Page 1 of Pucking Snowed In with the Enemy

PROLOGUE

NATHANIEL

Iducked under the right hook and landed a hard jab to the ribs of my sparring partner. Moving away, I signaled for him to attack again and jumped over the leg, coming around for my knee. Landing softly in a crouch, I waited for him to complete his rotation, and before he could get his bearings, I shot up and caught him with an uppercut to the chin. The force knocked the guy clear off his feet, and he landed with a thud on the mats.

A singular clap brought my attention to the door to see my father standing there, looking very out of place in his expensive suit. I held out my hand and helped my partner to his feet.

“All of you out,” my father said, and I groaned. This couldn’t be good.

“To what do I owe the visit,” I asked dryly. It seemed a running theme at Wayward that our fathers spent more time in other countries than with their families.

“Do you make a joke, Nathaniel?”

I sighed. “No, I’m not joking.” I picked up the water bottle and drank some before toweling off my face. “The last time I saw you was six months ago, and you only call when it concerns business. So, you’re either here because you have business to attend to or you need my help.”

The Velcro closure on my wrist wrap was loud as I unwrapped it. It looked like my workout was officially over.

My father walked into the room, looking at the weight equipment like he was inspecting it for dust. “I got a call from an old friend today who wanted to give me a heads up.” I stared at him, waiting for the big reveal.

“Okay…and,” I asked when it looked like the next coming of Christ would be here sooner.

“This friend told me there is a little birdy flitting around and sticking her nose into business that she shouldn’t.”

“Birds don’t have noses,” I said, and my father glared at me.

“Always a smart mouth.”

“Smart ass. The saying is a smart ass.” He balled his hands into fists. As much as laying my father out on the mats was appealing, I let it go. “Fine, what bird, and what is she sticking her nose into?”

“Savannah Freeborn.”

“I don’t know a Savannah Freeborn.”

My father tugged at the cuffs on his suit and his face set with a smug expression, making my blood boil. We hardly got along about anything, but when he was purposely trying to get under my skin, I found it difficult to ignore him pushing my buttons.

“She is Rosales’s step daughter.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I know that last name but still don’t know who Savannah is,” I said. “That was the name of that guy Alex I handled.” I smirked as I thought about him screaming like a little bitch.

“Savannah is Alex’s half-sister, they share the same mother, hence the Freeborn.”

I shrugged, feeling like he was purposely dragging this on to be dramatic. It was either that or he wanted me to die in this room of old age.

“Okay, and?”

“She is looking into her brother’s death,” he said.

“Half-brother technically, and I don’t see what the problem is. I made sure that he will never be found, and you got to capitalize on him vanishing, so what’s the issue?”

“The issue is, she doesn’t believe her brother died by accident. She is looking into his case,” my father said, and I rolled my eyes as I picked up my shit. He wasn’t dead, so there was nothing for her to find. The boat accident was very believable, and so were the missing bodies. The ocean was a dangerous place.

Even after I’d proven myself over and over again, my father didn’t trust me.

“And what do I care what one little girl thinks?” I rolled out my shoulders. “You questioning my abilities again?” The anger was hard to hide in my voice, and the flare in my father’s eyes told me that he’d picked up on it, too.

“Do not disrespect me,” he growled. I was tempted to push him just to see if he would take a swing and give me an excuse to hit him back. Something I’d been dying to do for years.

“Father, I have a meeting in an hour.” I didn’t, but I wanted out of this conversation. “So, tell me why I should care or, better yet, why you care. If not, then I’m leaving.”