Page 113 of Crave Me

He cocked an eyebrow. “You have?”

I slid my hands into the pockets of my wool coat. “It will make it exceedingly difficult for them to gather a larger force now.”

“Our war against them wasn’t public knowledge before. So to have done that, you would have had to make it public.”

“Correct.”

“That’s a risk to you.”

“It’s more of a risk to you if I hadn’t done so.” I strode closer and leaned against the edge of the desk a couple of feet from him. “When you’re healed and we target them, the Mancini Syndicate will assist, providing a significant force to bolster you and yours.”

“Our deal was purely business, to take the spoils of Bane Industries. This now will be seen as personal by them. After the Syndicate taking a hit and losing many members, I can’t see how they’ll be on board with this. It could destabilize your rule.”

“Not if they’re made aware of my true intention for going this route.”

Realization shone in his eyes. “You can’t be serious?”

“I am. I will reveal you as my son. My one and only heir. It will turn the tide, believe me. That sort of thing isn’t taken lightly in my world.”

He started shaking his head, as I’d predicted.

And then he followed my further prediction as he tried to use logic to bypass the sentimental aspect of this particular topic, telling me, “I have my own resources. I’ll handle it.”

“Without my force you won’t be able to guarantee protection for your loves. Not without compromising your home territory again. You’ve made that mistake already, I can’t imagine you allowing such a thing to transpire again.”

He worked his jaw. “So much for you keeping me far away from the Mancini Syndicate. Was that all well-crafted lies, the excuse of an absentee father?”

“No. What I said stands. You won’t take your place as my heir. I don’t want that life for you. However, Caspian, you’ve crossed a lot of lines during this war. Because Elijah was able to evade our quick takedown, this has gone on a lot longer than it was ever meant to. Reaching out to all of our contacts combined to locate Sebastian and Caleb has drawn a great deal of attention to you, specifically. You’ve been inadvertently established as a worthy adversary among the underground elite now. You’ve garnered a reputation. That can’t be undone. It makes you a target. You were only on the periphery before, an arms deal here and there. In order to counter and adjust to the new climate, you need my organization to bolster you, to act as a formidable deterrent.”

“Fear and a show of force are also formidable deterrents.”

“With a steep price attached. Making more enemies, being one in particular.”

This war had certainly made him bolder, dangerously so.

I needed to pull him back from that line of thinking immediately.

“I haven’t shared this news about my paternity with the others yet.”

“Then the time would be now.”

He glared at me. “I don’t take well to having my hand forced.”

“I don’t take well to being cast aside.”

“This is your attempt to make me accept this, to accept you.”

“This is me helping you. Up until this revelation, you wouldn’t have fought that. We were on the same page. Your anger, resentment, and upset at finding out about me is clouding your judgment now.” I gestured at the monitors. “Not to mention, this obsessive state you’re in when it comes to Elijah.”

He glared back at me for a moment and then he surprised me as he didn’t bite back and instead, hung his head in his hands.

“Caspian?”

“I can’t… I can’t do this.”

“What’s that?” I asked carefully.

“Hold it all,” he answered, his voice a pained rasp that cut into me awfully. “Sit and wait while our enemies are out there. Take this break in the middle of it all. Put on a lighthearted and unaffected front with Bastian, Caleb, and Skylar. Sink into it and relax while all this is going on. Stand by and wait for Caleb to be ready to come to me and admit he was damaged by Elijah. I can’t… I can’t stand this powerlessness.” He lifted his head slightly, agony in his eyes as they met mine. “I don’t fail and since the moment Elijah evaded us that night, it’s all I’ve been doing.”

---