Page 37 of Heartbeat

When I got to the parking garage, my father and brother were waiting for me. My brow wrinkled in confusion. They were supposed to wait at my penthouse while I talked to Dr. Pratt.

“I thought you guys were going to wait at the penthouse?” I questioned.

“No. We have another place to meet. It’s more secure.” I nodded at my father’s words. I knew very well not to argue with my father when he was in his protective mode. It hadn’t happened a lot in my life, but when it did, our family took it seriously.

The three of us sat quietly in the backseat of the SUV. I had a feeling this one was bulletproof; unlike the town cars my father normally rode in while he was out of town. There was an ominous cloud hovering over us. My life was about to change.Hell! My life is already changed.

Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to a gated community. I’ve heard about the exclusive neighborhood because Jagger and Ainslee didn’t live too far from here, but I’d never visited their home before, they always came over to ours or met out.

I knew exactly where we were headed now, and the dark feeling was no longer hovering, it was now filling me from the inside out. When we pulled up to the mansion, there was another SUV trailing us. My father had more men than I previously suspected.

We went inside the opulent mansion and was led to a private office. Andres was sitting behind an opulent desk. He stood to welcome us into his home, and we all sat.

“Welcome, gentlemen. I’m sorry we had to officially meet under such circumstances. But my cousin…” Andres shook his head in disappointment. “Alejandro was supposed to handle this situation gracefully.”

I looked between my father and Sawyer. I held my face as neutral as I could, but I had to admit that I was completely and utterly confused. My father, as well as my brother, nodded in understanding.

“When Alejandro came to me, it was supposed to be an alliance between the families done the old way. His Robin and Lennox were supposed to be matched, and Raven was supposed to go to the McGregor’s,” My father replied, and I frowned.

“What the fuck do you mean Raven was supposed to go to the McGregor’s? I’ve already told you this isn’t the eighteenth century!” I was pissed. These fucking people were crazy as hell. Bartering off their children for alliances and shit.

“You weren’t privy to the information becauseyoudidn’t want to be involved with this side of our family, son,” My father stated calmly.

“Butyouinvolved my ass anyway. So I need to be privy to everything now. I’m out here being caught off guard because I’m in the dark with all this shit.” I could hear the frustration in my own voice, and the more I discovered, the more it pissed me the hell off.

“Son. You’re right.” I was shocked into silence; my father never said those words. “Once you and Raven wed, I should’ve told you the extent of our involvement. But I thought it wouldn’t much matter since everything seemed to be working itself out.” It was like my father was talking in riddles.

“So, this arrangement was never about the hospital needing money?” I asked, glaring at my father.

“No. The hospital’s financials are fine. If you would’ve looked any closer, you would’ve figured it out. But that story was to get Raven on board without any pushback.” My father responded with a shrug. The nonchalant motion pissed me off like it was just okay for people to arrange marriages for their unknowing children.

“So Alejandro just lied to his daughter? What type of shit is that?” I thought the way Alejandro treated Raven was fucked up before, but now, I had no words.

“Listen, my cousin fucked up. He should’ve told Raven the truth from the jump, but he tricked her into this deal when Robin wouldn’t fall in line.”

“So, Robin knows the truth about all of this?” I questioned Andres.

“Yes. Robin was supposed to marry you. It was the way for our families to connect publicly without bringing suspicion. We’ve been connected for years, and we were able to maintain semblance of distance. Nobody was aware that our families know each other, not even the McGregor’s.”

Shit! I was shook. I didn’t know our families knew each other either. My father made it seem like he had just met Alejandro Bishops at Jagger’s wedding. I didn’t even question him about it. It was my fault for assuming that my father was merely trying to find a way into Founder’s Island’s high society. I had no idea he was already in it.

“So, the McGregor’s?” My brother finally added to the conversation. As the next Don in line in our family, he went everywhere with my father. He’d known about all this shit without telling me. I wanted to slap the shit out of him, but I knew he was following my father’s orders.

“Don’t know. Last I heard, Dove was going to marry Cullen. So their deal was still on.” Andres’ forehead creased, and a murderous expression covered his face.

“But you’re not sure?” I questioned. I could tell by the look on his face he thought the same thing that I did. The McGregor’s had something to do with Alejandro being shot.

CHAPTER 19

RAVEN

We all stayed in the hospital until Dr. Pratt let us know that Daddy was out of the woods and they would be moving him into a regular room inthe ward.We hadn’t released a family statement announcing my father’s shooting. A shooting was always suspicious, so whatever would be announced wouldn’t be the truth anyway.

Mama was sitting in Daddy’s room, while Dove and I stayed in the waiting area with some of Uncle Andres’ men standing guard. It was late, so Sasha went home. Robin also decided to leave for a while to get some rest and check on Quinton. She had a guard with her, and it dawned on me just how dangerous the situation was. It made me upset and disappointed that Quinton couldn’t take the time to show up. At a time like this, your spouse should be there for moral support, even if they don’t get along with the family. We could all be in danger, and he was too selfish to take the time and find out what was going on.

It wasn’t like Daddy was ever rude to him, he just made it known to Robin that he didn’t think a man like Quinton was good enough. Robin was pissed, but like I told her, Alejandro Bishops would never think anyone was good enough for Robin.

I sat down next to Dove, who was still being uncharacteristically quiet. She had been watching everyone from the corner of the room. Although I wanted to go home and rest, I knew I had to wait for Lennox to come back. He made it perfectly clear that I was to stay put until we found out what was going on.

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