“He fucking lied to me!” I accused, as my eyes burned into him. I saw the fear; I just didn’t care. In fact, I wanted him to be afraid. In that moment, I wanted him fucking terrified of me.
“Calm the fuck down and use your fucking words,” King tried again, but I ignored him. As far as I was concerned, Simon and I were the only two people in the fucking room.
“Tony,” Simon whispered, his voice trembling. He knew I knew the truth now. He knew what he did—how he made myjob impossible.
“Don’t you fucking dare, Simon. Get your ass outside; we’ll talk about it at home.”
“No,” Grace said, stepping in front of Simon.
“Grace,” King warned.
“Matlock, you need to leave,” she said calmly. “Go somewhere and calm down.”
I gaped at her. “This is my fucking house,” I replied, staring at her.
“This ismyfucking house, and Simon ismyfucking friend.Youare nothing but hislawyer.” She had her hands on her hips, as if daring me to challenge her statement.
My chest heaved with heavy breaths as panic overtook every sense in my body. Did Grace know? Had Simon told her the truth? Told her what we were to each other?
She took a step forward, King at her back, ready to defend her against any action I took. I’d never hurt Grace, but the idea that she might know my secret had my nervous system firing on every fucking cylinder.
“I am Simon’s lawyer, and I just received information we need to discuss.”
“Not while you are mad,” Grace argued.
“What the fuck do you think I’m going to do?” I asked, my voice dropping low. If she knew the truth, she had to know I’d never fucking hurt him.
“Matlock, take a fucking breather, brother,” King warned, putting his hands on Grace’s shoulders.
A large hand clamped down on my shoulder, and Gunner’s deep voice cut through the red haze that had appeared the moment Keys told me about Sadie.
“Brother, calm the fuck down. Look at him,” Gunner whispered in my ear. “Really look at him.”
Over Grace’s shoulder, I saw him standing behind her, staring at me. His eyes were filled with fear, which I continued to ignore, but there was more.
Regret.
I wasn’t sure if that was because he lied to me, because I was angry, or if he regretted ever getting involved with me.
There was also guilt.
I knew Simon well enough to know he felt guilty for letting Sadie convince him to stay out of her life when it came to Alan. If he’d said something sooner, if he’d done something sooner, none of us would be where we were today.
Sadie on the run, Simon on trial for murder, and me about to lose the one person who meant more to me than anyone who came before him. Including my sister, whom I loved and missed every fucking day.
Simon took a step toward me, and I shook my head. If he stood close enough for me to reach him, I couldn’t be sure if I would strangle him or pull him into my arms and kiss the fuck out of him. I couldn’t do either in front of my brothers.
In front of my president.
Without a word, I turned away from Simon and walked out the front door. I climbed into my SUV and drove through the gate the prospect had opened the moment I stepped onto the porch.
Hours passed as I drove with no destination in mind, until I found myself at the club in Denver, not surprised my anger had led me here. It was my anger that had brought me here the night I met Simon.
I stared at the building through my windshield. I shouldn’t have come here, not without Simon. I punished him when he came here without me, because I was a jealous, possessive fucker.
How would Simon react if he knew I was here without him? Would he care? The door opened, and I stepped out onto the pavement, slamming it shut behind me.
The part of my brain that should have been telling me to go home wasn’t functioning. I was angry, and hurt, and somewhere inside me, I wanted to hurt him too. I wanted him to feel the betrayal I felt. I wanted him to suffer. I yanked open the door and walked inside, my mind set on doing somethingthat I knew would irrevocably sever the connection Simon and I had.
