“That was only a very small deciding factor. They were many, but ultimately, it was you. I could see the lengths that you would have gone to protect that boy and had I pursued war with him, it would have ended badly for you, so I was willing to let it slide.”
“What?” I grunt. “What the hell are you talking about? Why should it matter to you if I get hurt?”
“Believe it or not, Henley, but you’re my daughter. We may not be family in the typical sense but you have my blood running through your veins and I protect what’s mine.”
My eyes drop to the floor as I try to take it all in. I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. All this time he has known. Both Gina and Anton deceived my father, allowed him to think he was getting a little bundle of joy to love and treasure when they were just dumping him with their kid to get her out of the way.
“What do you mean that there were many deciding factors about why you let Noah go?”
Anton tsk’s me and shakes his head. “That doesn’t concern you. Now, can we get back to business? I have a meeting that I’m supposed to be at.”
“At nearly three in the morning?” I question. Anton stares at me blankly and I get on with it. “Fine. Will you please help me find my little sister before anything happens to her?”
“She does not share your blood, Henley. She is just a girl, not your sister.”
I square my jaw and pull back my shoulders. “She is my sister. Are you going to help me or not?”
Anton considers me a moment and I fear that he’s about to tell me to shut the fuck up and get out of his sight when he surprises the ever loving shit out of me. “I will find and return your sister to you,” my hope finally beginning to rise, “but it’s going to cost you.”
Damn it.
I narrow my eyes on the man who looks nothing like me but so damn much like Rivers. “How?” I demand as dread sinks into my stomach. This is where it all went to shit with Noah and I have a feeling the same thing is about to happen to me, but again, this is Aria we’re talking about and I’m pretty damn sure I’d pay any price to see her safe.
“Samuel has gone against my wishes and joined the Marines. He has made it impossible to take over the family business. If I do this for you, if I save this girl you have claimed as your sister, then you will stand by my side and one day take over my business. You are my blood, Henley. This is where you belong.”
I suck in a sharp breath and shake my head. “Anything but that.”
My head starts spinning with all the rumors and stories I’ve heard about Anton Mathers. Drugs, murders, money laundering, theft…and he expects me to be head of all that shit one day. I couldn’t. It would destroy me.
“Those are the terms of our agreement,” Anton tells me. “Consider it your freedom for hers.”
“And if I refuse?” I questions, my eyes filling with unshed tears for the future I would be destroying and throwing away.
“Then I hope you kissed your sister goodbye.” My heart shatters. Never in a million years did I think I’d be faced with this dilemma. “If you do not agree to stand by my side as second in charge and commence your training, then I will not search for your sister. She will be lost and I can guarantee that no one in this town will find her. The police don’t have the resources or the will and deep down, you already know this. So, what’s it going to be Henley. Your freedom or hers?”
I clench my jaw thinking it over. “What exactly does it mean being your second in charge?”
Anton seems to consider it a moment before raising a brow at me. “It means that following your summer, you will move in here with me and you will train day in and day out until I have decided that you have what it takes to continue in my footsteps. Look around you, Henley. All this could be yours.”
I can’t help but glance around and turn up my nose at it all. “What’s to stop me going ahead with all this and then burning your empire to the ground?”
“You forget who I am, young one. Remember, just because we are blood, does not make us family. I won’t hesitate to use yours against you. I might start with Noah, maybe your father, Harrison, or your best friend, Tully. Trust me, if you make this deal and decide to find your sister, then it’s in your best interests to play by my rules.”