Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,188

wouldn't be calling to let me know I'd won anything, so I held off on any premature celebrations.

"I didn't know you ran an exclusive club," I commented lightly, like the rest of his words meant nothing to me.

"You can drop the mask now, son. Or should I say Rex? Because I have just seen a rather confusing photocopy of a passport which seems to imply that you and your friends have taken on new identities. Unless you wish to try and claim there are four doppelg盲ngers roaming around Sequoia with the vaccination to the Hades Virus pumping through their veins?"

Tatum sucked in a gasp, pressing a hand to her mouth and I lifted my gaze to hers, trying to convey an apology to her without words. Because I should have known that this would happen. The apple may not have fallen far from the tree with me and my father, but he'd had many more years to establish his roots. And I was pretty certain that he was about to prove to me that his foundations were solid despite all of my plans.

"Is she there now?" he asked conversationally. "Her lips wrapped tight around your cock in thanks for you saving her from my lab?"

I faltered at his crass words, my gaze on Tatum as the urge to grab her and run as far and as fast from here as possible almost overwhelmed me. He knew. Not just about us rescuing her, but he knew why. He'd always been able to see to the heart of things and despite how often he'd drummed into me the fact that I should never need nor want anyone in my life beyond myself, he had realised what she was to me. And that made him more dangerous than ever before.

"Not presently," I replied calmly though inside I felt anything but. "She's rather exhausted at the moment from me fucking her on my piano."

My father tutted at the mention of the instrument and I knew that if he could, he'd destroy every piano in existence just to stop me from wasting my time on something he saw as so pointless.

"Here's where we stand, son," he said firmly. "You will return all of the shares you have bought up in my companies to me. You will relinquish control of all of the assets you have stolen and sign it all back over to me." The faintest touch of inflection to his voice let me know how fucking angry he was to have realised that I'd done all of that. Me. His beat down little heir who was supposed to toe the line and wait for my time to rise in his shadow had set him up to fall from grace and he hadn't even seen it coming until it was too damn late.

"Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to do that," I replied slowly, soaking in the feeling of my victory over him. "You see, I did what you taught me. I set my enemy in my sights and got all of my ducks in a row. I did my research, I played him at his own game, and I walked him right into my trap. Now all I need to do is pull the trigger. So why would I lay down my weapon at the final moment?"

"I will admit I was rather impressed," he replied slowly and the cocky edge to his voice set my hackles rising. I doubted anyone else in the world would even notice it, but I did. And it meant danger was coming. He had some plan beyond his words, and I was the one walking into it. "You've outdone yourself with this. You were thorough, subtle, methodical and really quite brilliant."

"But?" I prompted, ignoring the prickle of pride that tried to work its way down my spine. Why was it that despite my hatred for this man, despite my desire to see him destroyed and broken and dead at my feet, a small part of me still hungered for his approval? All he had ever afforded me was fear, suffering and contempt. But there it was, deep inside of me a forgotten boy who just craved his father's love and affection. I stamped those feelings back down hard though, refusing to give in to them. This man had no love in his heart for me or anything aside from money and power. It was just the way he was and no good would ever come from me lamenting