He wasn’t kidding.
But I hadn’t expected that not a single word would come out of my mouth.
I mean, I literally saidnothing.
Jett had told me to trust Landon, and that’s what I’d done. It paid off; the man had slayed it.
It wasn’t that he went on forever, but his words packed a punch.
We’d sat down and listened to the mediator for a few minutes about the goal of the meeting and why the court ordered the mediation before scheduling a court date. It was a load of crap about trying to reach an agreement betweenus for them to have a part in Griffin's life. In my mind, that was a hard no, which was exactly what Landon flat out told them.
It was like watching Tom Cruise in the movie A Few Good Men drill into Jack Nicholson—only ten times better. I managed to keep in the smirk that threatened to break free, but it wasn’t easy. I was in awe, watching Landon in his element.
Alley will be so proud.
Chaz’s dad opened his mouth, and the first thing he said lit a fire in my gut as anger burned bright. It also set Landon into super lawyer mode.
“We feel that my client has been robbed of five years of his son’s life and ripping him of the privilege of being a father was not only heartless but also unfair.”
The a-hole—you know I was pissed if I was thinking in those terms—looked dead serious, and Chaz couldn’t hide the smug look on his face.
How dare he.
When Mr. Huntington started to speak again, Landon rose to his feet, stopping him in his tracks. “I think you can stop right there,” he said with authority, and everyone fell silent.
My body tensed but Landon laid his hand on my shoulder, grounding me before shutting the meeting down with a sharp lashing of his tongue.
“Face it. The only reason you are pulling this nonsense now is because the vultures came knocking on your door to dig into your lives since there’s chatter of you, Mr. Huntington, making some sort of political move soon.”
One of the other lawyers attempted to speak, but Landon hushed him.
“This is what I know: My client was pregnant alone. She attempted to tell Chaz about the baby she knew was his,which resulted in bullying along with denial that your client was the father.”
His hand left my shoulder and slammed down on the table, causing me to jump in my seat a bit. Watching him in his element was a thing of beauty.
“I have witnesses from back then as to how it all played out, so you will get raked over the coals if you even attempt to take this to court or think you are spending one second in my client's son’s life.”
My pulse picked up as he went on.
“It has been five years, and she has done everything for her child while you have done nothing. She is also married to a man of integrity and honor. He is a decorated United States Marine who served honorably and received a Purple Heart for injuries he received in action while fighting for our country. He is also theonlyfather that Griffin has ever known.”
Landon dropped his head for a second—a look of disgust crossing his features—like he couldn’t bear to take in someone who’d deny his child. Then he looked back up with a hard look in his eyes and continued.
“If you continue taking this before family court, you’ll only come across as inadequate and downright negligent in a courtroom.”
Stunned, I gasped, hoping nobody realized it was because I didn’t know about the medal. How did I not know? I couldn’t contemplate that but for a second because Landon landed one last blow, finishing them off.
With both hands on the table, he leaned in, an edge to his voice that I’d never heard, and practically growled, “You think those reporters digging up dirt are bad?” A taunting laugh rumbled from his chest. “They arenothingcompared to me, because I already have more than enough to not just end your political ambitions… but to destroy you and your entire family. And don’t think for one second I won’t share that shit with everyone.”
With that, Landon looked at me, gently took my arm, and motioned for me to get up.
“This was a waste of everyone's time, but if you pursue this, mark my words: You. Will.Not.Win.”
Next thing I knew, we were walking out the door, with all the men sputtering behind us, but Landon didn’t pay them any mind.
What the heck just happened?
All I wanted was to spend time with my guys.
