For seconds, or minutes, I could only stare at him. He waited me out patiently, with a smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes.
“I can make him very happy,” I finally spoke.
“I don’t need him happy. I need him focused.”
How the fuck could a father think like that?
“He’s distracted. It isn’t good for business. So, you help me with my business, and I’ll help you with yours.”
Leon was so much shorter than me, but the way he still managed to stare down at me made me feel like a child. I understood it now, the fear Harper had. He’d been treated like this his whole life. My jaw clenched.
“I think you should leave.”
Leon nodded slowly. “Think about my proposal, Ben. My offer will stand for the next forty-eight hours. Just know, whether or not you take it, you will not win against me. You can’t have Harper. Whether you get something out of this, however, is up to you.”
“I don’t want your fuckin’ money. What I have with Harper is far more valuable.”
Leon stared. His expression was pleasant, but there was something in it that made me incredibly uneasy.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I was trying to determine what he meant by that as he stood and left the office.
I was frozen in place, my heart thumping like a rabbit that had just encountered a wolf.
Did Harper know? No. He would have told me. How the fuck was I supposed to tell him his worst fears had come true?
I heard the garage door. Harper was here. I’d barely replied to him all afternoon.
The ingredients for dinner were still sitting on the counter in front of me, untouched. I’d been staring at them for I don’t know how long.
I should go greet him. I’d given him his own house key and garage remote, but I still always greeted him at the door. The moment I looked into his eyes, though, I’d have to tell him. Selfishly, I stole every second I could.
Then he was in front of me, his eyes happy but tired.
The longer he stared into mine, the more I saw the concern grow in them before I’d even said anything.
Would he run away again? Would Leon knowing be the thing that broke us apart? I couldn’tnottell him. He deserved to know what his father had tried to do. I just had to trust that he meant it when he’d said he wouldn’t run away again.
“Pup?” Harper’s voice was soft, cautious. “What’s wrong?”
I stared until I couldn’t keep it in any longer. “He knows.”
His brow furrowed. “Who knows?”
“Your father. He knows.”
thirty-six
Harper
WAR DRUMS.
My heart beat like a war drum. The sound of imminent battle. The crossing of the driveway felt like trespassing on enemy territory, opening the front door like breaching the borders.
My “father” and mother were sitting at the dinner table. Mom looked like she was about to fall asleep in her untouched salad at one end, and all the way down the other end of the ridiculously long table, sat Leon.
“What the FUCK?” I screamed.
