Page 70 of Honor and Claim

“No, sir. Tomorrow.”

“How old?” My brother was over eight years older than me.

I haven’t seen him since I was a teenager. I had kept my life as far apart from my brother's and father's as I could. Even in business I made sure to take a different path. I had left thecountry for a time, and when I did come back, it was to the opposite coast.

I didn’t have to hear their names ever again, and I’d forgotten about them for the most part. I could go days without thinking of them. It would have been longer if not for the scar I had to see every time I looked in a mirror. A constant fucking reminder of howmy familytreated me.

“Recently turned eighteen.”

Okay, at least they’re adults. There must be some money left. They will have a financial cushion to begin their lives.

Given my understanding of my brother, it might be in their best interests for him to be gone. Especially if he ended up the same as my father. The controlling prick. I know it’s because of him that our mother took her own life. She couldn't escape him, and he’d used me as a pawn. I’d often thought he got her pregnant with me to make her stay longer.

“I know what you’re thinking, and that isn’t going to work.” Jack places a folder down on my desk.

“You couldn’t have emailed this?” I flip it open. Where did he even get a folder? Jack does love the theatrics. He ignores my question.

“They can’t touch their money until they finish out school.”

“School? As in college?”

“High school.” Shit. “Lighthouse High.”

“Karl was living back in Lighthouse Landing?” My mom loved it there. It’s where I’d gone to school as a kid. I haven’t been back there since I left. My father often stayed in the city. The only way on and off the island was by ferry or helicopter. There might be a small airport there now.

"Your father never sold the estate. Karl took his twins back there." I rub the scar cutting through my brow. I almost died on that island.

"I still can't picture him as a father."

"I'm sure that is what he was. A father but not a dad."

I pick up one of the pictures. It's the twins together. A boy and a girl.

“Holy shit,” I mutter. “She looks identical to our mother.” I only had a couple of pictures of my mom. I’d taken them with me when I’d left. I hadn’t taken much else. The last thing I wanted were memories of my father or brother. They can rot in hell for all I care.

Mom did give my father one last fuck you before she left this world. She’d made sure I was taken care of. That I had enough money to start a life for myself, and that is exactly what I did. I hate to admit that a part of my drive was proving to my father and brother that I didn’t need them or any of their dirty money. They’d both been convinced I’d burn through the inheritance I’d been given when I’d turned eighteen. Money that hadn’t been known about. It wasn't until a lawyer knocked on my door that I became aware of what my mom had done for me.

It was smart on my mom's part. My father would have spent all the time he had until I came of age to find a way to get that money from me. He wanted everyone dependent on him. His control knew no bounds.

Jack takes the picture from me to look for himself. “She’s a lovely girl. Looks very innocent.” I know he added that last word to dig at me. I’d already had the thought. “What if he’s like them?” Jack knows some about my past. We have worked together for years, and he can be a nosy bastard. That had been my other thought. My brother and I stood in stark contrast. What if I could save her? The striking resemblance to my mother gnaws at me.

“Find out how we can get to Lighthouse Landing. We might need a helicopter.” I hate that I’m in this fucking position, but now that I am, I know I won’t be able to stop thinking about this.I also know Jack somehow knew that I would be uneasy once I saw that picture. Bastard.

“There is a small airport there now.” Of course he’s already looked into it. “We can be wheels up when you’re ready, sir.”

“Stop with the sir bullshit.”

“Got it.” Jack smirks. “I already packed my bags and got most of your things together for you to check over.” I round my desk to leave my office but stop at the door.

“How were you so confident I’d go back?” I find myself asking.

“Because unlike your father and brother, you only pretend to be an asshole.”

I shake my head, not so sure that I believe him.

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