Page 156 of Dirty Rival

Reid grabs his phone from his pocket and grimaces. “You have no idea how much I want to ignore this call.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls it out. “My father,” he says. “Fuck,” he murmurs, and hits decline.

“Why’d you decline?” I demand. “Reid—”

“I need to talk to Gabe and find out if something just happened. I need to know what he knows first.” He punches in his brother’s number and I grab my phone from my purse and scan for messages I don’t have. My father and brother have shut me out.

“Dad just called me,” Reid says. “What do you know?” He listens a minute. “Right. I’ll call you back.” He disconnects and looks at me. “Nothing to offer.”

“I thought you said Gabe doesn’t know about what’s going on?”

“I told him about the agreement, but not what was at the heart of it. I didn’t plan to ever tell him, but after tonight, he has the same right you do to know.” He closes the small space between us and kisses my temple. “Let me get this over with.”

I inhale a breath and let it out, a choppy nod all I can manage. Reid’s hands are back on my shoulders and I now realize that this is his way of making sure I know he’s right here, holding me up if I need him to. “Our fathers are brilliant and brutal. You don’t respond to brilliant and brutal without a brilliant and brutal strategy. Without making them show their hands. My father’s about to show his and you’re right, I did end this once before. I did that strategically. Be patient, baby. Our next move will show itself. And we’ll handle it together.”

“Together,” I say.

“Yes, together,” he replies then kisses me and hits the redial number for his father.

Chapter seventy-six

Reid

Idon’t leave the hotel room to dial my father. Carrie deserves to read the tone of the exchange that we both know will be about our engagement. I stand at the window overlooking the city where Carrie joins me, and I punch the callback number. My father answers immediately. “I hear congratulations are in order,” he says.

“On which point are you referencing?” I counter cautiously.

“Finally landing a blow that West can’t stomach. You did well, son.”

He’s such a dick. Only my father could turn his son finally getting married into revenge. “What exactly are you referencing?” I ask again, because despite my assumptions that I know what he’s talking about, my father’s range of nastiness is vast.

“I know you proposed to his daughter. West called me. He promised me deep, unbearable pain if this moves on to become marriage.” He chuckles. “It was amusing, to say the least. Are you really going to marry her?”

“Yes, father,” I look at Carrie, “because I love her.” Her lashes lower, tension sliding over her face with the confirmation that this call is about us. I cut my stare and focus on my father. “She’s off limits. You understand?”

“So says her father, but he won’t be a problem. I’ll handle him.”

“You will not handle him,” I bite out.

“He’s coming for me over you,” he says. “So you handle him or I will. And don’t wait too long. I don’t play sitting duck well. Tell Carrie welcome to the family. I look forward to all the good things she brings with her.” He hangs up.

My jaw clenches and I slide my phone back into my pocket. “Well?” Carrie demands, stepping back in front of me and against the window.

My hands go to her face. “I love you.” I kiss her, a deep, claim-her kind of kiss meant to distract her. I press her against the concrete pillar running up the center of the window, one of my hands sliding under her shirt.

“Reid,” she hisses, catching my hand. “Reid, wait.”

I don’t wait. I kiss her again, cupping her breast and dragging her bra down to tease her nipple. She moans but presses on my chest. “Stop. Damn it, stop. I need to know what just happened. Then feel free to fuck me until I temporarily forget, but I need to know.”

I suck in air and press my hand to the pillar on either side of her head. “Right. Fuck.” I scrub the one-day stubble on my jaw and straighten, my hands settling on my hips. “I’m going to need to go back to the States and deal with this.”

“What? You can’t leave. We have a huge project to navigate.”

“Which you are capable of handling.”

“Reid,” she compels. “What is going on?”

“My father welcomed you to the family. Your father called him and threatened him.”

“Threatened him how?”