Page 32 of Eros
I nodded. He definitely was not. However, I needed to know what changed in him or had he always been this way and I just didn’t see it because I didn’t want to.
With each ring of the phone, a cold sweat slicked my palms. Buzzing sounded in my ears, mirroring the frantic thump of my heart. “You’re fine,” Eros whispered in my ear. “I’m right here.”
I blew out a breath and tried to calm my beating heart. I didn’t know if I was nervous because the image of our perfect family might be shattered, or I was nervous because I might have had this all wrong. Maybe I was overreacting because I was pissed off about his relationship with Shannon. What if it wasn’t true, and he wasn’t trying to kill me?
“Thorne,” he said when he answered.
The sharp, grating tone of his voice caused tears to well up in my eyes.
“Who is this?” he asked when I didn’t say anything. After a moment, he sighed. “Janea?”
When he said my name, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. “Why?” I asked.
In this moment, it was all I could say. It was the only question I had for him. “Janea, honey. Where have you been? I’ve called everyone looking for you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why would I tell you where I am? So, you can tell the assassin you hired, where to find me?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, honey. Have you been drinking?” he asked. “Or are you having a mentalbreakdown? I can send Albert to come get you right now. Where are you, honey?”
“No, I haven’t been drinking, and I’m not having a breakdown. I know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Well, let’s sit down and talk. Albert can bring you home.”
“I’m not coming home. And I’m somewhere you’ll never find me. I just want to know why the man who raised me as his own would try to kill me?”
“I know that you’re upset about my relationship with Shannon, but that’s no reason to make those kinds of accusations. I would never hurt you, Janea. I love you. You’re my daughter.”
“Lie after lie after lie. It’s all a lie.”
“Stop being childish Janea and come home so we can talk like damn adults.”
I chuckled, again. “Childish? I think I’ve been dealing with everything very well. My mother dying, you fucking my best friend, probably before your wife’s body was even cold in the grave. I’ve given you a lot of grace for what you’ve done, but this is unforgivable. You’re trying to kill me!”
“She wasn’t your fucking mother!” he screamed, and my heart broke at his words. “And what if I did fuck Shannon before she died? It’s none of your fucking business. Elizabeth couldn’t give me what I needed.”
“Now the truth comes out. You took in the poor little girl because your wife wanted a family, and you needed to appeal to the cameras. You’re fucking disgusting. I never knew you at all, did I?”
“You don’t know what you’re saying, Janea. I raised you. You’re my daughter, and you’re just going to turn on me?”
“It’s been long enough,” Eros whispered in my ear. “End the call.”
“I can’t wait until your house of cards comes tumbling down all around you. And when it does, just know I’m the one who pushed them over. I hate you.”
“Janea! Janea!” he screamed my name, but I ended the call.
“You did good, sweetheart.” Eros kissed my temple again. “He’s cornered. I think your next call needs to be to the governor.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think he’ll listen, Niko. And he’ll contact my father. I have to have solid proof.”
“The meeting is coming up,” Eros said. “We just have to stop it.”
“And how do we do that?” I asked.
“We meet with the governor, and you tell him what you heard.”
“We?” I asked. “You want to come with me? The president of Savage Order?”
He chuckled. “It’s good sometimes to bring a little muscle to a sit down. He might believe you more if he knows we’re involved.”
