Present day…
It kills me to leave Harper in my apartment when I want to be there with her, when I want to be naked, rolling around in all her nakedness, showing her how good submission can be. Showing her how safe it can be with me. But I leave her for one reason: the Kingstons killed my mother in ways cancer never succeeded and now they tried to kill Harper, and for that, they have to pay.
The minute she shuts the apartment door, I step up my pace. In about thirty seconds, I round a corner and the elevator opens. Savage is standing inside. “Need a partner in crime?” he queries.
Obviously Smith communicated with his team about my departure but that works for me right about now. “Actually, yes.” I join him. “Where’s Adam?”
“Oh fuck,” he growls. “You SEALs. You think no one is as good as you are.” The doors shut. “He’s still in Denver. He doesn’t trust anyone else to handle what you need handled there. You want me to call another one of our fin-wearing, belly-flopping guys to be back up right now, or do you think you can live with me?”
I arch a brow.
He arches a brow.
“I simply wanted to know if Adam still had eyes on Isaac.”
“Oh that,” he says dryly. “Yes. He does and he has his lifejacket by his side with his little arm tubes, too, just in case he has to dive in and save someone.”
I surprise myself and laugh. “You’re a piece of work, Savage.”
“And I don’t even need fins to swim.” He drops that joke and turns serious. “What are we doing?”
“I’ve decided it’s time for me and my father to have a heart-to-heart.”
“And he’ll expect you and you want me to make sure you don’t get stabbed in the back.”
“He won’t expect me,” I say.
He snorts. “No? He sent a guy to try to kill you. I’d be choking out my father if it were me.”
I don’t comment. He doesn’t know my history with my father. Lord only knows, I wish the fuck it wasn’t what it is. I wish like hell I hadn’t been that man’s little bitch, but I have been. I’d solve a million puzzles, read a million work situations and statistics to his favor, but I couldn’t read myself with him. Whatever the case, I see me with him now. He wants to buy time. He wants to rattle me, even break me down while he sets me up. He’ll have to look me in the eye and try to do it.
Savage and I exit to the lobby and his cellphone rings. He grabs it and answers. “Savage here. What the fuck do you want?” He eyes me and then listens again before he hangs up. “Adam says that Isaac has yet to come out of his house. It’s reading off to him. He’s going to get a closer look. More soon.”
We exit the building, and I’ve already dismissed Isaac, hiding in his house, like the pussy that he is. That’s not reading off to me at all. He’s a scared little bitch. He’s waiting on daddy to call him with the “all clear” because I’m dealt with. I’m about to be dealt with, all right. I don’t voice this to Savage. I’ll let Adam confirm Isaac’s tucked in bed. I keep tracking forward but a block from the hotel, I stop at a coffee shop. “I’ll be right back.” I don’t wait on Savage to reply.
I walk inside, order two hazelnut lattes, the way my father likes them, two for appearance, one for him, one for me to hold onto, and then wait for my order. When it’s done, I exit the coffee shop and hand one of them to Savage. “You can drink what you want of that one, but I need the cup at the hotel.”
“You’re taking your father coffee?”
“Of course. I want this to be a cordial meeting.” I think of the lesson my father was speaking of when we ended that chess game right before I started law school: Never fight a war as the underdog. I’ve let myself act like the underdog with him. I never was.
Which is why I focus on the lesson my mother taught me: no regrets.
I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Harper. “Eric!” she exclaims, answering on the first ring. “What’s happening?”
I almost smile with her excitement and I would if I wasn’t headed to see my father. When the fuck was anyone ever this damn glad to hear my voice. “Nothing yet. I just wanted to say something to you. I know this is early in our relationship, but I fucking love you, woman. Time isn’t going to change that. I should have told you in person. I’ll tell you when I see you again.”
“You love me?”
“Yes. I love you.”
“I love you, too, but oh God, why are you saying this now? What are you going to do?”
“Come back, and say that again in person. Naked. Don’t put clothes on. Take them off if you have them on. I won’t be long.” I hang up.
Savage looks at me. “Oh shit. You’re going to choke him out.”
He smiles.