Page 47 of Reign By Wrath

“How do you feed them?” I asked. Half my mind listened to his answer, the other half mentally sketched out the silver computer bearing a red strip down the middle. I’d seen the back of it enough times when I was on the boat. I knew it on sight, and it was nowhere visible in the room.

Alistair checked his watch. “Food should be ready. Shall we?”

“Okay,” I said, leaving easily.

We didn’t go far. We went inside a room that was less a small library and more a game room. Billiards in one corner, old-timey arcade games in the other, and going down the middle was the infamous bowling alley.

“Thought we could play after we eat,” Alistair said, pulling my chair out for me. The room even had those bolted-down tables and swing-out chairs standard in every bowling alley. “Got time?”

I nodded. “I didn’t get my list back until Ronin picked me up, so I’ll go hunting for Everleigh’s cabin tomorrow.” A thought struck me. “Wait. Do you know where it is? Everton used to hide out in a cabin near town to be close to Everleigh. How could someone be such a good father but such a trash human being? From what I’ve learned, Everleigh grew up in an abusive situation too. You’d think that would’ve made Everton more sympathetic to the father and child that he helped destroy.”

“To answer your first question, no. I don’t know anything about a cabin. Everton and I had our final meeting in the Virgin Islands. That’s what tripped him up. He got cocky after years of staying ahead of the cops and decided to take a vacation in his family’s beach house in St. Thomas. I had all his properties under surveillance.”

He gave me a hard look. “If I ever impart any fatherly wisdom to you, Luna, it’s to never get overconfident. The moment you think you can’t lose, that’s when you do. The lion doesn’t catch the gazelle when it’s running its fastest. He catches that bastard when he slows down.”

“I’ll remember that.” I cast down at the delicious, heavenly-smelling breakfast/dinner my father had made for me. “I really will.”

“To answer your second question. It’s easy to believe Everton could be a good father.” Alistair tipped my chin, surprising me. “Even the worst of men love their daughters.”

I pushed back from the table, swinging out till the chair bonked hard against the metal. “Bathroom,” I explained to the floor. “I have to wash my hands.”

“Second door on the right.”

I went out, but I didn’t go right. I bypassed photos of Saylor throughout the years. Saylor at the beach. Saylor in Italy. Saylor cheesing at the camera with her arms around her dad. Saylor laughing at me in every photograph.

Snapping my head around, I clenched my teeth as I turned the corner and found myself in front of Alistair’s door. My hand shook on the knob, swinging the door open.

I don’t have much time, I thought.Minutes. Ten at the most to search and put everything back where I found it.

I took a step, then stopped. Squeezing my eyes shut, I allowed the tiniest tear to fall. It was okay to cry when you were breaking your own heart.

But only for a little while.

Taking a deep breath, I bit hard on my lip—the pain chasing away my tears. Here’s another lesson my father would teach me. I could cry all I wanted; it wouldn’t change a thing.

I steeled myself and went inside. Moving quickly but carefully, I searched the desk drawers, under the bed, around the fish tank, and then the closet.

My heart thumped, seeing my prize waiting for me beneath a rack of coats.

“This is not a negotiation. I’m the one with choices, Burkhardt, while you have one. Get me the laptop, your father lives, and I don’t touch Victor Wilson.”

“I’m sorry, Alistair,” I whispered. “I’m not the one with the choices.”

***

ALISTAIR LOOKED UPwhen I returned, smile springing to his lips. “About time. The food’s getting cold.”

“Sorry.” I took my seat, picking at my food. Focusing on my meal gave me an excuse not to look him in the eye. He was still doing it.

Looking at me like he loved me.

“I thought more about Everton’s cabin.”

That made me raise my head. “Yes? Do you know where it could be?”

“I knew Everton well enough to help you narrow it down. We can call it a cabin, but Everton wasn’t one to rough it. That cabin was equipped with the finest amenities. This place would rival the Burkhardt mansion.”

I sighed, deflating. “Yeah, Katie mentioned that.”

---