah, no, that’s not even remotely a possibility.” He pointed a finger at Thomas. “I’ll tie you to a fucking chair first.”
Thomas didn’t bother to argue. There was no point. He might have been able to convince them one on one, but as a group, he was clearly outnumbered.
“Well, we can’t all roll up on this lake house, twenty plus men deep. It will trigger whatever final sequence this guy has planned, and like he said, he loves an audience,” Mac said.
“If we could just figure out his motive, maybe we’d know how to prepare,” Noah muttered.
“He wants to put on a show,” Lucas said. “This whole thing has been…performative. He’s trying to prove something, either to you or himself. He’s a narcissist. He wants you to know he’s smarter than you are. He wants to show off. If he is a serial killer, as Calliope expects, he’s going to want to show Thomas what he’s done.”
“But why?” Zane asked. “Why go through all of this just to confess? He has to know he’s not getting out of this alive.”
