Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail(61)

"You have some nerve coming here."

When I expected my mother, I looked up in surprise to see Frank Stephens instead. He wore a custom tailored black suit. His hands were clenched into fists and he jerked forward two steps, but stopped abruptly. As his jaw tightened, I saw the rage in his eyes and jumped to my feet, then wavered a second. The room spun around me, but I remembered Brady's voice. ‘I’m your best friend.’

Everything calmed in me. I opened my eyes then. "She's not here, is she?"

I was ready for the storm to come.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Frank Stephens looked like he could commit murder as he stared me down, but I wasn't a coward. I would not run away. But as his rage seemed to grow, I was tempted to tuck tail and scram.

"You are every bit the whore that your mother is. You spread 'em for any guy that comes along."

I reeled from his words, but he continued, "I loved your mother so goddamn much. I would've done anything for her, just like my son would do for you, but you're like her. She destroyed me, just like you're going to destroy Brady."

Did he just say…?

Frank jerked forward and crossed the room to a bar hidden behind a counter. As he filled a glass, he grunted. "When I first met your mother, I thought she was special. I thought she was a goddamn angel sent to save me. Can you believe it? I couldn't." He laughed harshly and finished the drink to pour another. "I loved my wife, or I thought I loved Teresa, and then I met Leann. I realized what love really was. Everything was upside down, and I thought I could do right. I thought I could be the guy that I knew she'd need for her. All she'd do is look at me and smile and I wanted to be a better man. I tried. I really tried, but it wasn't enough. Your mother humiliated me. She tortured me. When that wasn't enough…you know what she did? She screwed the one guy that I respected in this world. That's what she did. She did everything to hurt me. She succeeded. My marriage fell apart. I fathered another bastard child. I could've lost everything. My business could've gone done the drain and it's your mother's fault. She stomped on me. And you're just like her."

I should've left, but I wanted information. I wanted whatever he was giving out. I didn't care if it was hateful words. It was something.

He finished another drink. "I should toss you out. I should call the cops, but I already know they're on their way. It doesn't matter. Domitri was snowed by her, just like I was. I never knew how bad it was, how much she got under his skin. I never knew about you. Never even considered it, to be honest. If I had, trust me, I would've destroyed you and your mother. I would've taken Domitri down and sent him to hell myself. And Theona. She would've known everything. She would've died knowing how her life was just as much a lie as mine. The business would've burned and I would've set the match myself. I'm not going to see my life's work in your mother's hands."

I heard a car door slam outside the window. Voices were heard a second later and then dulled. After Frank finished a third drink, he moved to fill a fourth. I looked down at my hands. They were sturdy. I thought they'd be sweating or trembling. Nothing. For some reason, his demented hatred didn't touch me.

"All of it's gone. All of it. I have the majority share holder, but she's got the rest besides the board. It doesn't matter. I can't get around her. She's a damn woman. I hate women. They belong in the bedroom and that's it. I thought I loved her, I did love her. And now, goddamn…I knew she was smart, but I didn't realize. She's a goddamn witch. All those should be strung up and killed. I can't stand the lot of them. That's how she got Domitri in bed. She got her hooks in him. Theona wouldn't have allowed it if she wasn't dying." He swallowed painfully and slammed his glass on the counter. As it shattered, he didn't blink. He didn't notice blood was starting to pool underneath his hand. He stared at me, beyond me. He might've been seeing me, but it was her that he wanted to murder.

Something kindled in my spine and I stood slowly. "I don't know my mother…" When he jerked, I jumped. "I don't know...k-k-k-now about anything what you're telling me. I don't know my mom. I really don't. I came here because I wanted to ask her questions, but I can see that she's not here—"

"Your mother took off two hours ago. She's probably already on the plane. The car was going to the airport," he coldly delivered. "She's smart, so smart that she might walk away with twenty million for you. Little does she know you're here in my living room, within my reach. I could do anything to you and she couldn't stop it. She couldn't save you, much as she might think she did. She hasn't saved you at all. You walked into the lion's den. You're mine for all intents and purposes. You're mine."

I heard the threat and stared back. Something told me he was looking for weakness and I couldn't give him that. "I am anything but yours. I am Brady's and you've already told me you know he's your son. You know what he can do, so I wouldn't push it. Because you're right. Brady does love me and I love him. What do you think he'd do if he knew you were speaking to me like this?"

Frank looked at me with contempt. "I own this town. The only reason your boyfriend isn't in prison is because a part of him is from me. He's my son and his mother was one of the sweetest pieces of ass I've ever had. Call me weak, but I couldn't bring myself to charge my own flesh and blood. He's a part of my legacy. Hell, for all I know he might be my only legacy. Kidrick's a disgrace. He can't even bag the town's whore."