“I heard there was an issue this morning at the house of Lords.”
My teeth grind. How the fuck does he know? Prickett and Gunner may not understand what I did, but they’re not rats. There wasn’t anyone else in the gym. And I know Sarah doesn’t know what happened. That only leaves one possibility. Matt! He’s already run his mouth to his daddy. Maybe he thinks if he can get me stripped of the Lords, he’ll get Blakely sooner. Maybe that was his plan all along. Go to Blake, threaten her, thinking she’ll run to me, and I’ll attack him. Fuck, if that was his plan, I fed right into it and gave him exactly what he wanted.
“Yes, sir. It won’t happen again,” I lie. Matt needs to learn his lesson. If I need to do that again, then so be it. I’ll face those consequences, when the time comes.
“No need,” he says dismissively.
I frown and repeat. “No need?”
“Yes. I’m not aware of the details, and neither do I care. But just so we have an understanding.” He pauses and clears his throat. “You do whatever the fuck is necessary to keep him away from her. And I’ll make sure that these pesky rumors are never heard of.”
A smile grows across my face. What the fuck has Matt done to piss off this man?
“Am I clear?” he asks at my silence.
“Yes, sir.”
Click.
I sit back as the engines come to life on the jet, and that smile grows even bigger, making my cheeks hurt. This game just got a lot more fun.
_______________
THE TOWN CAR pulls up to the front of the Victorian mansion in Upstate New York where I grew up.
Getting out, I grab my bag and head up the steps. Before I can even reach the last one, the door swings wide open. My mom shrieks, placing her hands over her mouth before running to me.
“Ryat!” she screams a little too loud in my ear as she hugs me tightly.
I drop my bag to hug her back. “Hey, Mom.”
“Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re home.” She pulls away and cups my face with both of her hands. “You’re such a grown man.” I see the tears start to build in her soft blue eyes.
I never come home. It’s not because of her or because of my dad. I just choose to be somewhere else. “I’m only here for the weekend,” I remind her.
She smiles at me. “I know. But soon, you’ll be living here again.”
I don’t respond to that.
“Son,” my father calls out from inside the house.
“He’s been waiting on you,” she says softly.
Kissing her on the cheek, I reach down and grab my bag before walking inside.
“I’ll take that.” She jerks it from my hands. When I go to reach out for it, she adds, “I’ll put it in your room.” Then she turns and practically skips up the stairs.
Taking in a deep breath, I walk down the hallway and into his study to the right. He sits behind his desk, typing away on his computer.
“I’m glad you could make it home, son,” he says, glancing up at me, then going back to his screen.
I fall into the brown leather couch. “You said it was important.”
His cell phone rings, and he stands. “Give me a second.” Dismissing himself from the room, he answers it.
I pull mine out and enter my passcode before pulling up my app that shows me the inside of Blake’s apartment. She’s lying in bed. She must have gone back to take a nap after her first class. I know she’s tired. After her drunken state last night plus waking up after her dream, she didn’t get much sleep.
She’s on her right side, facing one of the cameras. The covers are shoved down to the footboard. All she wears is her thong. Her clothes are on the floor by her bed.
“Sorry about that,” my father announces, entering, and I lock my cell before he can see what I’m looking at.
“It’s fine.” I shove it into my pocket and think of anything but her to ignore my hard cock.
He sits back behind his desk, undoing the button on his Armani suit jacket, his green eyes meeting mine. “Mr. Williams called me.”
I roll my eyes. “Can’t say I’m surprised. I’m sure I know what he wanted too.”
He nods. “Cindy told him who you chose, and he wanted to know why.”
“Did you tell him it’s none of his goddamn business,” I growl. God, that family is annoying. The fact that I have to marry into it gives me a migraine. And they keep overlooking the fact that no one chose her. That should be the first hint. I’ve seen Lords go to war over wanting the same chosen, while refusing to share her with one another.