Going Down Fast (Billionaire Bad Boys 2)

“Did Keith give you anything for safekeeping?” Lucas asked.

“No,” his father said.

He glanced at his mother, who shook her head, obviously too upset to speak.

“Is there any place Keith could have hidden it here?” he asked.

“Your brother didn’t come out to visit,” his father admitted. “We had to go to the city if we wanted to see him.”

Lucas blew out a frustrated breath. “What about anything odd? Did anyone approach you? A big man who liked to talk a lot?” He described Bernardi in further detail.

“That sounds like the new exterminator,” his mother said. “He showed up one morning and said Ralph, our regular man, was out sick. He talked a lot about his son and how hard it was when a kid was a disappointment.”

Which was how he’d tried to play Lucas, discussing brothers, hoping he’d open up. With his parents, he’d discussed a son. “Did you engage with him?” Lucas asked.

She frowned and shook her head. “He annoyed me, and I cut him off to make a phone call.”

Lucas leaned against the counter. “Did he have free reign of the house after that?”

She nodded. “Exterminators always do.”

“And did you notice anything out of place after he left?”

She pursed her lips and grew quiet, thinking. “Now that you mention it, I had to go into all the rooms he’d been in to shut the lights. Ralph always remembers to do that himself. And there were some open drawers, but I assumed the cleaning lady had been dusting and left them ajar.”

Lucas groaned. So Bernardi had been here and found nothing. Chances were he wouldn’t be back, but security would make sure of it.

“From now on, set the alarm and call me or the security company if something seems out of the ordinary.”

“I will,” his mother said, sounding grateful.

“Fine. I’m going to get going.” Lucas had said all he’d come to say.

He didn’t want to believe his father was choosing sides between his children, but his inability to see the bad in Keith left Lucas feeling less than. Something he was damned tired of dealing with in his life. And something he was long past. Except when it came to his parents.

Lucas turned to leave when his father spoke. “Son… there’s more I need to say.”

Lucas paused mid-step and turned, facing his dad.

He realized his father was still suffering, the lines around his eyes so pronounced. Despite everything, it hurt Lucas to see. He waited for the older man to speak.

“I knew your brother didn’t have your moral fiber. Or mine,” he finally said, the admission taking Lucas by surprise.

His father grabbed on to the back of a chair as he spoke. “We thought Maxie would be a good influence on him. You were in California when they started to date and… we hoped he’d stop looking for more, for better—”

“For what I had? Or wanted?” Lucas asked, unable to hide the bitterness in his tone. “Or was that something you conveniently shut your eyes to as well?”

His father looked away. His mother hadn’t lifted her gaze from her lap. “You were smart. Such a good boy. We knew only great things would come your way. Your brother? He tried too hard, and we thought once you left, he’d mellow out. He always was too competitive.”

Lucas’ mouth turned dry at that convoluted way of seeing the past. “Are you saying I had it easy? I was bullied by Keith and his friends. School was hard because I couldn’t sit still. I was smart but it was too simplistic, too easy. Dropping out wasn’t easy. I felt like a failure, while Keith was the golden boy. Your favorite by far, popular, sports star, and yet there was nothing I could have that he didn’t try to take away. Maxie was his ultimate screw you to me. And you stood by and let it happen because you were more worried about Keith!” Lucas exploded, the words flying from his mouth in a torrent of held-back pain and rage.

“Because if we didn’t, we had to face our failures as parents!” his father exploded in return.

“So instead you sacrificed me.” Lucas felt sick.

Bryce winced. “We didn’t know Keith was so mentally sick or how far he’d go to get what he wanted.”

Maybe you should have paid more attention. Yet despite Lucas’ disappointment in his parents, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt them by saying those thoughts out loud.