The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (66)

“Whose bike is that?” Jamie questioned.

I shrugged without taking my eyes from the Racer.

He whistled again. “It’s pretty sweet.” I could only nod. “Come on.” I felt his fingers wrap around my elbow. “Let’s see who the owner is.”

I wanted to stay with the bike, but I let him pull me inside since I was just as curious as he was.

Inside, we found the kitchen and living room empty as well as the large patio where Thomas and Rosalyn often entertained. “Maybe they’re in Unc’s office.”

I hesitated, so he pulled me the rest of the way. I’d never been in Thomas’s office, though I heard him in it a time or two screaming orders over the phone or berating Jamie for something stupid he did.

Jamie knocked on the door. “Unc?”

“Aye, nephew. Don’t just stand there. Come in.”

He pushed open the door and dragged me inside. I was surprised to find Rosalyn sitting on the leather love seat looking frazzled. No one else waited inside.

“Just who I needed to see,” Thomas greeted with his gaze trained on me.

“Whose bike is that outside?” Jamie questioned.

“Apparently, it belongs to Four.”

“What? That’s not mine.” I denied it as if I’d just been caught with a joint.

“A Robert Russell had this delivered for you this morning.”

“Gruff sent this?”

Thomas didn’t respond, but I didn’t need him to. Gruff was so the man! I was already itching to get on the open road. And maybe never come back.

“That was nice of him. I should call and thank him.” I made sure to keep my tone level and excitement at bay. But the minute I got away from Thomas and Rosalyn’s eyes and ears…all bets were off.

“That won’t be necessary, Four.” Rosalyn had remained silent until now, and her demeanor told me I wasn’t going to like the rest. “We’re sending it back.”

“Like hell you are.”

“You’ll choose your words better when you speak to your mother.” Thomas’s reprimand only added fuel to a burning fire. For a second there, he actually sounded how my father would if I had one.

The words fuck you were on the tip of my tongue when the door opened and Ever sauntered inside.

Thomas sighed from behind his desk. “Son, whatever it is will have to wait. I need to speak with Four alone. Jamie, you can leave, too.”

Instead of obeying, Jamie leaned against the wall with a grin and his arms crossed while Ever came to stand beside me with his hands in his pocket. “Why are you sending her bike back?”

“This isn’t your concern, Ever. Leave,” his father bit out.

“She’s eighteen now. It’s not your right to refuse a gift meant for her.”

“She’s under my roof—”

“Another fact you failed to realize. She no longer has to be, and she won’t be for long if you continue to push her away.” He’d directed the last, which sounded like a threat I wasn’t bold enough to voice, at Rosalyn.

I felt the ball in my stomach tighten when Rosalyn shot me a look full of accusation.

“She could be in jail right now for street racing—on a stolen motorcycle, I might add. You expect me to give her my blessing to jeopardize her future? I won’t put her poor mother through that again.”

“Then keep the keys,” Ever smoothly suggested. “When her future is no longer your concern, hand them over to her.”

Only the sound of Rosalyn’s soft sobs filled the room when Thomas sat back in his chair to consider Ever’s suggestion. It hadn’t dawned on me until now how good Ever was at manipulating people. An image of Ever convincing Thomas and Rosalyn to send me to Europe a year ago popped into my head. Had he beguiled them in this very room just as he was now?

I hadn’t realized I was glaring at Ever until he hoisted an eyebrow.

“Focus, Four.”

In my peripheral, I noticed Rosalyn’s startled reaction. Ever ordering me around was not something I cared for her to witness. With one last scathing glance at Ever, I gave his father my full attention once more.

“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

He shook his head with a humorless smile. “You’re lucky to have found a friend in my son. He can be quite the manipulative prick.”

Jamie choked back a laugh while Ever gave no reaction.

“He’s proving to be useful.” As a small smile tilted my lips, more choking sounded behind me as Jamie’s mind no doubt waded in the gutter. “Does this mean I get to keep my bike?”

Thomas sighed and rubbed his smooth chin. I frowned as I struggled to recall if Ever’s mom had a cleft chin. “It will be parked in the garage where it will stay until you graduate.”

Jamie let out a celebratory whoop and hugged me while Ever stood perfectly still and silent. Rosalyn, visibly upset, rose from her seat and floated from the room. With a nod from Ever, Jamie departed as well with his cousin on his heels.

“Don’t worry,” Thomas said when we were alone. “She’ll come around.”

No…she wouldn’t. I knew her better than he ever could. “Can I park the bike?”

He hesitated before lifting the key ring from his humungous desk.