Taking On The Billionaire (Redhawk Reunion #1) - Robin Covington Page 0,53

not Franklin Thornton’s son in any way.”

“He’s my son. Don’t you forget it.” As if Tess had summoned him by just speaking his name, Franklin emerged out of the darker spaces on the path, his grin flashing white and feral in the dim lighting. “And you, Tess Roberts, are your father’s daughter.”

Sixteen

She flinched at the sound of her own name.

For so many years she’d been careful to only use and respond to the name she’d adopted after her father had died. A name borrowed from her grandmother, so not entirely a lie. Or so Tess had told herself.

But the cloud of confusion and suspicion on Adam’s face shook her confidence in the deceit she’d been living for the past few years. But in spite of his doubt, Adam was the man he’d proven himself to be over and over. He faced his father, his body shielding her from the threat that now polluted the air. The gesture turned her veins to ice because when he found out the truth, he’d realize that she was the poison.

“Franklin, what do you want?”

“I don’t want anything from you, son. I actually have something for you.” Franklin smiled and the slight sundown chill in the air turned icy on Tess’s skin. She shivered, and when Adam pulled her closer, her heart cracked a little.

“I really don’t give a shit.” Adam turned to her, his hand sliding against her own, giving her a squeeze and an encouraging smile. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home.”

“Adam.” Tess tried to pull out some semblance of a smile but she didn’t have it in her. The happiness of the last few moments still lingered and she used it to give her the strength to do what she needed to do. “My name is Tess Roberts...or it was. I did have it officially changed a few years ago.”

“I’m really confused right now.” Adam shook his head but he didn’t let go of her hand and she took that as a good sign. A hopeful sign.

“After my father died, I changed my name. Our name... Mia did it too. We needed a change from...well, we just needed a change. To start over.”

“I get that. You had been through so much,” Adam tried to soothe her but it made her feel only worse, like the liar she’d been for the past few months. It was time to be honest with Adam and herself.

“My dad was Michael Roberts and he died of an alcohol-induced broken heart after your father took from him the only thing he ever really loved. I only got through it because I had to raise Mia and I was fueled by hate and revenge and the single-minded goal to destroy the man who’d taken my father from me.”

“Franklin Thornton.”

“Yes. Franklin. The man who raised you.”

“And why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Adam asked but she could already see that he knew the answer. He just wanted to hear it from her.

“Because she planned to destroy me through you, son. Don’t you get it?” Franklin was enjoying this moment; his arms were crossed over his chest and the closest thing he had to a smile twisted his expression into something ugly. In that moment Tess saw her father’s face; he’d often worn the same look of hatred but he’d ultimately aimed more of it at himself than at Franklin Thornton. “It was never about you. She was using you.”

She focused her attention back on Adam. He was the only one who mattered right now. She’d already wasted too much time on Franklin and her dad.

“He’s right, Adam. I was using you.” Adam let go of her and she scrambled not to panic. This couldn’t be the end. It couldn’t. “I was using you. Until I fell in love with you.”

“Love? You just told me that you were using me to destroy Franklin and you expect me to believe that any of this was about love?”

Tess jumped, the razor-sharp edge of Adam’s voice making the first deep cut. But she kept talking because this was the most important thing she was ever going to say in her life.

“Yeah, it ended up being all about love. I fell in love with you and I’d given up on what had brought me to you. Given up on getting back at anyone. Given up the hate and the revenge and living in the past. I fell in love with you, Adam. You replaced all of that for me.” Tess wiped her eyes, not