by Ali Parker
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tyson
Evan kicked his feet up on my coffee table, picking at the label on his bottle of beer. “What’s the occasion, Ty? We haven’t been called to an emergency meeting of the Lovett clan since the night Dad got arrested.”
“This is about Dad, actually.” I had promised myself on Sunday night when I was still preparing for a hearing I hadn’t known yet I wouldn’t be a part of, that I would talk to my brothers once the hearing was out of the way.
It was about time we all put our heads together in this. I’d put off telling them the truth for a long time, but I couldn’t keep doing it.
The ball had been in my court then, but it had gotten flung out of it on Monday morning and was now so far away I wasn’t even sure which game it had landed in. Protecting them was still my first priority, but I was going to have to do it differently now.
In order for me to protect them, and for them to protect themselves and their families, they needed to know what I had done. It was truth time.
If they never wanted to talk to me again for holding it back from them for so long, then so be it. I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, have changed a single thing I had done. It had all been for them, whether they saw it that way or not.
“Yeah, Ty. What’s going on? Marie will be home soon, so I can’t stay too long.” Jeremy leaned against the wall next to the window, his eyes on the ball game on TV that I had muted when they arrived.
“This might take a while. Sonny hasn’t even graced us with his presence yet,” I said.
Beau walked into the room with a fresh beer. He’d arrived first for a change, and the two of us had some time to get caught up before Evan got there. He’d picked up Jeremy on the way.
“Shit,” Evan said. “How long do you think it’s going to take? Sadie tucks Emery in at eight-thirty. I have to be home for that. We read together.”
“How sweet,” Beau quipped and sank into the couch across from the one Evan was sitting on.
Evan lifted his middle finger with as much gusto as he used to back in his rageful glory days. “Fuck you, Beau. She’s my kid now, too. I plan on being a better father to her than our dad ever was to us.”
“Amen to that.” Jeremy raised his beer, stepping forward to clink the neck against Evan’s. “That’s why I need to get home too. I asked Marie to pick Austin up today so I could come here, but I want to spend some time with my little man before he goes to bed.”
Beau laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t fucking believe you two. All of us haven’t spent time together in ages, and all you want to do is go home?”
“We can do a barbecue on my deck on Saturday afternoon if you want,” Evan volunteered, his eyes meeting each of ours as he talked. “It could be fun actually spending time together instead of whatever the fuck this is.”
“Yeah, Ty. What is this?” Jeremy asked again, raking his hand through his short brown hair. “Seriously, I have to get home. We can do Evan’s on Saturday, but I can’t stay late tonight. So get to it. You and Beau can catch Sonny up later. He knew what time he was supposed to get here, and he’s late. I’m not making my girl tuck our kid in alone just because he doesn’t know how a watch works.”
“I’m with Jeremy. Get to the point, please. We don’t have all night,” Evan added. “And for the record, Beau, you can give us shit about the kid thing now, but just wait ‘til you get there. You’ll want to be home as early as you can too.”
Beau narrowed his light blue eyes, thinking as he rocked his head from side to side before shrugging. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Despite my focus being on what I had to discuss with my brothers, my jaw nearly dropped at Beau’s admission. He’s really thinking about having kids with Charise?
When he’d mentioned kids to me the other day, I thought it was just part of a figure of speech.
I guessed it was official. I was the last Lovett standing. I couldn’t afford to think too much about it now, though.
Jeremy held out his palm to Evan, a knowing smirk on his face. Evan sighed, reached for his wallet and pulled out a twenty. “At least use it on something for Austin, okay?”
Beau watched their exchange carefully, then his head snapped back in realization. “Wait. You guys bet on me and Charise?”
Jeremy nodded before Beau swung his eyes to Evan’s. “And you fucking bet against us?”
“I didn’t bet against you,” Evan scoffed, his cheeks reddening. “I just bet you wouldn’t admit to thinking about having kids with her until next year. At least. I thought your head was further up your ass than it apparently is.”
“Guess I know him better.” Jeremy flicked the twenty between his fingers. “And, of course, I’m using this on Austin. It was a bet about kids. A kid deserves the winnings.”
Deciding to step in before a real argument erupted about who knew Beau best, who was a better father or whatever the fuck else they would come up with, I pressed my fingers between my lips and whistled. “Okay guys, let’s get down to it. Shall we?”
I had years of experience being a referee for these guys. They recognized the finality in my voice immediately.
“About fucking time,” Evan grumbled, then held out his hand to show me the floor was mine after he caught my glare.
“I’m sure you guys have heard by now that Dad’s being released tomorrow.” The words tasted bitter coming out of my mouth. “I called you here tonight because we need to talk about what’s going to happen when he does.”
“Yeah. I heard your bid to keep him in failed,” Jeremy said, his eyes seeking out mine. “Shame. Sorry.”
“What does that have to do with us?” Beau asked. Considering what he’d told me the last time we talked about Dad, I understood where he was coming from.
“I was approached by a guy called Ken outside the courthouse the other day.” Evan and Jeremy fell silent instantly, exchanging a glance as their jaws tightened.
“What did he want?” Evan asked.
“What do you think?” I took a long sip of my beer. “You’ve had run-ins with him. You know what’s happening and what he wants.”
“The money,” Jeremy said, his voice flat.
I nodded. “And to threaten us.”
Beau’s lips spread into a slightly relieved grin. “Well, if that’s all then we’ve got nothing to worry about. We can take him. We can take anyone.”
“It’s not that simple.” I rolled my neck and cracked my knuckles. This was it. The moment that would either make us or break us up for good. “There’s some stuff I haven’t told you.”
I couldn’t remember the last time a room with the four of us in it was so quiet.
My brothers’ reactions varied. Evan’s gaze turned hard and expectant. Jeremy looked eager and relieved, while Beau just frowned. “What haven’t you told us? And why? How often have you and I talked about this the last few months? Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“The same reason I haven’t said anything to any of you before. I had to protect you.”
“Spit it out, Tyson.” Evan’s voice was as hard as his eyes, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “What have you been lying to us about under the excuse of protecting us?”
“It’s not an excuse.” Fuck. I should’ve put all of this in an email. “It’s the truth. The people Dad got involved with are bad. Really bad. You know a bit more about that by now than you did then.”
All three of my brothers nodded, though Beau didn’t look quite as convinced as Jeremy and Evan did. It made sense since Ken had come after both of them personally in the past. I’d done a little digging after he confronted me.
It turned out I recognized his name because of some stuff that went down with Jeremy shortly after he’d met Marie. I’d thought it was because of Sonny, but then I realized I’d heard it from both Jeremy and Evan too.
Since so much had been going on lately and my head had been all over the place, it had taken me longer than it usually would have to
put it all together. Better late than never.
“I never lied to you,” I continued. “There were just some things I didn’t tell you at first. I don’t care what you say now or how macho you all tried to be; you were all shit scared when Dad got arrested. Hell, so was I.”
Taking a fortifying breath followed by the rest of my beer, I wished I’d made flash cards or something before I called them. I’d appeared in front of the meanest, scariest judges in our county more times than I could count, and I’d never been as nervous as I was now.
Three pairs of eyes watched me closely, but none of them said anything. They waited for me to carry on.
“By the time I found out how serious the charges against him were, I realized how deep he’d gotten into it with some of the worst guys around. I didn’t tell you then because we were all young, angry and scared. I didn’t know what any of us would do with the information, and I’m including myself because if I told any of you and you suggested something that would have gotten us all in trouble, I would have been right there with you.”
“What are you trying to say, Ty?” Beau asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I did the only thing I could think of that wouldn’t land us all in a cell next to Dad’s.” I sighed. “I said yes to being put onto his prosecution team so I could see all the evidence they had against him and convince myself it was legit. When I’d verified everything, I stayed on the team so I could do whatever I could to protect him.”
“You prosecuted him to protect him?” Jeremy’s voice was stunned. “Dude, that’s fucked up. He’s in prison. Do you know how dangerous that is?”
“It was less dangerous than him being out at the time,” I said. “Still is.”
A rare moment of all of my brothers being speechless followed. “I know you don’t understand it all yet, but I’m happy to answer any questions you have after we talk tonight. The reason I called you here is exactly because it’s still safer for him in prison. That’s why I fought so hard to keep him in there. When he gets out tomorrow, we’re going to have to protect him. And I’m going to need you all to help me.”
“Protect him?” Beau echoed dully. “Why the fuck would we do that?”
“It’s our only option now. I tried to keep him there, and it didn’t work. Those fuckers who wanted him out did some seriously dirty shit, and I will nail them to the wall for it, but that won’t keep Dad alive after he walks out of that prison tomorrow.”
“I don’t know, Tyson. I have to think of Marie and Austin. They’ve been in enough danger with all that Wesley shit as is.” Jeremy said, his words taking on a sharp edge at the reference of Marie’s ex. “And then all that stuff with the people who are after Dad, I just don’t know if I can put them through something like that again.”
“Roy might not have been the greatest father,” I said to him, “but he’s still our father. We need to protect him.”
Sonny appeared in the doorway, his chest heaving as if he’d just run a marathon. “I know why Dad did what he did.”
He pulled a stack of rolled-up papers out of the back pocket of his jeans and threw them down on the coffee table. “I never thought I’d be saying this again, but Tyson’s right. We need to protect Dad.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Eve
The visitation room at the prison smelled stale and musty. I had only been here a handful of times over the last few years. It was important that I didn’t visit Roy often enough that anyone would be able to deduce how close of a relationship we really had.
“Eve. Honey.” Roy wasn’t allowed to touch visitors, not even to give or receive a hug. I saw his arms twitch at his side, and I knew he would have given me one of his giant, tight bear hugs if he could have. “How are you?”
“I’m okay.” I looked into Roy’s sharp blue eyes, wondering how they still looked the same when the skin around them was so much more crinkled now than it had been the last time I’d seen him. He was so pale, tension lining his mouth and in the set of his jaw. “You’re getting out tomorrow. It’s you I’m worried about. How are you?”
Roy’s frame, once so large and imposing, was thinner now. His face was gaunt and gray. He was still a big man, easily as tall and wide as any of his sons, but time had definitely eaten away at him in here. “You shouldn’t worry about me, Eve. What’s done is done.”
My heart clenched and twisted painfully at the resignation in his face. I’d never seen that look in his eyes before. It killed me during the first few months after he was put away that I had to stay away from the prison.
At that stage, however, there was such scrutiny on his visitors that it was impossible for me to come by. Since they hadn’t found the money he had embezzled yet at the time, they were looking for an accomplice or anyone who might know where it was.
“Is it safe?” Roy asked, as if he knew where my thoughts had gone.
I nodded, itching to reach out and take his hand to assure him. It sure looked like he needed it. “It’s exactly where you left it. I haven’t touched it, and no one has found it. I made sure of it.”
“We’ve worked together a long time, my girl. I never meant for you to get this involved. It’s not fair.”
“It is what it is,” I said, my voice firm. “This is all a part of it, and I’m okay with that.”
I was the only person in the galaxy who knew where the money was. I would have been an accomplice had we not gone through the proper channels, but there were very few people in the world who knew about that.
Once I realized that, I sucked up how much I missed the man who had become more of a father to me than my own had ever been and waited over two years before my first visit to Roy in prison.
They were the longest two years of my life. I hadn’t gone more than a few weeks without talking to Roy since I met him and overnight, he was arrested, and everything changed. The day I met him, I honestly never expected that out of everyone coming in and out of that house, Roy would be the one to get arrested. I remembered that day so well. My first impressions of Roy had been so damn inaccurate it was embarrassing.
Just after my eighteenth birthday, I had gone to my father’s house one morning. While I stayed away from there as much as I could, he had summoned me that day. I knew better than to ignore him, no matter how tempted I had been to do it.
My father had contributed the sperm that led to my conception, but that was really the only thing he ever did for me. He only came knocking when he needed something from me or when I could do something for him. Even calling him a sperm donor was too kind because that would have meant he had donated something at some point in his life.
No, he wasn’t a donor. He’d been a depositer. A contributor at most, and that was being generous.
He and my mom had gotten divorced when I was just a kid. She moved us across the country to try and keep him away from me. She hadn’t needed to go to so much effort; he wasn’t interested in me growing up anyway. I had been useless to him then.
When it became time to start applying to college, Mom had contacted him for help for the first time ever. She couldn’t afford to pay for my tuition, and while my grades were good, they weren’t full- ride scholarship good.
Dad had agreed to pay for my education but insisted he would only do it if I moved back to study in Georgia. He wanted me nearby, though I didn’t understand why. I’d since figured out that it was just to fuck with mom and be able to summon me to his house whenever he wanted so he could lord the money thing over my head.
I couldn’t remember what he had wanted from me that day, but Roy had been coming out of a meeting with him. The sperm contributor’s assistant told Roy to wait in the living area for some documents that had to be delivered for him, which also happened to be where I was waiting for my allotted time slot to find out why I had been summoned this time.
Roy and I got to talking eventually. At first, I had thought he was just another one of my father’s lecherous friends. I’d met my fair share of them by that
point, and that was why I was still embarrassed over my first thoughts about him. I had really thought he was like them, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Roy noticed I was around his sons’ age and started making small talk with me. It didn’t take me long to realize he was nothing like the usual lowlifes Dad hung out with. Roy was interested in me, but in an entirely appropriate way. I didn’t once catch him trying to glimpse down my blouse, he didn’t come on to me, and he didn’t proposition me.
Instead, he started telling me about his sons. He told me their ages, and we realized that I fit age- wise between Jeremy and Evan. The way he talked about them fascinated me. Here was a man who was truly proud of his children, who loved them more than life itself and who bragged about their accomplishments as if they were his own.
It was exactly what I always thought a father should be like, and nothing like the “father” the sperm contributor was to me. Roy and I talked for almost an hour that day, and I remembered thinking before the documents had arrived and he left that he was one of the nicest men I’d ever met.
Once the documents had been delivered, Roy accepted them with a grin and stood up from the wingback chair he’d been waiting on. Before he left, though, his expression grew dark as he glanced toward my dad’s office door. He pulled a business card out of his jacket pocket and told me to let him know if I was ever in trouble.
I never got into any trouble I couldn’t get myself out of, but I did keep in touch with Roy. We started working together not too long after that, while I was still in the process of finishing my degree. He was actually one of the people responsible for the good start to my professional life.
We spent a lot of time together, too. It turned out my instincts about Roy once we’d started talking had been right. He wasn’t interested in me the way other men were. He was interested in me in a paternal kind of way.
