Page 76 of Cold Hard Kisses (London Mafia Kings)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tam

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IWOKE THE FOLLOWINGmorning with a hangover and a brick of dread lodged in my gut.

She was gone. My girl had left me.

The house was unbearable without Hallie in it.

How had I never noticed how stupidly big it was for one person before? I wanted to find her and drag her back here by her hair, but that was never going to work. What a fucking idiot I’d been, saying that about her and her brother. I’d never wanted to rewind time and take something back more than I did that moment. Yes, the Wynter men were both fucking pricks, but I should have just bought Jayden Wynter a drink and then taken his sister home. Damn my short temper. If his father hadn’t wound me up earlier that evening, maybe I’d have done just that, but it had been a perfect storm of people pissing me off, and I’d wanted to show that the Cornells were always a rung higher than the Wynters.

So, yeah, I’d ended up in a pissing contest, throwing some testosterone around like a fucking teenager. Had it been worth it? Fuck, no.

My phone buzzed on the floor beside the bed, and I snatched it up, hoping Hallie’s name would be the one to appear on screen.

My stomach dropped. It was from my one still-living brother.

Cornell family meeting at Dad’s office at 11 a.m. Be there. No excuses.

I sighed and pushed my hand through my hair. I had no doubt what the meeting would be about.

Me.

***

THE FAMILY—OR AT LEASTwhat remained of us—were all gathered in my father’s office when I arrived. My father, my mother, and Leo. From the looks of disapproval that they all gave me, it was easy to tell news had got back to them about what had happened between Hallie and me, and they weren’t happy about it.

How was Hallie getting on, breaking the news to her own family? I hated to think that her father would be giving her even more shit. After all, he was partly responsible. If he hadn’t pissed me off the way he had at dinner that night, maybe I’d have been a little more receptive to his son coming to my club.

My father was the first to speak. “So, you fucked up the alliance between us and the Wynters?”

Automatically, I went on the defensive. “It wasn’t all down to me. Marlon Wynter didn’t exactly give me a warm welcome to the family.”

My father scowled. “What the fuck did you want? For him to put you to bed and sing you a lullaby?”

“How about just a bit of fucking respect.”

“That goes two ways, Tam.”

I could hardly believe my father was taking Marlon Wynter’s side on this.

“Anyway,” I continued, “that wasn’t the reason Hallie and I broke up. Her brother came to my club and started throwing his weight around.”

Samuel Cornell arched an eyebrow. “His weight? He’s a nineteen-year-old fucking kid. Don’t tell me you couldn’t have handled him.”

“I did, in my own way.”

“In a way that ended our allegiance.”

I shook my head. “This is fucking bullshit.”

Leo spoke up. “I thought you and Hallie had a good thing going?”

I pressed my lips together before admitting the truth. “We did.”

“Then isn’t it worth fighting for?”

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