Page 103 of The Kings of Kearny

“I don’t speak to my parents,” I said. “They’re terrible human beings, and I’m much better off without them in my life. Jakob is about a heartbeat away from feeling the same about you. I should know. I recognize the warning signs.”

“My relationship with my son is none of your business,” Liam ground out.

I shrugged, beyond caring anymore. Not even his angry tone could get a rise out of me. I’d been through too much, and I was going to say what I needed to say and then get the hell out of here.

“It might not be any of my business, but I’m making it my business because no one else will say this to you, and you need to hear it. Your relationship with your son is fifty shades of fucked up. Jakob didn’t bring me here to meet the family. He didn’t want to show his girlfriend off and see if his father approved because he doesn’t give a shit about whether or not you do. He brought me here because he knew you were manipulating him, and he wanted to manipulate you right back by playing into your hand. He didn’t come here to spend time with you; he came here to spy on you. Let that sink in. And while you’re at it, I think you should know that he told me the only reason he has anything to do with you at all is because he wants to see the next manipulation coming.”

Liam rose to his feet and braced his knuckles on the desk. “How dare you try to tell me about my own son like I don’t know the first thing about him? Who the fuck do you think you are?” he asked, voice nothing but a growl. His eyes raked over me dismissively. “You just met him. This time next month, he’ll be fucking someone else.”

I bit back the sharp response that rose to my tongue, forcing myself to stay calm. “Maybe,” I said. “But I’ve been around Jakob enough to see both sides of him. I see the public face he wears, but I’ve also seen him relax around the people he trusts. He laughs. He cracks jokes. Sometimes he even stops scowling.” I braced my knuckles on the other side of Liam’s desk and leaned in, refusing to be intimidated. “Tell me, when’s the last time your son smiled at you, Liam?”

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. I doubted anyone but family had spoken to him like this in recent memory, and he didn’t know how to deal. Jennifer was right; the power had gone to his head. People did what he said without question, and when someone swerved right when he told them to swerve left, he couldn’t just roll with the punch and adapt. The sadistic side of me howled in glee to see that my hits were landing. That I was getting through to him. But more than that, it was happy to see I was hurting him like he had hurt me.

“It’s not too late,” I said. “But it will be soon. You have to let this thing with Daniel go.”

At Daniel’s name, Liam’s expression turned ugly.

“Trust me, I get it,” I told him. Lord, did I get it. “I’ve spoken to Daniel less than five times, and each and every one of them he’s said something or done something that made me want to punch him in the mouth hole. I’ve seen the way he treats your son, and I don’t like it. I imagine you’ve seen enough by now to warrant hating the smarmy bastard. But he’s not your problem; he’s your son’s and the Kings’. Let them handle it. No one will thank you for meddling but especially not Jakob. Have you ever stopped to think that every time you get involved, you make him look weak?”

Liam blinked.

I pressed on. “Like he can’t handle his problems without Daddy’s help.”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” Liam said, but from his tone, I could tell that he no longer bought his own bullshit.

“That’s exactly what you’re doing,” I countered. “And if you continue down this path, if you keep pushing Jakob into a role he doesn’t want, you will lose him.”

Liam stared at me like he was trying to set me on fire with his eyes. “Anything else?” he growled.

I’d said everything I needed to say, but now that I’d managed to get through it all without snapping, there was still one thing left that Iwantedto say.

“Yeah, fuck you for ordering your goons to trash my apartment.”

He reared back like I’d hit him.

I kept going. “Fuck you for endangering innocent people like my grandmother. And fuck you for not even having the decency to apologize for any of it.”

He straightened to his impressive height, hands flexing at his sides like they wanted to curl into fists. “Get the hell out of my house.”

“Already three steps ahead of you, asshole,” I said, turning on my heel. I paused by the door. “Oh, and before I leave, I’m going to need you to write me a check for ten thousand dollars.”

He took a step back, incredulous. “Youwhat?”

“You ordered someone to break into my apartment, trash everything I own, scare the shit out of me, and make me feel unsafe going back there. So now you get to pay first, last, and security on my next place, pay to replace all the shit you broke, and pay a little bit extra to help with some of the emotional trauma you caused me.”

He snorted. “Emotional trauma?”

“Yup. Emotional trauma,” I said, meeting his hard gaze. “Have that check ready by the time I leave.”

Feeling like a gladiator who’d just survived ten rounds in the pit, I turned on my triumphant little heel and marched out of there.

Straight into Jennifer.

She stood just outside the door, and from the look on her face, she heard every last shitty thing I said to her husband. I nearly cowered. I’d just faced down an enraged Viking giant without flinching, but the thought of her disapproval sapped my bravery. Because unlike Liam, I cared what she thought. I wanted her to like me, but now she probably hated me for what I just did. I mean, sure, she was pissed at Liam, but the man was still her husband. I wanted to punch Daniel for being mean to Jakob. She was probably about to flay me alive for what I just put the man she loved through.

She pressed a finger to her lips, indicating silence, and jerked her head to the left in a command to follow her down the hall. I dragged my feet after her, feeling like a woman walking toward the executioner’s block.

She stopped when we reached the kitchen. I winced, waiting for her slap to land. Lord knew I’d earned one. Instead, she pulled me into a hug.

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