“You still believe that?”
Cal opened his mouth, then closed it again. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know how to answer a question about his father.
Before Cal could answer?—
Footsteps sounded outside the building.
Both of them went still.
The steel door opened.
Two of the Florida men stepped inside carrying a flashlight.
Cal straightened instantly.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snapped.
Neither man answered.
“Do you know who I am?”
One of them smirked.
Cal pulled harder against the restraints.
“My father will have your ass for this.”
The taller man finally looked at him.
“Your father works for people like us.”
The sentence hit harder than any punch. All the fight went out of him as something deep inside him had cracked. At first, his mind automatically rejected it.
Then memory started surfacing in ugly little flashes.
Restricted roads on Hollis land, he’d been told, never to use.
Trucks arriving long after midnight.
Men, his father called business associates who never stayed long enough to learn anybody’s name.
Every time Cal asked questions growing up, Wade answered the same way:
“Some parts of this business aren’t your concern yet.”
Back then, Cal had heard protection in the words.
Standing here now, he finally heard the warning underneath them.
Cal’s face darkened instantly.
“Untie us. Now.”
The men ignored him completely.
“I’m not telling you again.”
A laugh echoed softly through the building.
