Page 79 of Savage Revenge

She smiles, and I think she’s happy to know that.

“You’re all the things you said,” she tells me. “But I also know, deep down, you’re good to the people who mean something to you. So I guess it makes it a little easier to overlook the psycho tendencies.”

I grin and pull her toward me to kiss her forehead. “So you forgive me for the cameras?”

She scoffs and gently shoves me away. “No, asshole. That wasn’t even crossing a line. That was far,farbeyond the line, Cash.”

My lips twitch, and I pull her back to me, needing to touch her. “Daddy,” I whisper in her ear.

With a sigh, she tilts her head back to look up at me, our faces only inches apart.

She studies me for a second, then nods. “Daddy,” she repeats softly.

Then she lowers her head to my chest and rests it there, my heart beating a little too hard beneath her ear.

We lie in silence for a long time, listening to animals howling in the distance and the waterfall feature by the pool. It’s soothing. I almost close my eyes, but I don’t want to fall asleep and miss this moment with Jordyn. It feels monumental. Like we’re coming to some sort of an agreement.

“Why did the gummy bears trigger you? It has to do with your dad?” she finally asks.

Keeping my gaze on the millions of stars, I let out a deep breath. “Ever since my brothers and I could talk, my dad spent his Friday nights with us for family poker nights. It was the one night a week that we were able to stay up as late as the game went on. My mom wouldn’t let us use real money until we were teens, so my dad asked what we wanted to use instead.” I smile at the memory of us trying to think of something to use. “I don’t know why we decided on gummy bears; we were kids, so we didn’t really think it out, I guess. So my dad brought those tiny bags of snack-sized gummy bears for us to use every week. It was a tradition. Plus, they’re the best candy there is.”

I shrug and pull a few yellow ones from the bag, then hold it out for her, watching as she chooses another red one.

“He sounds like he was a lot of fun.” She pops the candy into her mouth and sighs. “I never had anything like that with myfamily. Jacob was with his mom most of the time. The only time I really saw him was during holidays, and it was awkward all around. My dad made it so obvious that Jacob was his favorite, which was a slap in the face to me all my life, and it made Jacob feel guilty.”

My jaw tightens, and the muscles in the back of my neck tense. “Was Jacob nice to you?”

I’ll destroy him to pieces if he wasn’t. He’s already in my warehouse, so it wouldn’t be hard.

Jordyn nods. “He was. We did our best to get along. But the tension between my parents over him, and the way my father always treated the two of us so differently, we made the best of it because we didn’t know what else to do. He’s apologized to me a few times, but he doesn’t owe me anything. My dad’s the asshole who thinks men are superior to women.”

Her father has so much to answer for. Even if he didn’t murder my dad, this is still not going to end well for him.

“He’s a fucking asshole,” I snap. “And he wonders why my mom chose my dad over him.”

Jordyn turns back toward me, her eyebrows scrunched. “What do you mean?”

I tilt my head. Does she not know why our fathers hated each other?

“My mom dated your dad before she met mine. That’s what started their hatred of each other. She was a lot like you.” I smile and brush a strand of hair away from her heart-shaped face. “Smart. Beautiful. Sassy as hell with a smart mouth. Your dad couldn’t stand it. He tried to make her change. To be quieter. Not to speak unless spoken to. Then she met my dad, and he was the opposite. He let her be her while he kept her cocooned in the safety of his unconditional love. She chose him. They had their fights over the years, when my dad would get a little too possessive or jealous or do somethingfar past the line,” I mimicand grin when she hits me. “But they fucking loved each other like no couple I’ve ever seen before.”

Until now.

Jordyn hums, her fingers slowly stroking my chest. Even through my button-down dress shirt, the heat of her body warms me down to my soul.

“She made the right choice, choosing Jack,” she whispers.

“Once you turn twenty-eight, he can’t do anything about you taking your share of the company. You’ll become an equal partner until Jacob turns twenty-eight, and then it will be an equal three-way split?”

She nods. “Yes. Right now, he has full control, but my grandparents are still alive and would have to sign off on him selling any shares.”

I study her closely for a moment. “Why is being part of Kingston Casinos so important to you? Your father has treated you like shit all your life, why would you want anything to do with him?”

“Because I was sent to stay with my grandparents a lot, especially after my mom left. They loved me like I was their own, and the business means the world to them. They were still working at the time, and they’d take me with them. I wasn’t old enough to work, but my grandma would give me things to do. I loved being inside our casinos. All the flashing lights and exciting sounds and so much glam.

“Anyway, I want to continue their legacy and be part of it, so my father doesn’t run it into the ground. And… as terrible as it is to say, one day he’ll be gone, so I’ll be able to run it with Jacob. We get along well enough. I’m not sure he really cares all that much about our business, but he feels obligated, I think.”

If the only problem is the fact that her father is still alive, I can help with that. Easy. Thomas Kingston will be dead by daylight if that’s what it takes.

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