Satisfied we’ll listen, he jerks his head before escaping into the cold night.
I have a few choice words to say to Black, and although it won’t start with my fist in his face, by the time we leave, he will be feeling the effects as if it had.
Men like him don’t deserve to walk the earth.
*** *** ***
Pulling up a few doors down from the house, Jaxon puts the car into park, ducking his head a little to see the extravagant home in front of us.
The white exterior practically lights up the street, and the huge cylinder pillars just make the home more obnoxious. His front garden is so green it makes me wonder if it’s painted.
He wants people to know he has money and he flaunts it in every aspect of the home from the outside. It’s most likely the same from the inside.
The entire house, though it could be classed as stunning, is cold. It doesn’t have that homey feel that most of the others on the street have. The garden is perfectly cut, with neat, trimmed bushes, and yet that seems to be the problem. It’s impersonal. There are no signs of garden ornaments, seating areas, or even potted plants. There is no woman’s touch or any signs it’s lived on.
“His car,” I murmur, seeing it parked on the drive beside the house, right in front of the two-car garage door.
“Move out,” Jaxon orders, pushing open the car door. The rest of us pile out, stopping in front of the car, watching as a light upstairs flickers on.
“What the flip are you lot doing here?”
What the fuck?
We all pause mid-step at the sound of Aiden Carter’s voice. He’s standing shirtless across the road with his daughter, Sunday, in his arms, bouncing her on his hip. She pulls on his hair, but the minute she catches sight of us—or more specifically, Jaxon—she drops forward, arms out. Aiden catches her, sitting her upright.
“Mine.”
Aiden’s gaze narrows at her sweet voice. “He’s not yours.”
Her bottom lip trembles. “Mine.”
He turns his withering gaze to Jaxon. “You’ve corrupted my daughter.”
“I’m a loveable guy.”
Leaning against the gate, Aiden glances over our shoulders to the house we’ve come to. “If you’re thinking of doing business with that prick, I’d forget it now. He’s an arsehole.”
“That’s Andrew Black.”
Not wanting to get into it whilst yelling over the road, we stroll over the street to Aiden.
“Let me get Sunday to Bailey,” he informs us, losing his cool and collected personality. “If I had fudging known that pr— If I had known he lived there I would have set it on fire weeks ago. Did you know all this time?”
His accusation doesn’t bother me or the others. “Did we know he lived here? Yes. Did we know you did? No,” I tell him.
Jaxon speaks next, his voice firm. “And no, you aren’t coming over. We have something to do first that is between family. You can let us know what happens after we leave.”
Aiden grins, nodding. “Happy to. I was getting kind of bored with slashing his tyres every week.”
“Why the fuck did you do that?” Eli asks.
“Language in front of my child or you’ll be swallowing your tongue,” Aiden bites out.
“You just threatened me in front of her.”
Aiden’s eyebrows pull together like it’s Eli with the screw loose. “Whatever. And the reason I’ve been slashing his tyres is because he revs his engine at silly o’clock in the morning. He wakes my princess up. I’m not having that.”
I watch him dubiously and so does Jaxon, who replies, “We’ve had Sunday overnight, Aiden. She doesn’t get up until nine.”
“Yeah, and he wakes us up at fucking seven.”
I roll my eyes before giving Jaxon a pointed look. “We’ve got to get this done. We don’t have much time.”
“Can I at least stand here and watch? He won’t think anything of it since I always bring Sunday out when she’s teething. The outdoors soothes her.” He sighs, shrugging. “And it pisses him off.”
“No.”
“Look, I haven’t been out for a while. I need all the kicks I can get. Even if I’m not the one getting into a fight.”
Sighing, Jaxon shakes his head. “Just don’t come over.”
He gives us a nod whilst bouncing Sunday on his hip. We leave him to it, walking up the path to Black’s house.
Rapping my knuckles on the door, we step back, waiting for someone to answer.
When a woman who has had far too much work done to her face opens the door with a silky robe tied around her waist, I grimace, taking another step back.
She reminds of the woman who was in a magazine I read not long ago. She had so much surgery, she ruined her face.
This woman is also the definition of the slang term ‘cougar’, and I feel disgusted when her gaze runs all over us with appreciation.
“I can’t tell if she’s smiling at us or not,” Reid whispers, his breath on my neck.
“Can I help you boys?” she asks, her voice sultry.
“We’re here to see Andrew Black,” Jaxon demands, typing the code word on his phone to give Liam the go ahead.
Crestfallen, she takes a step back, yelling, “Honey, there are some men here at the door for you.”
“What have I told you about opening the door dressed like that?” he booms, his footfalls thudding as he comes down a set of stairs.
The woman in front of us sinks into herself, forcing a smile. “He’ll be a moment.”
She steps away, and seconds later, Black reveals himself, failing to conceal his surprise.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, stepping outside and pulling the door to, not bothering to wait for his wife to clear the doorway. I grit my teeth when I catch a glimpse of her falling back.
Jaxon steps forward, grinning. “Came to give you this.”
He hands over the memory stick, and slowly reaching out, Black takes it, a smug glint in his eye. “I see you boys heeded my warning.”
“No, we thought it was time to give you one of our own,” I tell him, clenching my fists.
He scoffs, his hands trembling slightly. “Need I remind you that if you touch me, I will press charges and leave your family with no choice but to sell to me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jaxon growls. “You keep underestimating us. We’ve let you think we will take your shit, but the truth is, you messed with the wrong fucking family. We are no longer letting you have free rein.”
Not knowing when to tone it down, Black continues to act untouchable. “And what is it you think you could possibly do to me?”
Jaxon grins as Black’s phone dings with a message, along with another somewhere close in the house. “I’d check that. It could be important.”
Finally getting a sense, Black slowly pulls his phone out of his jacket, opening up the message. His face pales when moans are heard over the phone.
When his phone begins to ring, he looks up, his eyes wide, and I decide to be the one to give him the best news. “Don’t worry, we made sure it went to everyone in your contact list.”
His face goes from pale to bright red. “What have you done?” he roars.
I smirk at his outrage. “An eye for an eye, fucker.”
“Andrew,” a shrill voice screams from inside.
Jaxon steps forward, patting him hard on the shoulder before giving it a tight squeeze. Black grimaces, frozen in place. “Never fuck with a Hayes again. This is just the beginning. By the time we are finished with you, you’re going to wish you had never set your beady sights on us.”
“I-I’ll have you arrested for distributing this video.”
Feigning innocence, Jaxon shrugs. “You can try. But look at the receipt; it was sent from you. Have a good night now.”
Another shrill cry echoes from inside before something smashes.
Wanting the last word, I take a step closer, gripping his bicep before he can escape. “And leave Evie th
e fuck alone from now on. You don’t so much as breathe the same air as her again.”
“That little whore did this?”
“No, you did,” I retort sharply.
He pauses, shoving my hand off his arm, ignoring the screaming going on from inside and his phone ringing. “She’ll regret this.”
“No, it’s you who should be regretting it. She has nothing to do with this or you anymore. What kind of sick man keeps the death of his child’s mother from his daughter?”
“What?” his wife screams, coming to a sudden stop, her gaze hardening.
“Maurine—”
“You said you would have nothing to do with that girl,” she yells. “This… And what is this? Is this real or something that tramp did?”
My lip curls. “You disgust me.”
“I beg your pardon,” she snaps out.
“She’s innocent in all of this. He is the one who cheated. He’s the one who has been harassing and blackmailing her for months,” I bark. “She’s done fuck all wrong. As for that little video clip, that is all your husband. Did you know what a sick, twisted man he is?”
She has the nerve to look away, clearly ashamed. She knew. Or guessed as much.
“Wyatt,” Jaxon warns, grabbing my arm, but I shrug him off, getting in the couple’s face.
“He’s the one who kept a daughter away from her sick mother for months, and then didn’t bother to tell her she had died.”
Maurine’s mouth gapes open, but I continue, on a roll. I should have seen it before instead of being too prideful and angry to admit it. Evie didn’t do anything wrong.
It was him.
All of this was him with his twisted mind games. All because he was power hungry.
Black points in my face. “You don’t get to come here and—”
“And what?” I snap, slapping his hand out of my face. “Tell you what a piece of work you are? You had to have known there would be a breaking point with us. It just wasn’t the one you hoped for. Sorry to tell you this, but we don’t break that easily—not in that sense—because we have something you’ll never have. Family loyalty.
“And you,” I grit out, glaring at Maurine. “You’ll be getting more of those videos soon. If you can stay with a man even after that, you deserve each other. But if I were you, I’d leave now before it accidently gets sent to all your family and friends.”
“Wyatt,” Jaxon calls softly to my right, as Eli steps up to my left. “Let’s go.”
“Let’s,” I reply. “We’ve said what we came to say. You two have a nice night now.”
Jaxon stops midway down the path, turning to Black. “Don’t think of coming at us again. We made a copy of that memory stick for insurance. We will use it to our advantage if you do anything else.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Black warns, a hard bite to his tone. “I’ll break her.”
Luke pushes at my chest, stopping me from going back and punching him out. Instead, I look up the pathway to where he stands, my eyes narrowing into slits.
“And I’ll break you,” I promise, turning to leave before I do something that will get me locked up.
“Are you okay?” Luke asks once we’re away from the house.
“No. Get me to the fucking pub.”
I need to forget what I did to Evie today, the unnecessary pain I caused her.
I need to figure out how to make this right between us.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
WYATT
Two weeks have gone by and yet it feels like it has been months. I haven’t slept much in that time, too worried about Evie and the mistakes I made. I tried to go to her a number of times to apologise for my behaviour, but Rebecca turned me away each and every time.
I don’t blame her. If roles were reversed, I’d turn away anyone who threatened to harm my family, whether that be physically or mentally.
But every minute of the day there is something inside of me that pulls me from my slumber, wanting to go to her.
Every night I finish work and drive to Rebecca’s, parking out of the way so that neither of them will spot me lurking. I beg to see her just once, so I can see with my own eyes that she’s okay.
But there’s never anything, not even a twitch of a curtain. The only thing that stops me from breaking the door down is knowing she is close and safe. Black won’t be able to touch her, and if he tries, I’ll be there to stop him.
Every day is out of the norm. Nothing feels familiar without her in my life. She had only been in it for a short amount of time, but it was enough to make prints in my life and my heart. Without her, my life feels very dark.
I miss her like crazy. I miss the sound of her voice and her grey eyes. I even miss hearing her heels clicking on the floor in the warehouse. Every day I stare at her empty desk as the hole inside of me grows bigger. I want to kiss her and breathe her in one more time.
It’s killing me inside that I caused her pain. I desperately want to take it back, all of it. She didn’t warrant my anger that day.
She didn’t deserve any of it.
Hayden, who Rebecca actually spoke to, let Paisley know that today is Evie’s mum’s funeral.
For days I have been at war with myself about whether I should go, but in the end, I knew I had to be there. Not just for Evie, but in case Black decides to show up and ruin the day for her. She should be able to say goodbye one last time, in peace. I’m going to make sure that is what happens.
I’m don’t know how my arrival will be taken. If she asks me to leave, I will. I’ll do anything for her. But I need her to see that I’m there for her, that I’m sorry.
‘Get your stuff and fuck off back to daddy. I don’t want to look at your face for a minute longer.’ I clench my eyes shut at my own words echoing through my mind. It burns to think of the cruel things I said to her.
‘I love you. Please, listen to—’ Her voice rings in my ears, squeezing my heart in a vice.
I should have listened, given her a chance to explain. Maybe then she wouldn’t be going through today on her own. I could be by her side, holding her hand, comforting her in a time she really needed it.
Nausea swirls in my stomach, threatening to come up.
“Are you sure this is going to be okay?” Jaxon asks, straightening his tie.
“Yeah,” I grumble, rubbing at my tired eyes. “Hayden said she’s having the ceremony at the burial site. She has a plot where her grandparents are buried.”
“She’s not having a church service?” Lily asks softly, her black dress flowing to her knees.
“No. Her mum had no friends and they don’t have any living relatives. It’s why she asked the vicar if it could be just her and Rebecca at the burial site to say a few words there.”
Tears gather in her eyes. “I’m glad we are going to support her. I can’t imagine being alone on a day like today.”
“Let’s hope we don’t make it worse by being there,” Jaxon mutters.
“Do you think he’ll turn up?” I ask, and his eyes darken at the reminder.
“If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t,” Jaxon points out. “He’s gone underground and I’m hoping it stays that way. His wife left him, and half his colleagues and clients have dissolved their contracts. He’s licking his wounds somewhere.”
Aiden kept his word after we left Black’s house, reporting back to us that Black’s wife stormed out not thirty minutes later with her bags packed.
It doesn’t make up for the damage he did, but it’s a start.
“That’s what worries me,” I mutter.
A man with nothing left to lose is a dangerous man.
“We’ll handle it when the time comes,” Jaxon promises. “Now, are you sure you are going to be okay today?”
Dropping my shoulders, I let him see the truth. “Probably not.”
“We’ll be there for you.”
Mum’s heels click on the floor as she walks in, dressed in black with her hat pinned to the side of her head.
Her features soften and a small smile reaches her lips when she sees me. “Let’s go, my boy. We need to be there for our girl.”
My mother hasn’t let go of Evie; she refuses to. She’s become another daughter to her, and it doesn’t matter how many times I tell her it’s over between Evie and I, she won’t listen. I fucked up too bad to fix things now, but I’m willing to fight, to try.
Mum also went to Rebecca’s home to see Evie, and although her reception was better than mine, she was still turned away because Evie was sleeping.
Mum is desperate to see her, which is why when I told her I was going to the funeral, she invited herself along. She wants to be there for Evie, who she has become attached to. She saw something the rest of us didn’t, something we should have seen at a time when Evie needed us the most. The guilt claws at my skin.
Once I made the decision to go, Jaxon said he would be going too, and bringing Lily with him. It hit me to my core that he would forgive Evie, and I knew it took a lot for him to do. He loves Lily with everything inside of him and he nearly lost her because of a mistake Evie made. What none of us could see back then was that Black might have found out with or without her. He was to blame for the fire, not Evie.
Jaxon’s loyalty gleamed like a beacon for me that day. It reminded me of why he is the one we look up to, who we listen to. He doesn’t blame Evie for the fire anymore. He has placed the blame where it is deserved. With Andrew Black. By coming to the funeral, he’s hoping to show Evie that.
It’s also because he loves me and wants me to know he stands by me. I love Evie and will do everything and anything to get her back. He knows that. And if I have to choose, I won’t make the same mistake again. I will pick Evie.
“Do you have everything?” I ask Mum, pulling my jacket on.
“Nearly,” she mumbles, swinging her arm in a gesture for us to leave.
Getting up, I follow behind Jaxon and Lily, coming to a stop at the top of the stairs when I see all my brothers, my sister, and Landon waiting outside, dressed in black.
“What…” I stumble out. I take them all in, warmth invading my chest.
Eye for an Eye (Take a Chance Book 2) Page 27
