“And no one even knows these documents exist but me and Cale.” He looks down at the case. “The last known ping off your phone was a Lexington tower, but I knew you’d be more low-key than that. I started going through local fire halls, newspapers online. The only reason I found you was because you helped build the cottages on some ranch nearby. It was in the local newspaper, though it never said where you were from.” He grins. “Asher isn’t a common first name, and when I saw you were going by Reed now, I knew it was you. I’d been out here for a few weeks, moving from one small town to thenext in the vicinity, asking people if they knew you. I just happened to stop at the bar in town and the server said he did. Young guy. Told me about your girlfriend’s little shop.”
Matt.
I can’t even be upset with him. He’d never think twice about saying he knew me.
Pete hands me a pen and I flip through the papers, finding the sectioned tabs put in place by the lawyer. If I know one thing about my father, he was lawyered to death. This paperwork will be fair and complete, but I read through it anyway as Pete waits.
“You expect me to believe you came all the way here unprotected?”
“I knew you were. What’s fair is fair.” Pete moves closer, pulling back his jacket so I can see the gun at his hip. “Plus, I had faith you’d be understanding.”
Signing the last space, I flip his pen over to hand it back to him.
“The Saints are my cross to bear now.” He mentions the street name for my family. “If it’s your true wish, you’ll never see me after today.”
I swallow and watch his expression. Pete may have done terrible things, but he isn’t the soulless monster my father was.
“Your mother always wanted more for you.” He looks toward the inside of my house. “You’ve found better now?”
I nod curtly but say nothing. The less I speak of Olivia the better.
“Good.” He pats my arm. “Then live this life, son. And my best advice? Take care of it with everything you’ve fucking got.”
Regret he can never outlive, regret for the family he never had, peace he’s never known, lurks in his eyes as I turn to face my snow-covered yard with a sigh.
“This is my life now; my old life is dead and gone. Ashes toashes,” I mutter an old family saying. “And ifanyonecomes looking for me again, including you, they’ll be in pieces at the bottom of my creek before they can even tell me why they’re here.”
“Then that is my bond,” he agrees, leaning in to hug me. “I won’t come looking for you, but you know where to find me if you need me. Just stay away from the Saints. They’re mine now.” He chuckles. “I’m proud. She would be too.”
It’s the first time any man in my life has said that to me. And it affects me a lot more than I’d expect. I cling to the last member of my family I’ll ever know—just a moment longer—before backing up and giving him another nod. I pat his shoulder as he makes his way down the drive and into the black SUV parked on the road.
As he drives away, I take a moment to watch him go, knowing I need to face the music and tell Olivia who my family really is, whether she wants to know or not. I glance back toward the house, wondering if my father has actually managed to blow my world apart one final time, even from beyond the grave.
The look on her face as I come through the door says it all. My eyes sting with the threat of the first real tears I’ve felt since my mother’s death. But they’re not tears for my uncle or my father; they’re tears for Olivia, our baby, and what I may lose by not being totally honest.
She normally rambles when she’s nervous, which is what I expect from her now, though it’s not what I get. Olivia’s calm, sitting on my sofa with Duke perched beside her, her hand on his head.
I take a seat on the sofa beside her, angling my face to hers.
“Is he gone?” she asks.
“Yes. For good,” I say, placing my hand over hers. She almost flinches at my touch. It feels as though she’s already distancing herself from me.
“Your father wasn’t just a ruthless businessman,” she says, the words defeated.
“No,” I answer honestly as I take a deep breath, pinning her with my gaze. “All I can offer you is the truth, Liv. I tried to keep it from you toprotectyou. I tried to tell myself it was all in the past, that my old world didn’t exist in this new one. But I should’ve known they would find me eventually, that my father’s hand would reach up from the grave to try to strangle me one last time. Especially when things are going fucking good for the first time in my life.”
Dick brushes against my leg. It’s as if both animals can sense the tension. I reach down and pet him. Fuck, I’m even scared to losehim.
“The truth,” she says firmly.
I feel the tension in my jaw as I ponder my next words before allowing my eyes to return to hers.
“Once I tell you this, things will never be the same. You may not want to stay here, and I want you to know I wouldn’t blame you. I’ll suffer for my father’s sins because I have no choice. But you don’t have to, Liv.”
“Whowas your father?” she demands, choking back a sob. “I changed my mind, Asher. I need the whole truth now.”
CHAPTER 61
