I had a choice.” He sighed. “No way could I represent them. And anyone else running a check on them, like we all do with major clients, would turn up the same garbage I did. I had my nuts in a wringer no matter what I did.” He shook his head. “I just didn’t realize they would take out their revenge through Owen.”
The memory of it all still made him sick to his stomach. The owners of a chain of high-end boutique hotels were being sued for a number of reasons, and for an obnoxious amount of money. They had tried to retain Peter to represent them in a lawsuit, but he had passed. For one thing, he hadn’t liked them personally. For another, when he had done some checking, there’d been things that just hadn’t added up.
Then a criminal attorney he was friendly with had told him they were referred to behind the curtain as the Tampa Mafia. They were part of elite society because wealthy people got a jolt from hanging out with rich criminals. And besides, they gave millions to charity, money they could certainly afford. Money covered a multitude of sins. But that made him think that the people suing them had a very good case.
He’d learned the hard way they didn’t like being turned down. With practiced efficiency that had pegged Owen as a young man with weaknesses, they had seduced him with the lure of high-stakes gambling. When he’d begun to lose, with carefully orchestrated games, the desperation to win again had consumed him. Before long, he’d been in way over his head and the Tampa Mafia had been turning the screws. They’d known Peter was never going to represent them, so they’d taken pleasure in destroying his son. Sending a message, so to speak.
Don’t fuck with us.
If only an unforeseen set of circumstances hadn’t turned Dane Hollister on to the situation. If only Brianne Hollister hadn’t been driving on the Gandy Bridge that particular day at that particular time. If only his son hadn’t gotten drunk that night and decided to do something desperate. If only.
How many times had he repeated those words to himself, each time tasting the bitterness that clogged his throat? It continued to fill him with self-loathing that he hadn’t noticed any of the symptoms that would have given him a clue to what was happening. It wasn’t the Tampa Mafia who had turned Owen, although they’d certainly had their revenge in doing so. He, Peter, had to accept most of the responsibility, for not paying more attention and catching any of the signals. But there had been no warning, no signs, nothing. It had come out of nowhere and hit him like a runaway train.
Had he been so blind? Had the son he was so proud of, the top student, smart young lawyer, model husband primed for the march to political success, been hiding secrets from him all this time? Secrets he’d been too busy or too blind to see? He had been too immersed in his own life and the firm to notice what was happening in his own family.
His marriage to Diane Winslow, daughter of an influential and wealthy financier, had fit right into Peter’s plans for his son’s future. Oh, yes, vivacious Diane, who seemed so in love with his son and had seemed just as shocked as he was when this had all threatened to blow up.
He had no idea where his daughter-in-law stood. What did she think now? She and Owen appeared very compatible and happy, so where was she in all this? Was she even aware of what was going on? Had she deliberately made herself absent and unavailable since the disaster or was Owen, always the chivalrous one, deliberately keeping her out of the way?
Jesus! What a shit show this was turning into. He’d asked Owen to bring his wife to the office so he could talk to both of them. Owen, however, was keeping a low profile, doing a lot of work remotely, taking carefully selected client meets, and said she didn’t need to be involved in anything.
“Are you listening to me?”
Warren’s strident voice broke into his thoughts.
He gave himself a mental shake. “Yes. I’m listening. You don’t have to keep reminding me that this is quite a mess we’re in.”
“Of your son’s making.”
Kendrick snorted. “Let’s not forget your own mess which is swirling in the pot here. Give me everything you’ve got on these people. I mean everything. If