Damaged (Boys of Winter 2)

Sitting around a massive table and telling Preston that he’s an asshole is as simple as breathing, but facing him after taking his son away from him, that’s an entirely different situation.

“So, what do we do?”

A grin cuts across Grayson’s lips as he looks back at me. The devilish sparkle that hits his eye is enough to have something roaring alive inside me. I absolutely love when he looks at me like that; I’m a sucker for it. “Now, we let the bastard in and watch as he unknowingly admits to it all.”

I laugh, rolling my eyes. “That’s insane. A guy like Preston Scardoni isn’t going to come in here and admit to everything that he’s done. He’s been playing this game for far too long. He’s not stupid.”

“You never know,” King murmurs as both he and Cruz go and stand with Grayson and Carver. “Men who let their emotions control and rule over them have a way of fucking it all up.”

I laugh to myself, eyeing Carver and Grayson and watching their stares harden when they figure out exactly what’s going through my mind. “Yeah,” I agree, a grin splitting across my face. “I have a little experience with that.”

Grayson just rolls his eyes, almost as though he’s completely over the little chat we had, while Carver looks even more pissed. I meet his stare, letting my smugness shine through. “Point proven,” I tell him, before stepping right in between Grayson and Carver and turning to face the entrance of the big room.

The guys all turn with me, and in that one movement, we form an impenetrable line of intimidation. Like clockwork, the front door barges open and we listen as Preston storms through Carver’s home as though he has every right to be here.

He reaches the living room in no time.

Preston comes to an immediate stop, his eyes slightly widening at the sight of us all waiting for him, but he quickly rights himself, acting as though the five of us watching him like a hawk who knows his darkest secret isn’t scaring the shit out of him.

His eyes slice right to mine, his jaw clenching as the fury bubbles through him. “What did you do to my son?” he roars, racing toward me.

He gets just a step away when Carver’s arm shoots up, slamming against his shoulder and jerking him to a violent stop, keeping me just out of reach. “Close enough,” Carver rumbles, the deep tone of his voice sailing straight through me.

I hold Preston’s stare. “The whereabouts of your son seems like a you problem. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this or not, but your son is a dick. I don’t exactly spend all my free time worrying about where he is at all hours of the day. So, thanks for this little visit, but perhaps you will have better luck checking in with the people who actually consider him a friend.”

“Don’t you speak of my son like that, you rotten girl,” he spits, his eyes narrowing in anger. “Who do you think I am? You cannot fool me like that. I know you were at that party last night.”

“What party?” I ask, slightly stepping closer to Preston and holding back a laugh as each of the guys flinch and somehow manage to find the self-control to not pull me back. “I was out with King last night getting a rescue dog.”

As if realizing that I’m talking about her, Lady Dante barks from deep within the living room and the corner of my mouth kicks up into a smile. I’ll have to get that doggy a treat; her timing is impeccable.

Doubt flickers through Preston’s gaze, but it’s gone in his next blink. “Who are you trying to play?” he demands, his gaze shifting up and down the line of men at my back. “I know you were at that party. Jacob called me and specifically said you were there.”

“Checkmate, motherfucker,” Grayson grunts, a soft laugh in his tone.

I glance back at him as a smile pulls at his lips. His eyes sparkle at the knowledge of being right, and I realize that this is exactly the moment he was talking about. Preston’s emotions have gotten the best of him, and just like that, he’s admitted to being the person on the other end of Jacob’s call, a call that he stupidly assumed we knew nothing about.

“Excuse me?” Preston roars, his glare sinking into Grayson like volcanic lava hitting ice. “I am the head of the Scardoni family. You have absolutely no right to speak to me like that. What would your father say?”

Grayson just laughs. “My father won’t say a goddamn thing when he realizes that you just implicated yourself as the person who’s been orchestrating the attacks on our leader, the woman you vowed to follow.”