his keys off the counter, slid his phone into his back pocket, and checked to make sure he had his wallet before shoving his feet into a pair of shoes by the door. Damn, he had to admit how much he loved a nice pair of loafers, something he didn’t get to enjoy much when he was at Fort Bragg or on a mission. The blister on his big toe hadn’t even fully healed yet, but he was set to head back to wherever he was needed.
The drive to his mother’s house; he never referred to the home as Gary’s, didn’t take nearly long enough. Pulling into the exclusive neighborhood memories assailed him. It had been the home they’d had when his dad was alive. Even though the memories were fading, he remembered the big man who he was named after.
Navigating through the light traffic hadn’t taken more than forty-five minutes. He wished it had taken longer, thinking he could’ve used a little more time to figure out what he was going to say, how he’d ask his mother why she’d lied to him all these years. Huge gates blocked the entrance to the exclusive neighborhood, with each home having several acres of land, it was prime real estate only the truly wealthy could afford. He punched in his private code, waited on the gates to open, then made his way to the entrance to their driveaway, where he had to do the same thing again. Some might think the safety protocols were a bit much, but when you were worth over five hundred million dollars, you didn’t take safety for granted. Haven Corp was worth at least that the last he’d checked and only grew.
He eased his Ferrari into the garage after waiting for it to open, the quarter of a million-dollar ride fitting right into the surroundings. His fellow Delta guys had no clue about his true wealth, which suited him. He pushed the door up, easing out of the low-slung ride, glancing at the vehicles parked in the eight-car garage. Gary’s Bentley was missing, as usual. The other man was never around.
Pocketing his keys, he entered through the mudroom, then turned left instead of going into the house, heading toward the back where the pool was located. The home and land were all part of his trust, left to him in his father’s will. It was something he and Gary had butted heads over and one of the reasons he’d joined the Army, then accepted placement in Delta Force. He would never sign anything over to the fucker, ever. His will stated everything went to Talena if he was to be killed, but there was a caveat that she couldn’t sign it off to anyone else except her children upon her death. He’d followed his own father’s footsteps and made sure Gary was privy to this. Even if she wasn’t his biological sister, he still loved her the same. His jaw ached from grinding it, making him angry at the bastard all over again. The only reason he tolerated the shithead was his mom and Talena loved him. Otherwise, he’d have...what the hell would he have done? The man ran the company when Scott didn’t want to, ever. He’d been his dad’s best friend, and now, he was married to his mom. “Shit,” he said hating the bastard with a passion that didn’t sit well with him.
He followed the sounds of young girls’ laughter. The pool area was more like a damn waterpark on steroids. There was an outside kitchen, a pool house, two hot tubs, multiple slides built into the rock walls, making it appear as if they were part of the scenery. The pool itself was a huge L shape that disappeared into a cave-like grotto. He’d helped in redesigning it when he’d been a teen, showing the architect pictures he’d liked. What they ended up with looked like it was set in the jungle, with rocks and foliage that some high-end contractors had come in and created. His mother had laughed and said it was an oasis. Most days if he wanted to find her or his sister, all he had to do was search outside since it was where she spent most of her time, lounging by the pool with Talena. All the kids who came over loved to climb up the rocks and jump into the pool like they were in the forest, kind of like Tarzan. The entire thing had taken