“Or wait for an invitation for that matter.” I shrugged and took a seat without him offering, and his eyes narrowed at the slight. “What brings you by?”
“The job’s not going to happen.”
“But you took the money.”
“And I intend to give it to your grandson for child support. It’s not enough for what your punk ass son did by abandoning him before he was even born, but it will do.”
“You’ll do no such thing. We don’t even know if that baby is really his.”
“You and I both know if he wasn’t your son’s kid, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”
“What makes you think I’ll just let you take my money and give it to her bastard?”
Most of my control evaporated, but I managed to keep my fists tight around the arms of the chair rather than pummeling them into his face. “Call him a bastard again, and you won’t live to see me take all your money and give it to Caylen .” He looked confused, and it dawned on me that he didn’t even know his grandson’s name. “Your illegitimate grandson’s name is Caylen. Now, be a good boy and say his name so I’ll know you get me.”
He hesitated, so I pulled my gun and sat it on my lap. I wasn’t the least bit concerned about the guards standing on the other side of the door.
His faced paled as he looked from me to the gun. I didn’t remove my finger from the trigger until he said his name. I told myself it was guilt for what I had done to his mother that made me want to protect him so fiercely. No one knew that I spent the nights sitting with him to make sure he slept well. They didn’t know I talked to him when no one was around. I told him stories of how she’d been a pain in the ass since she was ten years old. If I had a heart, I’m sure he would have stolen a place in it. But since I didn’t, taking down the senator was merely restitution.
“So we are in agreement then.” He was smart enough to know I wasn’t asking and kept his mouth shut. “I’ll give her the money you’ve already paid me, and she stays away forever. With the amount of money you paid to off them, she won’t need to bother you again.” My lips curled as I stared down the senator. It would have been cheaper for him to simply pay her off, but the pussy had zero honor.
Mian wasn’t money hungry.
She had no aspirations of wealth or prestige and would have been content just being able to give Caylen a healthy life. She’s sacrificed her entire life to give him one, and she would have continued to do so long after he was old enough to take the wheel.
“We have an arrangement,” he agreed slowly.
“Good. Now where’s your son? There’s someone you should meet.” The senator’s sat stoic. His refusal to answer didn’t deter me, however, from going to the door and opening it. Mian stood between Lucas and Z with our guard surrounding them. Her wide-eyed gaze met mine and in them were questions she was about to get the answers to. I crooked my finger and for the first time she came without coercion. “Bring his son to me,” I directed to Lucas and Z before hauling her in and shutting the door.
Not long after, I heard shouting and then the door was ripped open. A struggling Aaron was thrown inside the room and landed on his stomach. Lucas and Z entered and closed the door behind them while the senator stood from his chair and slammed his fists on the desk.
“What is this?” he shouted.
I saw Mian tense in my peripheral, so I used my body to shield her from the senator’s anger. Aaron was righting his clothes and had yet to see her, but I knew the moment Mian recognized him. She gasped and something inside my chest shifted when she moved closer to me. I wasn’t naive enough to believe she trusted me to protect her. I was just the lesser of two evils… in her book.
Aaron finally noticed me standing in the corner but then his attention shifted behind me, and he leaned over to try to get a better look. “Is that…” The room fell silent as we waited for the other shoe to fall. “Mian?”
“This is preposterous,” the senator blubbered. “Why is that lying harlot in my home?”
Mian made another sound, but this one was filled with pain. My finger moved back to the trigger, though my gun remained at my side. Lucas and Z were staring down the senator looking only seconds away from ending him.
“Senator,” I called to get his attention. He was busy trying to glare a hole through me to reach the innocent girl who’d asked for none of this. “I would say the same rule applies to her, but I don’t want to taint her name by letting you speak it. You don’t talk to her, and you for damn sure won’t talk at her.”
“What makes you think you can come into my house and give orders?”
“The bullet I can put into your son’s skull before your security team can even have a chance to pull their head from their asses. Shall we continue?”