There wasn’t a second of hesitation when he said, “I’m at the house. Come by. Journey’s out with Nick. Hawk and Garrison are … otherwise preoccupied.”
That admission made me smile. I couldn’t deny I didn’t understand their relationship, but it seemed to work for Creed, and that was all that mattered to me. Even after all these years, I considered him the closest thing I had to a brother. Nothing would change that. Not time. Not distance. And apparently, not love.
“I’m on my way,” I told him as I flipped on the blinker to make a U-turn.
“See you in a few.”
That was about how long it took for me to wind my way to Creed’s new house. I’d been here once before, back when it was undergoing renovations after they purchased it. Creed had called me out of the blue, wanting to talk. He knew that wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but he’d had things he wanted to get off his chest. After what happened, after I’d killed the man who had intended to kill Creed, he wanted to ensure I was okay. With the exception of Jinx, no one in my life had ever cared whether I was okay. It had been weird, yet strangely satisfying.
I parked my car in front of the monstrosity that Creed now called home with his four business partners, who also happened to be his partners in life. Three were his best friends, and one was the woman they all loved. I admired Creed. Hell, sometimes I was envious. He’d made something of himself by pulling himself up by his bootstraps and forging ahead. His start in life was eerily similar to mine, yet he wasn’t like me in the sense he wasn’t waiting for the next person to leave. He didn’t care. I did.
The front door opened as I was standing there, staring up at all the windows.
“Get your ass in here,” Creed rumbled, a hint of amusement in his voice.
I took a deep breath and resigned myself to telling him the truth. About everything.
Forty-five minutes later, Creed stared at me like I’d sprouted another head out of my neck.
“Knox Montgomery is her brother?”
“Half-brother. Yes.”
“And you know this for a fact?”
“I already told you I’ve got the DNA results.”
“And you’re just telling me this now?”
I frowned. “I didn’t realize I was supposed to keep you apprised.”
“He’s afriendof mine.”
“Yeah. So?”
“Jesus Christ, Rule. You can’t just spring something like this on someone.”
I wasn’t sure if he meant Knox or Laikyn, but I figured it was a little late for that.
“I need to talk to him,” I told Creed. “He needs to know.”
“The hell he does. He’s thirty-five fucking years old. You don’t just waltz in and surprise him with a long-lost sister who now wants a stake in his fortune.”
“She doesn’t know about the money. Not yet.”
Creed’s expression was dubious. “Really? You’re telling me Jeremiah Montgomery’s daughter doesn’t know she’s an heiress to a fortune?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” I said firmly. “Because she doesn’t know she’s Jeremiah Montgomery’s daughter. Fuck. Haven’t you heard a fucking word I said? I haven’t told her.”
“You said she found the DNA test. It doesn’t have his name on it?”
“No.” I moved to the balcony railing and stared out into the night. “I had it done discreetly. I didn’t want it logged into some DNA database and Knox find out about it before I could talk to him.”
“He’ll want to do his own test,” Creed said with a huff.
“He’d be an idiot not to, but I needed to know for sure. It’s not like I want to waltz in and upend his life on a hunch.”
“But you don’t have a problem upending his life?”
