Big Ben (See No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,13

him?”

He cleared his throat. “Every fucking day.”

“Yeah. Me too.” I put the glass down and turned to him. “I’ve had enough. I’m heading back to the city. Are you riding with me or with East?”

“I’ll come with you. Let’s tell him we’re leaving.”

I nodded. Starting a business with your best mates had its advantages. You become tighter than brothers. That was how both Bridge and I knew immediately that East needed a rescue.

It was in the tightness of his jaw, the stiffness of his shoulders as he spoke to what appeared to be an older version of him. Same face, but with salt and pepper hair and lines around his eyes. He hated his father. And he wasn’t alone. The old man had never gotten over that East was more successful than he was. He’d never gotten over the fact that East hadn’t needed a single dime from him. What was it like to be jealous of your own son?

Things were difficult with my father too. He’d never really acknowledged my existence or wanted me. Oh, and he liked my girlfriends a little too much. He wasn’t the kind of father I needed, and I wasn’t the kind of son he wanted. It was tit for tat.

But Bridge had it the worst. His father, even on days like this, refused to acknowledge him from across the room. Refused to say that Bridge Edgerton was his son. Lord Edgerton’s bastard child. The blight on the Edgerton name. He’d lost it when back in school Bridge had decided to use his name. He’d even come to Eton and caused a stir.

He didn’t bother speaking to Bridge. Instead, he’d screamed at the headmaster for an hour about how lawyers couldn’t be allowed on the campus to speak to his child without his permission.

Headmaster Tellerman had brilliantly said, “Well, sir, either he’s your child or he’s not.” And he had been listed on Bridge’s birth certificate, so Bridge could take his name.

I’d always thought it was the most brilliant ‘fuck you’ to a parent I’d ever seen, forcing him to do the one thing he didn’t want to.

I marched over and forced a smile on my face to address Lord Hale. “Sir, it’s been a long time.”

He grinned at me. “Covington. You look more and more like your mother every day.”

Inwardly, I winced.

I hated that all those people had known my mother better than I had. After all, she’d been a fixture at my father’s side until she passed. There were people there who knew her longer than I did, and that ate at me. “Thank you, sir. Ah, we’re going to borrow East here for a minute.”

“Yeah, of course. East, I’ll have my secretary call you.”

East rolled his eyes. “If you must.” He turned to face us. “It took you lads long enough.”

I shrugged. “Had to get a drink, sorry. I needed to burn out the taste of all this bullshit.”

He snorted at that. “Are we leaving? Because I’m ready.”

I nodded. “Yup. I’ll drive.”

We didn’t even bother greeting anyone else or saying goodbye as we headed toward the door. I met Drew’s gaze and inclined my head, and he put up a finger. He’d better hurry, because we were in no mood to wait.

Drew had a very different relationship with his father and the Elite. As much as he missed Toby too, he had leaned into this life. It was what he knew. He didn’t hide from his family. And to be fair, they didn’t treat him like shit. Lord Wilcox was decent. He gave to charities, with not only his money, but more importantly, his time. Every summer, he dragged Drew and his sister to different parts of the world that needed help and made them use their hands and get to know the people. I’d always liked him.

As we exited the estate with Drew bringing up the rear, I could feel myself starting to breathe again. The tension started to ease between my shoulder blades, the knots coming out. Once a month, I had to put up with this bullshit. Tonight was the initiation. The next would just be a meeting. I could deal with that. But the initiations were always the worst because there were too many memories associated with them.

We rounded the grounds, our feet making crunching sounds on the gravel as we chatted and headed toward the valet. To the left, moonlight glistened off the water in the pool and the soft trickle told me the infinity pool