Page 199 of Mad As Hell

My brows inched up in surprise. “Out of the goodness of his heart?”

A rueful smile twisted his lips. “No, because we have proof he skimmed money from a few Cabot accounts over the years to support his gambling habits. And I have my own attorneys who worked with Grandpa for years and hate my dad, too. Court mostly deals with them, though.”

“He’s pre-law, right?”

Ryan nodded. “He handles a lot of the legal contracts for Phoenix. Having him close helps, so at least his mom was good for something.”

I looked at him curiously. “Meaning?”

He met my eyes. “Court’s dad used to be a general in the army. He left a few years ago and started his own mercenary teams that operate globally. His plan was to create a family of soldiers to do his bidding, hence why all of Court’s half brothers are in, or were in, the military.”

“Why isn’t Court then?” I asked.

“Because of another inheritance stipulation,” Ryan answered. “Court’s mom comes from old money going back to Napoleon in France. They’ve all been lawyers, though. Court’s mom was one before she was disbarred for showing up high in the courthouse one too many times. Court’s the only kid they had, so he’s expected to take over her family’s stake in the firm when he graduates.”

“They never had any other kids together?”

“No. His mom was using for part of the pregnancy, and there were complications. Court was born seven weeks premature , and his mom had a hysterectomy, so no more kids.” He grimaced. “Probably for the best. Jasper Woods is a shitty dad. Court and his brothers all paid the price for being one of the General’s sons. In a lot of ways he makes Beckett look like father of the year.”

I reared back in horror. “That’s not possible.”

He held my gaze. “Jasper has a thing where he needs to test his kids. He wanted to see what they were made of. It’s how King died.”

“He killed his son?” I covered my mouth in shock.

“Not exactly, but he’s the reason King died.” He watched me for a second. “We’re married, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” I gave him a weird look, because we were both at the ceremony a few hours earlier.

“As my wife, I can tell you things and that means you can’t tell anyone else,” he explained.

“Pretty sure that’s how it works, but I wasn’t aware we needed a ring and piece of paper for you to trust me to keep a secret,” I deadpanned.

He shook his head. “Legally, baby. You can’t be compelled to testify in court against me. If I tell you something, there are laws in place to keep us safe.”

I stiffened at the implication. “Okay.”

His fingertips brushed the back of my neck like he needed to touch me to make sure I was good with the turn this conversation was taking. “When each of his sons turn twelve, Jasper sends them into the woods to survive for a week. They have limited supplies and are left alone. That’s how King died.”

A shudder rolled down my back. “Oh, my God. Did Court…”

He nodded grimly, but I could see he was holding something back when his gaze cut away from me sharply.

I turned to face him fully, the blanket pooling on my lap. “What?”

Indecision warred on his face. “I can tell you, but Bex is a part of it. And Maddie, she can’t know.” He grabbed my hand when I started to protest. “It’s Court’s story to tell her when he’s ready.”

I was going to lose best friend privileges after this, but I needed to know. I’d been in the dark about so much for too long, and I was rapidly coming to understand that knowledge was power.

“Tell me.”

He exhaled hard. “You know Court’s and Bex’s families were close?”

I nodded.

“Court was always into Bex. I don’t think he even knew it, because we were kids and they were just friends, but they were tight. Their families did a lot together—their moms were best friends in high school and sorority sisters in college. I think they were hoping Court and Bex would eventually get married.” A sad smile tipped up the corner of his mouth.

I simply waited for him to continue as the pit in my stomach started to open because I knew things had ended badly.

---