Landon (The Love Family Series Book 5) (8 page)

“She pulled every string she had to discreetly inquire about you, gathering everything, including a copy of your birth certificate before those records mysteriously ended up in a hospital storage file. She found out that she had terminal cancer the same day she discovered the truth. She’d gone into my father’s study to tell him about the cancer, and when he wasn’t there, she snooped through his drawers and found the key to his personal safe, which of course she didn’t hesitate to open. In that safe, she found your information. He’d been keeping tabs on you since your childhood. She’d found you, and along with that information, she found the thumb drive containing the damning evidence.”

“Oh my God. Your mom is the person responsible for the truth coming out.”

“Well, technically, I am. She confided in me and gave me the information to try and make things right, but yes, she put it all into motion.”

“And your mom?”

“She died.” His eyes saddened.

Alice reached for his hand and squeezed. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He squeezed back. “She’s smiling down on us. She needed to expose the truth, and she wanted to make sure that you knew as well.”

“Unbelievable,” she whispered.

“Your father is the reason that hitmen are after her?” Landon asked in atone less than cordial.

“Yes, and my presence guarantees they won’t succeed. My father doesn’t know that I was responsible for his secrets being exposed He’d never let anyone touch his living heir, although that might change when he realizes I was the instigator in his demise. The only secret left to expose are the players involved.” He looked at Alice. “And you. We expose them, and this all goes away.”   

“Or I kill them, and this all goes away,” Landon growled.

“Or that,” Edward replied. “Although, if his doctors are to be believed, you won’t need to go to all the trouble. Through karma or whatever, he recently found out that he needs a kidney, and I’m not a match.”

“What?” she asked. “I hope he doesn’t think that I’ll be his donor.”

“I’m sure you don’t have to worry about that,” Edward answered. “He pulled your medical history. I found that file, too, and found it before him. I made sure that he knew you weren’t a match, even though technically you were. I stripped that opportunity away from him so you, too, wouldn’t have an accident since you’re an organ donor.”

“You did that, for me?”

“Of course.” He looked at me. “You’re my sister, and personally, I like the idea of our father rotting in prison for the rest of his life.”

“What do you get out this if she succeeds?” Landon asked.

Alice lowered her head and closed her eyes, bracing herself for Edward’s answer.

“My mother gets her dying wish. Alice’s mother gets justice, and Alice and I get to be family. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Alice raised her gaze to his. “Aren’t you forgetting your father’s companies? You get those too.”

“Actually…” Edward stood, rounded the desk, pulled out another envelope, and handed it to her. “I’ve appointed you my sole beneficiary, so should anything happen to me, everything I own and have, will be yours. I plan to sell off all of his companies and destroy any legacy he’s left behind. My plan is to leave no trace of him behind, similar to what he did to your history. I’ll be splitting any money that is made with you fifty-fifty. That alone will send my father to an early grave, to know that his bastard child and his son have taken everything away from him in a heartbeat. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than watching his fall.”

“Why do you hate him so much?” Alice asked.

Edward’s face hardened. “That man destroyed hundreds of lives, including mine. Isn’t that reason enough?”

“How did he destroy yours?” Landon asked.

Edward chewed on his bottom lip while he sat quietly debating his answer. If Landon could feel any of the emotion, he didn’t say.

“He verbally and physically abused my mother and me. For that, I’m going to destroy him.

“If you don’t want any part in this, I’ll completely understand and do it alone. I just found you, and all I’m asking for is a chance to get to know you. That’s all.” 

Chapter 13

Landon lay in the king-sized bed with Alice wrapped in his arms. She’d had a long, emotional day, and he had been counting the minutes until they could be alone.

“Do you believe him?” Landon asked.

“I do,” she whispered into the dark room. “Do you?”

“To be honest, I think he’s got a lot of daddy issues, and even though I understand where his hate comes from, I’m not comfortable with you being around him by yourself. I don’t trust him yet.”

Alice drew a circle on his chest. “Do you think he’s using me to get back at his dad? Our dad? Dang that still sounds weird.”

“I think…he means well, and he’s trying to give you the same opportunity to destroy your dad that he has. I think he’ll enjoy watching his dad fall.”

“What should I do?”

Landon kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. “Only you can answer that, but whatever you decide, I’ll be with you 100 percent. I promised you that.”

“You have a lot of promises to keep.” She smiled and glanced up at him.

“With you, they’re easy to keep.”

“He killed my mom.”

“I know, baby, and one way or another, he’ll pay for that.”

Landon could feel the confusion she was going through. It hit him squarely in the chest, as did her despair about finding out what had happened to her mother. She was on an emotional roller coaster, and he was unsure where it would end. He knew only that he would ride it all the way to the end.

“Get some sleep.” He kissed her again and let her snuggle into his embrace. Her breathing eased, and his followed.

He’d almost been asleep when she whispered into the dark, “I love you.”

“Tell me again when all of this is over and you have a clear head.” He kissed the top of her head. “For what it’s worth, I love you too.”

Landon woke with a start, unsure what had pulled him from his sleep. He reached for Alice and shot up straight when he realized she wasn’t in bed. “Alice,” he called out in the room and glanced at the alarm clock, which read six a.m.

He turned toward the bathroom. The door was open, and that light was off as well. “Crap.”

He slid from the bed and hurried to dress. Grabbing his gun, he stashed it in the waistband of his jeans and was yanking the shirt down over his chest as he made his way down the hall. He jogged down the stairs and nodded to the security guy posted at the door. He rounded the banister and headed toward the kitchen. When he heard her voice, he slowed, and his heart started beating again. He entered the kitchen and noticed Edward at the table with a cup of coffee in front of him and Alice pouring herself a cup.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Good morning.”

He moved to her side and kissed her neck. “Morning, baby. You should have woken me up.”

“I wanted to let you sleep. You haven’t gotten much since having to babysit me.”

Landon smiled down at her and winked. “You are a handful.” He poured his own cup of coffee and met them both at the table. “So what did I miss? Any more stories?”

“Alice was just about to give me her list of demands.”

“Is that right?” Landon glanced at Alice and leaned back in his chair. “Well, don’t let me stop you, babe.”

Alice cleared her throat. “If I decide to do this, no matter what happens, I don’t want your money or anything from him.”

“Unacceptable,” Edward answered. “You’ll take the money and what you do with it after that is completely up to you. Next demand?”

Alice glanced at Landon and winked. “My next demand is that you and I go to counseling to work on our daddy issues.”

“You want me to see a shrink?”

Landon took a sip of his coffee to hide his smile behind his cup.

“Yes. I think it will be good for both of us, and it might help us form a relationship. This one is non-negotiable. I won’t have any brother of mine turning into a psycho with a god complex.” She grinned at Edward. “Sorry.”

He made a circular motion in the air. “Fine, next.”

“I want birthdays, holidays, family vacations. If I do this with you, I want the whole nine yards. I want to experience having the brother I never had.”

“That doesn’t even count as a demand. That’s a given, but if you need to hear me say it, then I agree.”

“Those will include my sister, Emily.”

“But she’s not your sister,” he countered. “Not by blood. Her family bought you.”

“The sins of the parents are not the sins of the children. I think we can both agree on that. She is a sister to me in every way that matters. She
is
my sister. She was there for me when I scraped my knee or had my heart broken. She’s an innocent victim in all this, just like we are. You either accept us both or neither.”

He took his time to ponder this one. “What if she doesn’t like me? What if she tries to turn you against me?”

“Then we’ll all sit down and discuss the issues as a family. I’m sorry, but this is important to me.”

He gave a slow nod. “Hearing you stick up for her just proves how much I’ve missed out on. I agree to your demand. Anything else?”

“No. I think that about covers it.”

“Good, are you ready for mine?”

“Wait…you have demands?”

“It’s only fair.”

Landon took another sip of his coffee and watched the comical exchange between the two.

“Sure. It’s good that we get everything out on the table.”

“Until I know your safety is secure, Landon and you”—he gestured to Landon—“will stay in my home and will have a team of guards with you until every last one of the men responsible are sent to prison.”

“Wait, how did I get thrown into this?” Landon argued. “Not that I’d ever leave her to fend for herself.”

“That’s an easy one. She trusts you. I trust you, and seeing as how you’re still leery about me, we kill two birds with one stone. You get extra security to help protect her….even if you’re playing kissy face.”

“Kissy face.” Alice grinned and turned to wink at Landon.

“I can’t speak for Landon, since he has a job and a family that need to see him, but I’m willing to stay while everything transpires.”

“Perfect.” He pulled out his wallet, took a card out, and slid it across the table. “I have set up a trust fund and a bank account with a million in each for your personal use. You haven’t been afforded the same opportunities as me, and it’s high time that changed.”

“I don’t want your money,” she answered, sliding the card back to him again.

“Non-negotiable.” He slid it back. “They are yours. Consider it delayed child support owed to your mother. You will take it, and you will use it as you see fit.”

“That’s not why I’m here.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” he answered. “You’re my little sister. Let me do this for you.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. “What else?”

“I guess, since you tried to return the money, I should probably take the house and the car off the table?”

“You’d be correct.”

“Stubborn.” He shook his head. “That runs in our family too.”

“Good to know. Any other demands I should know about?”

“Nope. I think that about covers it.”

“Perfect.” She rose from the table. “I need the names of all the major players involved in the cover-up of my mother’s murder and the baby trafficking.”

“What are you going to do with it when I give it to you?”

Alice smiled at Edward. “Destroy each and every one of those bastards so I can have my life back. Where will Daddy dearest be at 3 P.M?”

“In court.” Edward answered with a grin on his face.

Pride puffed in Landon’s chest. Even with the thought of the additional security, they were going to need to keep her safe. She was his, and at that moment, he knew she’d ruined him for any other woman. She had him hook, line, and sinker.

“Operation search and destroy commences at 3 P.M., so you should call in whatever security detail you believe we’ll need to get ready for the backlash. I think it’s time to give daddy dearest the surprise of his life.”

“I like the way you think.” Edward stood, pulled out his phone, and started dialing numbers. “I’ll tip off the press that there is going to be a breaking story in Dad’s courtroom. We’ll hit him fast and hard.”