Page 77 of Broken Empire

“Wereyou the one who sent me documents and a video when theSECandFBIwas looking into the company for insider trading and the whole trafficking thing at the hotel?”Iask and he shakes his head.

“Yeahsweetheart.Iwas gathering evidence when all of that happened.Ihad those already by the time the feds were looking into the company, soIthoughtI’dhelp anonymously of course,” he says.

“So, you took care of your company while it was in trouble but couldn’t let me know you were alive, whenIwas in trouble as well?”

“Sweetheart—”

“Iwant the two of you to stay away from me!Youcare so much about your company; you can have that shit back!Takemy name out of your will and remove me from your company becauseIdon’t want to be your heir anymore!Giveit all to my darling brother over there!”Iscream at them.

“HoneyI?—”

“Ihate you both for doing this to me!”Mybreathing starts to come in heavy pants likeI’mabout to have a panic attack.Itake deep breaths to calm my racing heart becauseIdon’t want to have a seizure or panic attack right now.

“Babe, you need to calm?—”

“Stayaway from me too!Fuck!Ican’t trust any of you!You’veall done shit to hurt me in some way andIdon’t need any more of it!”

Imake a mad dash out of the room and whenI’mpassing by the kitchen,Isee a few keys to whatIguess are the various vehiclesMasonhas.Igrab one of them before sprinting out the front door, not caring thatI’monly in my pajamas right now.Ijust need to get out of here.

Ipress the fob onceI’moutside and one of the vehicles beeps and unlocks.Ihear footsteps coming behind me andIrush for the vehicle, getting in, then immediately locking the doors, and turning the key in the ignition.Ipeel out of the driveway and head down toward the gates.I’msurprised when they open, thoughIdidn’t care if they didn’t becauseIwas going to drive straight through ifIhad to.

Imake a right whenIpass by the gates, heading in the direction of the apartment.Ijust need to be away from everyone right now.Iknow they’re probably coming after me butIdon’t look back,Ijust concentrate on the road.

I’mabout halfway to the apartment building downtown when a car drives through the intersection at full speed and slams right into me.Ilet out a scream, the impact disorienting, as shattered glass rains over me.

Mycar spins around a few times beforeIfeel the car ram into me again sending mine straight into a tree.Theimpact of the hit causes my entire body to jolt in pain as my head slams into the steering wheel.Fuck!Everythinghurts right now.Ilet out a groan whenIsee blood, it’s quite a lot, thoughI’mnot sure where it’s coming from.Thelast thingIhear is squealing tires, as everything goes black.

MASON

Ileavethe door to the den open just in case my girl wakes up and comes down.Theguys andIall find seats around the room, as we settle in to play a little video game.Damn,Ican’t remember the last time we did something as simple as that.

“She’sgoing to be pissed and hurt,”ItellHuntera moment later. “Whatare we going to tell her?”

“Erm,I’mnot sure yet.Imean, beforeIgot to know her,Ididn’t think she’d be this stubborn, you know?”

“Ha!AsifIdon’t sinceI’vebeen on the wrong side of that stubbornness for quite a while.”

“Well,Ihave a feelingI’llbe on the same side as you pretty soon,” he mumbles.

“Howcome you didn’t tell me that shit?”

“Umm, top secret.Theold man didn’t want anyone knowing…” he says and then just trails off.

I’mreferring to the fact that her fucking father is alive and well, he’s in my house at this very moment.Thatwas the shock of a lifetime, whenIcame back with the guys, after finally dealing withAmberand her crew once and for all.AsIsit here, my mind goes back to earlier…

“Holyfucking shit, is that…”Imanage to say and then trail off asIstand there in shock, looking at the man that’s standing by the windows in my living room.

“Uhhuh…”Roycesays.

“Howis that possible?”Iask out the side of my mouth, asIcontinue to look atWinter’sfather standing there in the flesh.Alive…

“Uhmaybe we should go ask,”Natesupplies helpfully.

“IthinkIneed to sit down.Mylegs suddenly don’t feel like they’re working,”Imutter as we finally enter the room.Heturns around and looks at us and we all take a seat.

“HelloMason,” he says with a slight edge to his voice.Itdefinitely kinda sounds like he wants to kill me.Imean if she was my daughter,I’ddefinitely kill me…

“HelloMr.Crowne,”Isay with a nervous edge to my voice. “Howare you even here right now?”