More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,86

to give you a taste of your own medicine,” he said.

I tipped my head back. How long did I have to sit here and listen to this bag of shit speak? He wasn’t going to help me, not unless I agreed to his terms. Which wasn’t happening.

“Our guess is that Dex is behind this, yes. And if he thinks this is going to get him back in Exiled, he’s deeply mistaken. You alluded to the fact that you’ve spoken to Dex. Did he give you any indication he was behind this?” Luke said.

“I’m quite certain he’s behind it. You have an enemy in Dex, and this Clearwater woman had a relationship with him, correct?” My father sipped his coffee.

“Most likely, yes. But you also got involved with her, correct?” Luke dropped his napkin on the table, letting me know he was about done with this too.

Dad chuckled. It was a maniacal laugh that sent chills down my spine. “Been there, done that, and I owned it.”

“No. You got caught,” I said.

“I don’t have time to mess with trash. But if Laurel Hayes interviews her, it won’t fare well for you, Son.”

“Laurel fucking Hayes won’t interview her. There’s nothing there. I’ve never met Farah Clearwater,” I said dryly.

A grin spread across my father’s face. Sadistic bastard.

“Suit yourself, Cruz. I wouldn’t want to risk her taking this the whole way.” He smirked.

“I’m not you. I don’t have a web of lies to cover up.” I pushed to my feet, and Luke followed suit. “We’re done here.”

And the fucker might not have realized it, but he’d just showed me his cards. The man was so hell bent on helping me. He didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself. Never had. Never would.

“Cruz,” he barked, and Luke and I paused to look at him. “I’ve given you a far easier solution. I am confident that I could make this go away for you. I can wave enormous amounts of money in a lot of faces and you can be done with this.”

“Not happening, daddy dearest.”

“Provided that you are telling the truth. A lot to lose if you’ve been fucking around, son.”

“Well, you’d know a thing or two about that, wouldn’t you? And on a side note, stay the fuck away from my girlfriend,” I said.

He studied me with a look of surprise.

“Yeah, motherfucker, my girl tells me shit. We don’t have secrets,” I snarled.

He chuckled. “Doubtful, son. Everyone has secrets. Hopefully you don’t have one that’ll blow up in your face.”

I walked away. You can’t engage crazy without going crazy yourself.

“Well, that was interesting,” Luke said, as we stepped on the elevator.

“What? You don’t have a father who blackmails you on the daily?”

He smirked. “You’re a good kid, Cruz. Don’t let him get to you.”

“I won’t. But, I’m starting to think my father is behind this. He was far too confident that he could make it go away. He knew about The Laurel Hayes Show, and that hasn’t been leaked to the press. I mean, he could have someone on our team on his payroll, but I don’t think so.”

I thought about what Dr. Roberts had said a few months ago about how my father was going to take down everyone around him on his way down. The man was a self-destructive addict.

“You think he’d set this whole thing up and then come to us to offer help?” Luke asked, leaning against the wall with a distraught look on his face.

“I wouldn’t put anything past him. I’ve been so fucking focused on Dex, I may have underestimated my father. I can’t stop thinking about how adamant Jade was that Dex seemed different that day she saw him on campus. Jade’s not easily fooled. She’s fucking smart. The dude attacked her. She should have been afraid of him—but she wasn’t.”

“I’m going to have Arnie dig into this immediately. And we’re going to go after Farah Clearwater. It’s time we find out who’s behind this, and put an end to it,”