Four Simple Words: A Badass and the Billionaires Contemporary Romance (The Sisters Quartet Book 4)

by Mary J. Williams

  "I like Clooney's mouth better than his nose." Thoughtfully, Calder touched her lower lip. "Very kissable."

  "Holy… crap. I kissed Ingo Hunter's son?"

  "Did more than kissed him. Sorry." Bryce cringed when Destry shot her a dirty look. "You like him. I like him. We all like him. You can't hold Liam accountable for Hunter's actions. Sins of the father, and all that jazz."

  Destry felt as if a ton weight pressed on her chest.

  "I don't hold him responsible," she gasped. Andi placed a hand behind Destry's neck, pushing her head between her knees, and told her to breathe. "Doesn't help. Except to make me nauseous."

  "Aim yourself the other way." Bryce moved her feet out of vomit range.

  "I won't throw up. Probably. I just need—"

  "Liam Stanton is not Ingo Hunter's son," Dee yelled. "Sheesh. Try to get a word in edgewise. The way the four of you egg each other on is crazy frightening."

  "Repeat what you just said?"

  "You egg each other on. How can you—"

  "The part about Liam." Destry waited before she raised her head. Just in case.

  "Oh. Right." Dee nodded. "He isn't Hunter's son. Not related in any way. However, Liam Stanton was Ingo Hunter III's roommate at that snooty, high-priced private school."

  "Carver Academy." Destry reached for her lemonade, then thought better. Her stomach wasn't back in place quite yet. "I didn't ask him."

  Bryce dipped a napkin in the bucket of extra ice. She handed the wet cloth to Destry.

  "What didn't you ask him?"

  The cool cloth felt good against Destry's clammy skin.

  "Liam told me his parents sent him to school here in New York. He didn't mention where, and I didn't think to ask."

  "Didn't you almost go to Carver Academy?" Dee asked.

  Destry shook her head. The entrance exam was notoriously difficult. When the dean of the school tried to recruit her, she wasn't interested in the snooty school. However, she loved a challenge—and the chance to show off her ridiculously high-functioning brain cells. She aced the test. Then, told Carver Academy to kiss her I.Q.

  "They wanted to add another prestigious name to their alumni. I preferred public school."

  "Either way, Ingo III and Liam would have graduated the year before you were due to enroll."

  "Too many freaking coincidences." Destry rose and started to pace. "I said so from the beginning. But those damn blue eyes made me forget the tried and true rule every woman should live by. When a man seems too good to be true, he usually is."

  "Before you take out a hit on him, at least give Liam a chance to explain. If nothing else, he might be able to lead us to Hunter's son."

  "I can," a deep voice answered. "And Calder's right. You need to let me explain."

  Slowly, Destry turned toward the French doors. Liam stood there and waited, his eyes on her. She waited for the feeling of rage or betrayal. All she felt was numb.

  "I should knock you on your ass."

  "Give me an hour. Then, if you want, knock away. I won't stop you."

  "You couldn't if you wanted to."

  Liam crossed his arms, eyebrows raised.

  "Oh, I don't know. I can hold my own. As you know."

  "Sure," Destry conceded. "In a bar fight against a few out of shape dickwads. Try taking me on."

  "Gladly."

  Dee watched the exchange, a befuddled look on her face.

  "What's going on?" she asked Andi.

  "Foreplay?"

  Bryce's snort of laughter turned into a cough. But Destry didn't notice. Her focus was entirely on Liam.

  "Enough." Andi pointed toward the chair near the end of the deck. The one in the sun. "Sit."

  Liam did as she instructed, sitting the leather satchel he carried at his feet.

  "Fine. He can talk." Reluctantly, Destry returned to her seat. "But if I don't like what he has to say…"

  "You aren't going to hit Liam." Andi sighed. "I might. Or Bryce or Calder. Not you."

  "Why not?"

  "We want to hurt him, not send him to the hospital."

  "Fair enough."

  Ego salved, Destry crossed her legs and waited.

  "First," Liam began. "Is Hunter around?"

  "He's out." But because they never knew when the jerk might pop up, Andi closed the doors to the house to give them some extra privacy. "Go on."

  "Second…" Liam took a deep breath. "I want to apologize. To all of you."

  "No need to include me. I'm Dee Wakefield, by the way."

  "The private investigator." Liam nodded. "I know you by reputation. All good."

  "Don't thank him." Destry jumped in when Dee opened her mouth to respond.

  "Who said I was going to?" Dee grumbled.

  "Go on, Liam," Andi told him.

  "Our meeting was a coincidence, Destry. All of them. The one in Manfred. The one here in New York." Liam didn't try to shield his eyes from the sun's glare. He squinted, but his gaze stayed on Destry. "The biggest coincidence, the hardest one to believe, is my connection to Ingo Hunter. All I have is my word to prove I didn't know he was involved with your mother."

  "Seems unlikely." Bryce's tone was sympathetic. However, like all of them, she had too much at stake to take Liam's word. "You checked Destry out, am I right?"

  "I didn't hire a P.I. But yes," Liam nodded. "I did my own rudimentary background check."

  "Good thing I had Dee." Destry, her feelings for him raw and angry, took Liam's comment as a dig. "Without out my P.I., we never would have known about your duplicity."

  "Duplicity. Shit." Liam closed his eyes as if counting to ten. "Excuse my language."

  "Please. I heard worse today in the ladies room at Bloomingdales. Ladies, indeed." Calder chuckled.

  "Jokes? Really?" Next, Destry expected one of her sisters to offer Liam a glass of lemonade. He wasn't their guest. Until he convinced her otherwise, he was the enemy.

  "The best way to explain is to start at the beginning." For a moment, Liam seemed lost in his memories. "I came to New York when I was sixteen, as Destry knows. Angry, resentful, certain I'd hate every second. What I didn't expect was to meet someone who had things much worse than I did."

  "Ingo Hunter III."

  "Right." He nodded at Calder. "Everyone at Carver Academy called him Trey."

  Ingo the third. Trey. Made sense, Destry thought. And, as nicknames go, much better than Junior, or another derivative.

  "Initially, I wasn't thrilled with my new roommate. I thought he was stuck-up—standoffish. In truth, he was painfully shy. But I was bleeding full of myself and was used to boys who were equally brash. Where I grew up, we knocked the quiet out of you pretty fast. Bugger off was a term of endearment."

  "Sounds like Destry." Bryce met her sister's glare and shrugged. "Well, it does."

  "Trey barely said a word the first few months I was there. He didn't play sports. Didn't socialize. I, in the infinite wisdom of a teenager, decided he was a freak." Liam's expression grew grim. "Then, his father paid a visit."

  "I see where your story is headed." Bryce's eyes grew sad.

  "We all do." Andi nodded. "Go on, Liam. We need to hear everything."

  "Ingo Hunter. Just the name makes my blood boil." As Liam's hands formed two tight fists, his voice grew colder. "He didn't raise a hand—never once, according to Trey. But the abuse he heaped on his son was brutal. Nothing was good enough. A perfect G.P.A. Didn't matter. Hunter wanted Trey to toughen up. Stop daydreaming. Stop whining and crying."

  "Bastard." Like all of them, Dee had been pulled into Liam's story.

  "I'll never forget Hunter's parting words." Liam's jaw was so rigid, he could barely spit out the words. "The world doesn't care about you or your stupid, irrational grief. You're mother's dead, you idiot. Get over it."

  "Were Trey and his mother close?" Bryce wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

  "Very. Merina's health was alwa
ys frail. Hunter's constant browbeating didn't help. In Trey's words, she simply faded away. Perhaps with a guiding hand from her husband."

  "Trey believes Hunter killed Merina?" Dee asked.

  "Speculation with no proof. But, yes," Liam nodded. "Trey's convinced his father speeded her death along in some way. Hunter had the body cremated within days and scattered the ashes at sea."

  Shocked, Andi looked at Destry. They had always known Hunter was capable of almost anything. Even murder. But his own wife? If what Liam told them was true, on top of everything else, they needed to worry about Billie's safety.

  "Now I understand why Trey decided to disappear." Andi poured the lemonade and handed the glass to Liam. He smiled his thanks. "We worried he might be dead."

  "No. Trey is fine. Better than fine. He's happy and healthy. In fact, I spent my recent vacation with him."

  "Trey lives in Manfred?" Destry couldn't believe the man they'd tried to locate for months had been right under her nose.

  "Actually, Trey became a park ranger. He's in charge of over a hundred thousand acres of national forest land in the area."

  "I'm glad he escaped his father and is doing well." Destry was truly happy for Trey But at the moment, she had more pressing matters on her mind. "What about Hunter's money? He's on the verge of bankruptcy. Is Trey responsible?"

  "I think you should hear the rest from Trey. Would you like to meet him?"

  "Of course." Destry knew she spoke for her sisters. "He's here?"

  "In a manner of speaking."

  Liam opened his satchel and removed a laptop. He set the computer on the table so everyone could see. A few quick clicks on the keyboard later and a face popped onto the screen.

  "Ladies, meet Trey. Trey, these are the Benedict sisters, Destry, Andi, Bryce, and Calder. And their friend, Dee Wakefield."

  After Liam's description, Ingo Hunter's son wasn't at all what Destry expected. The shy, frail boy had been replaced by a man who exuded strength and confidence. He was handsome in a rugged, outdoorsy kind of way. Sun-streaked blond hair and a lightly tanned complexion, he looked like what he was, a park ranger. Even the full beard and checked flannel shirt were a perfect match for his chosen lifestyle.

  "Hello." Trey smiled. "I'm glad to meet you, but I have to wonder if you feel the same."

  "Why wouldn't we?" Bryce asked. "You're alive. Yay!"

  Trey chuckled. "I'm also the reason my father invaded your lives. I can't say I'd do anything differently. But I am sorry you and your mother were dragged into the mess."

  "Our mother can take care of herself." Destry didn't know how much Liam had told Trey. "The baby she carries—your half-brother, and ours—is the reason we're worried."

  "You have good reason. Believe me, I know."

  He had his father's dark eyes. But where Hunter's were hard as obsidian, Trey's were filled with compassion and something Destry could only describe as a sweet gentleness.

  "How did you manage to disappear without a trace?" Dee sent Trey a disgruntled smile tinged with admiration. "You graduated from Carver Academy and then nothing."

  "After my attempted suicide, I—"

  "What?" Destry's heart almost stopped, then started to race. "You tried to kill yourself?"

  "Liam didn't tell you?"

  "Wasn't up to me to share something so private."

  Liam's gaze almost dared Destry to contradict him. She couldn't, wouldn't. Privacy was something she put great value in. The fact that Liam respected Trey's meant she respected him—grudgingly.

  "Typical Liam. Even now, his instinct is to protect me. Don't know what I would have done without him." Trey sighed. "Yes, I do. I would have died."

  Trey went on to fill in the details. Even with Liam at his back, as graduation neared, he felt helpless. Hunter wanted him to forget college and jump into the family business.

  "As far as I could tell, my father fleeced people out of their life savings. I didn't want any part of him or the family business. Because of Liam and his friendship, I stopped taking my doctor-prescribed anti-depressants—didn't need them. However, I kept getting the prescription refilled. Just in case."

  Just in case turned out to be a long-planned decision to end his life.

  "You should have talked to me. Told me what was going on in your head."

  Even now, twelve years later, Destry could hear the fear and frustration—the anger—in Liam's voice.

  "Didn't see any other way out. And by then, the last thing I wanted was for you to stop me. We said goodbye, you left to catch a plane back to Ireland. And I swallowed two bottles of pills."

  Luckily, Liam forgot something—neither he nor Trey could remember exactly what. He returned to their room, found his friend, and called 911.

  "My father didn't bother to come to see me in the hospital. I didn't expect or want him to. But he made certain all records of the incident were wiped clean. Had to protect the Hunter name."

  Destry would have understood if Trey were bitter because of the things his father subjected him to. Yet, she didn't see a man eaten away by his past. He shared his story with a matter-of-fact honesty that was touching and encouraging. He'd almost let his father destroy him. Given a second chance, he moved on and seemed genuinely at peace.

  "Good job, too. I didn't find the slightest mention of what happened to you anywhere." Dee almost sounded impressed.

  "One thing about Ingo Hunter, he's thorough."

  The fact Trey could make light of a horrible moment in his life was testament to how far he'd come. Destry's admiration for the man grew by the second.

  "While I recovered, Liam and I formed our plan. Did I mention he stayed with me until I was released?" Trey shook his head in wonder. "The whole Stanton family became involved. Liam's parents insisted I come to Ireland—after my court-mandated stay in the hospital psych ward."

  Berton and Minerva Stanton took Trey under their wings, made him one of their own and didn't hesitate to provide the money he needed to start a new life.

  "For the first time in my life, I saw what a real family looked like. More, I was welcomed with open arms. Liam helped me set up a new identity, social security number, and a birth certificate. Highly illegal, but he didn't hesitate. With his parents and brothers' permission, I chose the name Stanton."

  Trey Stanton. Trey's obvious pride in the name practically jumped from the computer screen.

  "You were always my brother. Seemed fitting to make the connection official."

  "Aw." Calder's eyes filled. "A true happy ending."

  "Except the ending hasn't been written. Not for us."

  "And again, I'm so sorry, Destry." Trey rubbed the back of his neck. "The plan was to take my father down. Slowly, methodically. Payback for my mother, not me. My miscalculation. I should have realized he'd find a way to survive."

  "Rats always do." Liam's expression was grim. "But the responsibility lies with both of us. We were so focused on Hunter, we failed to think about anything, or anyone else."

  "Understandable, all things considered." Andi lay a sympathetic hand on Liam's arm. "And a good plan. One that worked. How do you calculate for an unexpected wild card? Our mother. If you knew Billie as we do, you'd know the only thing you can predict about her is her unpredictability."

  "True," Bryce nodded. Calder joined her.

  Destry didn't blame Trey. She hadn't decided about Liam. But, they had a problem. A big one. And so far, no one had the answer.

  "What now? How do we defeat Ingo Hunter?"

  "We could stop." Liam shrugged. "Let Hunter gain back his personal fortune. Or…"

  "Yes?" Without thinking, Destry leaned a little closer.

  "Finish the job. We're close. We could crush his limping empire completely. Everything is in place for the final blow. Trey and I agreed to leave the choice up to all of you."

  "The humiliation will be massive," Bryce observed. "And might make Hunter even more dangerous."

>   Destry looked at Andi, then Calder, and finally Bryce. The decision had to be unanimous. Silently, they came to the only conclusion they could. With a nod, she turned to Liam.

  "Crush him into the dirt."

  Liam nodded.

  "I wish we had something else to use against him." Destry hated to accept defeat in any form. "Can you give us anything, Trey?"

  "My father was never big on sharing. He held the details of his evil empire close to the vest, which was fine with me. But…"

  "Yes?" Destry urged. "Anything."

  "He was always suspicious of modern technology. Liked things as old school as possible. I know for a fact he commissioned built-in floor safes for all his homes. If he's kept anything incriminating, you might find the information there."

  "The house on Long Island." Destry cursed herself for not breaking into Hunter's home months ago when she wanted to. She let her sisters and their concerns stop her. But not anymore.

  "Sold—just last week." Trey quickly dashed her plans. "He's liquidated most of his properties."

  "But not all?"

  "I can send you a list of the few he has left."

  "Destry—"

  "I know what you're going to say, Andi. Too dangerous. But we've reached the point where we don't have an alternative. You know I'll be careful. The last thing I want is to get caught. But, if I can find something—no matter how minor, to give the authorities, I'll happily take the chance."

  "If you'd like my opinion?" Liam stepped into the discussion.

  "I wouldn't," Destry shot back.

  Turning to her sisters, Liam ignored her.

  "Destry's right."

  "Don't help me."

  "Jesus H. Christ," Liam groaned. "Again, excuse the language. But get something through your thick skull, Destry. I'm on your side. We need to search all Hunter's properties. You need my help."

  "I, not we, leprechaun boy. Don't need or want your help. Go back to whatever you were up to before we met. Dating models and drinking champagne from their slippers sounds about right."

  Destry almost cringed at the idea. Champagne from a musty shoe? Yuck. But, she was on a roll. No time to stop and think about foot sweat.

  "Yuck," Liam echoed her sentiment—another black mark against him. "And what's wrong with dating a model?"