Take Me Down (The Knight Brothers 2)

The order – not, he noticed, a request – took him off guard. Parker wasn’t the scout for corporate retreats and his brother damn well knew it.

In fact, Parker hadn’t been back to the slopes since he’d been hurt during the qualifying trials for the Olympics, shattering his knee and destroying any hope for the Games that year. He’d competed four years before, when he’d been eighteen, and had two bronze medals to show for it. Four years later came the injury, then surgery and nine months of rehab and he’d returned to the sport, only to be sidelined by a car accident that had broken his leg, again taking him out of competition.

An accident that had caused more than damage to Parker’s body. Given everything that had transpired that day, he’d been emotionally and physically broken. He hadn’t had it in him to qualify against much younger skiers another four years later and was forced to let his dreams and hope for the future go. The thought of returning to the mountains was emotionally terrifying.

“Hey, man. I can take the flight out and handle it,” Sebastian said, shooting Ethan a narrow-eyed glare. If Ethan was too self-absorbed to realize what he was asking of Parker, Sebastian wasn’t.

“I can do it,” Parker said, ignoring his churning stomach. Facing his fears wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“If you’re sure…” Sebastian trailed off.

“I am.”

Sierra rose and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing once. She also understood that what Ethan was asking wasn’t as simple a request as it sounded.

Ethan cleared his throat. “You and Sebastian can go. I need a word alone with Parker.”

Sierra frowned at Ethan. “I think you need the vacation,” she said to him. “Your mood sucks.” Without waiting for an answer, she spun on her heel and walked out.

Sebastian turned to his oldest sibling. “She’s got a point, bro. We’ve been patient but you need to check the attitude and fix yourself. Even I’ve fucking had it.” He walked out the way Sierra had gone, leaving Parker alone with Ethan.

“What is it?” Parker asked. He had more patience for Ethan’s moods because he knew what it was like to have his entire world shattered.

“The accountant red flagged certain transactions coming out of your personal account.” Ethan picked up a folder from his desk, holding it in his hand.

Anger stirred in Parker’s gut. “Why didn’t Ashley bring this to me instead of you?” Ashley, Sebastian’s wife – they’d married in a small, family-only ceremony a few months ago – was a forensic accountant who had come back into their lives and later their business – after nearly a decade and was now working with Knight Time Technology.

“It wasn’t Ashley who flagged the payments. It was Frank at our outside firm. And he couldn’t reach you. Thought I’d just relay the information.”

Parker swallowed hard. At least his family wasn’t betraying him. “It’s none of your business, Ethan.” He curled his hands into tight fists. The thought of his oldest sibling, who’d been like a father to him, knowing his failures wasn’t a good one.

Ethan ran a hand through his overlong hair. “You’re my brother. What affects you affects me. And this?” He pointed to the folder, which, Parker knew without looking, listed payments he had made to the London family.

Large payments.

Guilt money.

“It has to stop,” Ethan said.

Parker shook his head, the pain of that time returning full force. “Their daughter died, Ethan. I owe them.”

Ethan’s expression turned angry. “That’s how they want you to feel. You were driving the car but you were broadsided by another vehicle. It wasn’t your fault and you have to quit acting like it was.”

Parker pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. “I hear you. I may even agree with you but they need the money. Between their mortgage, Rina’s student loans, and her medical bills from the time of the accident until she died, they’re in serious debt.”

Ethan shook the papers in his hand. “Wrong. First, if someone dies, the student loans are discharged. Second, they had decent insurance, and third … they’re not using the money on anything remotely resembling helping their family. Read the private investigator’s report.” He held out the file.

Pissed now, Parker snatched it from his brother’s hand. “You had no right to go digging into what I do with my money.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow, not at all concerned that he’d gone looking into things that didn’t concern him. “Family,” he said, as if that explained his actions.

Parker opened the folder and began reading through, and what he saw turned his stomach. High-end cars, vacations abroad, shopping at expensive stores, private school for their other child … basically the Londons were living a life of luxury on his dime. Or Benjamins, as the case might be.

“I’ve tried to say no once before but Elana, Rina’s mother, cried about how hard their life was without her, how much money they owed. George, her father, acted like he hated coming to me at all but it was a last resort… Even if they’ve been using the money for frivolous things, their daughter is gone. I’m not. I owe them.”