EVIL VILLAIN (The Royal Court #3) - Rebel Hart Page 0,83
Venom. If we kill him, there will be no way to do that.”
“I really want him dead, Deon,” Nathan said. “He killed my mom.”
“I’m not saying anything specific, I’m just saying, once he’s locked up, Venom’s men will have access to him and it probably won’t be pretty. I want him six feet under too, but if we jump the gun, we’ll never be able to clean up all the messes he’s made.”
Nathan sighed. “I guess I’d better get started on trying to come up with a new way to entice him to do what we want, if it’s not going to be a barrel down his throat.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Wanna hear something else insane?” Nathan asked. “You are an officer of our company.”
“What?” I said.
“Oh yeah. Your name is on an office there. That key I gave you is no joke. Deon Keane, you are the Chief Executive Officer of Loche Corporation Enterprises.”
That dream I had with Nathan and Cherri came blasting back into my mind. Was it just a freaky premonition? “I’m the C.E.O.?”
“Seems dear old dad had some plans up his sleeve that even I didn’t know about. From the day the company was incorporated, I’ve been listed as Vice President and you’ve been listed as C.E.O.” Nathan kicked the dirt on the gazebo floor. “It’s been a pain in the ass getting them to function without us, but I told them they need to just toe the line until we can figure all this shit with Connor out.”
“So, what? After all this is done, you’re gonna go and be an 18-year-old Vice President of a Fortune 500 company?” I asked.
“Pretty much, although I’ll technically be President now,” Nathan said. “I plan to go to business school and eventually get my MBA, but Connor had me studying that shit when I was ten, so I know how things go.” He looked over at me. “What about you? Will you join me? Vice-president?”
“I never considered myself much of an office guy,” I replied.
“I’ll let you keep the Grizzly Adams beard,” he joked.
I ran my hand along the scruff. “It’s something, isn’t it? Do you think I should cut it?”
“At the risk of sounding so creepy, no. Cherri likes facial hair,” Nathan replied, then he held up a hand before I could quip back. “No, don’t comment on it. Let that be the first and last time that ever happens.”
“Deal,” I said. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll join you. Currently, I’m still a wanted man, so I have to get all that sorted out first.”
“Yeah,” Nathan said. “I’ve been in contact with your P.O. I never let on for a second that we were looking for you or anything, only asked what we would have to do if it turned out all of this had been manipulated by Connor. Turns out, he’d been threatened by our old man a time or two, and would be willing to look the other way—in exchange for money, of course. He’s pulled your warrant back and is currently reporting visits to keep you in good standing. You can’t run around robbing gas stations or anything, but at least for the time being you aren’t actively being hunted by the cops.”
“Wow. Thanks, Nathan,” I said.
“Yeah.”
I thought about what the coming days were going to hold for us and imagined getting to just settle down and be some office guy with my brother and go home to the love of my life every day. It felt like too boring and normal a life for me to deserve. I’d fight for it if I could have it, though.
“Well, if it’s okay with you, I really want to go and see my mom. I can’t imagine how much she’s gone through these past eight months,” I said.
“Cherri took pretty good care of her,” Nathan said. “They lived together for about six months.”
“Cherri and my mom did?” I said.
Nathan nodded. “Yeah. Cherri like… flipped her shit at the beginning of our last semester and got kicked out of her house, among other things. She went to stay with your mom until The Royal Court got the band back together and she came to live here.”
I remembered seeing my mom talking about her roommate leaving about a month ago. That was Cherri. “Wow.”
“Your family has missed you quite a bit, Deon. We had to cope by just being there for each other,” Nathan said, and I was slightly surprised he included himself.