Page 6 of Atonement

I pinched the bridge of my nose. As if he didn’t know who was calling. “I think you have something of mine.”

Conrad chuckled low in his throat, but the sound was anything but warm. “I told you to take better care of your things, son. It seemed best for me to step in.”

My mouth was far too try, but I licked my lips anyway, my tongue like sandpaper against the sensitive skin. Behind me, my clothes rustled as Shawn picked them up and placed them back on the hangers. “She was a gift. The least you could have done was give me a head’s up.”

“I gave you a chance. More than one, actually.”Yeah, in the form of a closed fist or the toe of your boot.“You bitterly disappointed me, too many times. I had to take things into my own hands.”

Shawn was staring at me from across the room, a suit jacket in one hand and one of my left shoes in another. Glaring at him, I turned my back and walked into the hallway. “Do you expect me not to take her back?”

“I expect you to try. It’s how I raised you. But it won’t matter, because you’ve used up all my good grace.”

This wasn’t working. I needed to try a different track.

“I worked my ass off all day to try and mitigate the damage your daughter did while you were off taking things that rightfully belong to me. Have you even looked at the news today?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, and I actually checked the phone to ensure he hadn’t hung up on me.

“Of course I’ve been keeping an eye on the news. I was also busy running around town trying to clean up your mistakes.”

I frowned. Had I really gotten to him? That didn’t seem likely. Something else was irritating him.

“Would you like to enlighten me as to what mistake you think needed your attention more than the fact that our company is about to be investigated by the federal government?”

“For one, you left a hostage in an unsecured location in the middle of downtown. There was a reason we wanted her out here, where she couldn’t run for help even if she tried.”

God help me if he ever found out I’d left her inside a running car.

“She was still there whenever you showed up, correct? You think maybe I trained her better than you’d like to admit?”By somehow getting her to fall in love with me.“I’ve never asked you for anything, Conrad. I didn’t even ask for her. You gave her to me, remember? I’ve earned this.” My hand thumped against my chest to emphasize the words, even though he couldn’t see me. I forced myself to swallow and take a breath.

“If you want something in life, you take it. Fuck what you’ve earned. It’s not my fault you didn’t hold on to her hard enough.”

This was always how it was with Conrad, playing a game I didn’t know all the rules to. By the time I figured them out, he had changed them again, and I was left bleeding or nursing a broken bone. I thumped my fist against the wall, then bit back the urge to scream. Fuck, that hurt. I shuffled back into the bedroom and slid down the wall, then grabbed the peas and rested my hand on them. Should have left the brace on.

“If you’re going to hang on to her, I want something back in return. You owe me.”

“This is not an exchange.”

It’s a hostile takeover.

“You owe me a life, Conrad.”

Hers, plus the childhood you stole from me.

“I don’t owe you shit.”

He was angry, I could hear it in his voice. I should tread more carefully. Was he with her? He’d used me as a pawn to control Eva, back when she was still around. Somehow, I found myself in the same position, but with the roles shifted. I’d do whatever he wanted if it meant keeping Madeline safe.

But did he realize that?

“How many shares is she worth to you?”

There was silence on the other end of the line, and then he burst into genuine laughter. “You think I’d give up control of my own company? Better yet, why would I give you even more responsibility when our reputation is going down the drain?”

“So I can fix this mess you allowed to happen.”

A swallowing sound came over the line; he’d taken a large drink of something. That was bad. Gin made him worse than cruel.

“I fail to see how this situation is my fault.”

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