Fuck!
The trip down memory lane had been even worse than he could have imagined. Every shred of evidence to back up Baines's claims had been in the briefcase, and it was all damning as hell. His mother and Caruthers had hidden the truth from everyone. Hidden Callie and their marriage from him. Hidden their son from her.
Amnesia had robbed him of his memories, but his mother had stolen his fucking life. The fire of rebellion burned hotly, spurred on by raw hatred and an unquenchable need for revenge. It was time for the spiteful bitch to pay for her sins.
Ford had considered pressing charges against Madeline and Caruthers before he realized that a trial and the ensuing scandal would only hurt Callie and Scott. That was something he was not willing to do. The three of them had already suffered enough.
Baines had informed him that Malachi Black had already dealt with his mother's lapdog. He'd forced Caruthers to use his power of attorney to sign over all of Madeline's assets, including her shares in Hammersmith Construction to Scott as atonement. It wouldn't surprise him a bit if Caruthers also disappeared off the face of the earth.
When he had commented that his mother deserved to be imprisoned for the rest of her miserable life, Baines had offered to make it happen. How he didn't want to know. That the man actually knew someone who ran a psychiatric hospital and was shady enough to assist them was disturbing enough.
The best part was that Madeline could rant and rave all she wanted and no one would believe a word she said. Not when they thought she was insane. Ford assured himself that she had to be in order to do some of the things she had done. Having her falsely imprisoned was nothing short of poetic justice.
Yes, he could be the heartless bastard that Callie had once accused him of being. At least when it came to protecting her and their son. With that thought in mind, he picked up his phone and dialed the number that he would have sold his soul to have a week ago.
"It's been three days," the other man said instead of a greeting. "I was beginning to doubt you'd call."
"I just finished processing the film," he admitted and rubbed the back of his neck. Exhaustion had come and gone at some point and his second wind was beginning to fizzle out. Ford hadn't stopped to eat or sleep since he started on this journey, nor would he rest until it was complete. "Make the arrangements."
"You're sure you want to do this?" Baines asked.
"Yes," he confirmed with unwavering determination.
"This decision is irrevocable. There's no going back once it's done."
"It's better than she deserves," he said coldly and wasn't about to change his mind.
"Consider it done."
Bastion
Bastion was a firm believer in an eye for an eye. If you hurt someone he cared about, he would reciprocate in kind and put his personal twist on the retribution. Callie had wanted Madeline Hammersmith destroyed so he had vowed to make it happen. After what she'd done, it wasn't surprising that her son had been on board with the plan.
Callie had been kept unconscious and unaware of what was happening while everything she loved was stolen from her, but that was better than the Hammersmith bitch deserved. He wanted her to know that she had lost everything that mattered to her because knowing would make her suffering so much worse.
Malachi had drafted a statement that Caruthers delivered to the press to explain her disappearance. It was reported that the dignified Hammersmith family matriarch had been driving under the influence and crashed her car into a tree. The accident had left her with a traumatic brain injury and she would remain in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.
In actuality, the evil bitch now known as Subject A had been locked away in a less than sterile hospital for the mentally insane in a third world country where no one understood a word she said. Her permanent attire was a hospital gown while her perfectly colored and coiffed hair had been shorn to prevent lice infestation.
Without the aid of regular Botox injections, the muscles in her face began to function again and the wrinkles she had been desperate to hide reappeared. Once her hair started growing back it was her natural shade of steel gray. The mirrored walls of her room reflected her true self from every direction and there was no escaping what she had become.
She was not sedated and being cogent only increased her suffering.
Stripped of her pristine reputation, wealth, designer clothing, and cosmetic enhancements, and forced to live in solitude was the worst form of hell on earth for someone like her. Most days she was a raving lunatic, screaming and clawing at the walls until forcibly restrained. Other days she stared into space and drooled on her straightjacket. Poetic justice had been served.
But Bastion hadn't shown mercy to those who had aided her.
The private hospital where Callie and Ford were patients had been permanently shut down due to a toxic waste hazard that would keep them in court for a decade and bankrupt the facility in attorney fees. As to Caruthers and the corrupt doctor, their punishment was equally befitting of their crimes. But no one had asked what became of them, and Bastion would never tell.
His family was safe, and that was all that mattered.
When he'd first met Callie, she'd been terrified of him and men in general. Since he had lived through the same miserable childhood, he knew exactly how she had suffered and why. The fear in her big, amethyst eyes had ripped his heart out and he had vowed to replace it with happiness no matter what it took.
And he had.
Since nothing had ever made her as happy as Hammersmith, Bastion was resolved to ensure their reconciliation. As much as he hated to admit it, he was glad that he'd been wrong about the man. Even after all the hell that they had been through, the bastard really did love Callie enough to die for her. An overprotective older brother couldn't ask for more.
Now it was up to Hammersmith to repair the damage that had been done.
Callie
A week and a half had passed since Callie walked out of Ford's apartment. Ten days of emotional distress the likes of which she hadn't known were possible. Some days she handled it with stoic resolve, and some it was all she could do to survive from one breath to the next. Other days she vented her fury or just stayed in bed and cried.
Bastion had returned from New York and presented her with the charm necklace that her mother had given her. The precious keepsake that she had thought was lost forever. He explained that Ford had found it among the evidence Malachi had collected and asked that it be returned to her. Having it back meant more than she could say.
Bastion had also assured her that Ford had not known that Scott was her son. But he did now. He knew everything that the damn NDA had prevented her from telling him and she still hadn't heard from him. He hadn't tried to contact her since he'd discovered the truth, even though he had spoken to Bastion several times.
According to Bastion, Ford planned to explain the situation to their son and then contact her afterward. Maybe his continued silence was payback for not returning his calls. Maybe he didn't know what to say. Or maybe Scott just didn't want anything to do with her. After all, she was basically just a stranger who had given him life.
Callie began to wonder if she even had the right to insinuate herself into the child's life at this late stage. The truth was so ugly and she couldn't help wondering if her desire to be a part of his life could cause him irreparable harm. As much as she wanted to be his mother, she had to put his best interests first.
If that meant walking away then she would do it. It would destroy her, but she would do whatever it took to ensure Scott's happy little world remained intact. So, there she sat, alone and depressed, her mind tormented with every possible scenario of how this could play out, and the majority of them did not have a happy ending.
The door opened behind her, but she didn't bother to turn around. "You have a visitor," Bastion announced.
Callie merely shook her head and continued staring out at the Nevada skyline without seeing it. "I can't deal with people."
"You'll want to see this one," he predicted.
"Mom?" A young voice queried, the name sending a shockwave of emotions coursing through her. Her lips parted on a shocked gasp as she turned to face Scott. The child that she had borne and never knew. Dark, intense eyes so like his fathers were trained on her, freezing Callie in place. "You are my mom, aren't you Callie?"
Jesus. Hearing him ask that was a dream come true and her worst nightmare combined. This could either be everything she hoped for or the absolute worst-case scenario. Tears trickled down her cheeks and her entire body quaked with tremors as she forced herself to respond. "I am," she breathed brokenly while fervently praying that he didn't hate her.
Some of the tension left his small shoulders yet his serious expression never wavered. "Dad told me what happened," he imparted. "That you were in a coma like he was, and you didn't know about me. He said grandma took me away and kept me a secret because she didn't think you were good enough for us."
"I'm so sorry," she breathed brokenly. "I didn't know about you, Scott. I swear I didn't."
He cocked his head slightly and asked, "Would you have come to see me? If you'd known?"
Callie nodded vigorously, a sob threatening to choke her. "Nothing could have kept me away," she vowed and it took every ounce of strength she had to stay where she was. All she wanted to do was rush across the room, scoop him up in her arms, and never let go. "You would have never had to wonder what it was like to... to have a mom if I'd known."
"Do you want to be my mom?" He asked nervously.
"More than anything in the world," she confirmed. A split second later, a huge smile covered his face before he whooped with glee and made a mad dash toward her. Callie dropped to her knees, arms outstretched, and he ran right into them. She wrapped her arms around her son and hugged him almost as tightly as he was hugging her.
"I love you, Mom," the boy said happily, his face buried in her neck.
"I love you, Scotty," she sobbed brokenly through a smile. "So very much."
"Now that I've found you, I'm never letting you go," he vowed as he leaned back to look at her.
"Ditto, kiddo," she laughed happily.
His expression concerned; small hands gently wiped the tears from her face. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to make you cry," the boy apologized anxiously.
Callie offered him a watery smile to ease his fears and said, "Sometimes moms cry when they're happy."
The nine-year-old looked equal parts appalled and relieved. "I've got a lot to learn about moms."
"And I've got a lot to learn about sons," she admitted as a fresh wave of tears leaked from her eyes. "I'm so glad we get to learn together."
"Dad can help us," Scott assured her and her momentary elation died as fast as Ford's erection at the mention of Bimini.
"Where is your dad?" She asked warily because she knew that he had not let their son come to visit her alone.
"Right here," that smooth as sin voice said quietly from the doorway. Her hold on Scott tightened instinctively, irrationally afraid that his father would take him away from her.
"You were right, Dad," the boy announced cheerfully as he turned his head toward the door. "Mom wants to be my mom!"
"I knew she would," Ford confirmed with a smile and slid his hands into his pockets. "Scott, can I talk to your mom now?"
"Okay," the boy agreed and wiggled out of her embrace. "But she cries when she's happy so don't freak and think you've done something wrong."
"Good to know. Thanks, bud," he said as his son walked past him and out of the room.
When Ford turned to close the door, Callie rose to her feet and faced the man who held the power to make or break her relationship with their son. Before he had a chance to speak, she went on a pre-emptive strike and announced, "I want my son."
He turned to face her; expression solemn. "I know you do."
"I won't let you keep him from me again." Now that she knew Scott wanted her to be his mother, there was nothing in heaven or hell that would prevent her from doing so.
"I'd never try to."
Hysterical laughter bubbled up in her throat and the reason for it enraged her. "Yet you did," she accused and all of the pent-up rage and anguish that had been brewing inside of her spewed forth in a torrent of words. "They used the scar from the accident that we were in to remove my son from my body without my knowledge!"
"Your mother stole my baby and kept him from me for nine years!" She accused venomously. "Nine fucking years, Ford! I've missed out on everything. I'll never know what it felt like to have him growing inside of me. To hear his first words, see his first steps, and all the other precious moments that I can never get back."
"I know exactly how you feel," he agreed calmly.
"Don't patronize me," she snapped bitterly and was not in the mood to be placated. "You can't possibly know how I feel."
"I do because that's how I feel about the time with you that I've forgotten," he confessed and the anguish in his eyes softened her anger because she knew that he really did understand. "My mother is responsible for tearing us apart, Callie. She made all of our lives hell for her own selfish reasons. I'm not willing to let her win, are you?"
"What the hell does that even mean?" She demanded and sank heavily into a chair, weary to the bone now that her anger had been spent.
"She used the accident to her advantage," he explained. "She managed to get rid of you, gain an heir, and force me to act like a responsible adult all in one fell swoop. She played God and I'm thrilled that the truth finally came out. That bitch stole a decade of happiness from us, but there is no fucking way I'm going to let her ruin our future together."
Ford walked across the room and knelt at her feet, her engagement and wedding rings sparkling brightly in the palm of his hand. "Be my wife, Callie."
Of all the scenarios that had played through her mind, this one hadn't even been a consideration. Tears filled her eyes as laughter bubbled up in her throat. Callie knew she was on the verge of hysteria and at this point, she didn't care. "You're doing this so you don't have to share custody?"
"I'm doing it because I love you," Ford clarified. "I have always loved you, and I will always love you. You're the missing part of me, Callisto Rose Hayes Hammersmith. I want my wife and the mother of my son back. Please say you'll come home with us and make our lives complete."
The love and sincerity shining in his dark eyes was her undoing. All of the pain and anger drained away as if they had never been because once again, Ford was just as much of a victim as she was. Yes, she absolutely loved him enough to marry him again, her only concern was how their son would react. "What about Scott? Maybe we should..."
"He's thrilled with the idea, and if you turn me down it will break his heart," he admitted with a hint of his wicked smile.
"So, no pressure, right?" She tried to joke as fresh tears slid down her cheeks. Knowing that the boy wanted her to be his mother in every sense of the word was both thrilling and terrifying. "Are you sure you want to do this again? It didn't end well the last time."
"Actually, it didn't end at all," he admitted. "We're still married."
It took all of three seconds for that to sink in before she screeched, "What?!"
"According to Malachi, the annulment is just as fraudulent as everything else they tricked you into signing," he explained seriously before his smile became truly wicked. "So, what do you say, Mrs. Hammersmith. Wanna play house with me?"
Sheer joy bubbled through her veins until she was drunk with it. "Hell, yes," she readily agreed and extended her trembling hand. He slid the rings onto her finger and she saw that he was already wearing his wedding band. Then he cupped her tear-stained cheeks and worshiped her mouth with his.
"I love you more than words can say, Ford," Callie confessed tearfully. "Being your wife and Scott's mother is the greatest gift I could ever ask for."
"When I woke up in that hospital, with no memory of why or how, it was terrifying. I'
d lost months of my life, time that I'd never get back, and it didn't seem real. But I always felt as if I'd lost something significant. That something vitally essential was missing. Now I know that something was you," Ford said solemnly and placed his hand over her chest where he claimed his heart lay. "My mind might have forgotten what we shared, Callie, but my heart didn't. My heart never forgot you."
Tears of joy overflowed as she pressed her palm against his chest where the heart she had given him beat steadily. Leaning in close until her lips brushed his, she teased, "And that's why I'm still hopelessly in love with a heartless bastard."
The End
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WANT MORE?
To find out what happens next, get the Bonus Epilogue from Heartless Bastard for free!
If you enjoyed Heartless Bastard, visit Tonya Brooks website to find out more about the rest of her Rich Ruthless Bastards series. It's a hell of a ride!
RUTHLESS BASTARD EXCERPT
“You’re positive?” Reece Lassiter demanded tonelessly. He listened to the confirmation and without a word, ended the call, dropping his mobile phone on the table. He lifted a cut crystal glass filled with the finest whiskey that money could buy and sipped slowly, savoring the smooth, aged flavor like a true connoisseur. It tasted like ash in his mouth.
His infamous control began to crack as he stood there staring sightlessly out of the floor to ceiling windows, select phrases from the conversation replaying over and over in his mind, their meaning incomprehensible, their ramifications inescapable. “...test results were conclusive... normal sperm count... recanalization rate one in one thousand...” It was true. He could father a child. If Clarice were to be believed, he had. Then that meant...
Heartless Bastard (Rich Ruthless Bastards, #1) Page 17
