TWENTY-SIX
Dalt
“I don’t give a fuck if the motherfucker rots in jail. Do you know what he did? He deserves to rot in hell. Jail’s too good for him.”
I was supposed to be the one calming Garrett down after the shit hit the fan with my father, but now that I know exactly how thoroughly he managed to fuck up Nikki’s, Chloe’s and my life, I can’t do anything but think about how much I want to punch my father’s fucking face in.
I spent five hours on the private jet Garrett sent for me going over it and over it in my head. At one point I was so upset, Cindy, our flight attendant asked if she could get me a Xanax. I didn’t take it because I don’t want to feel calm. I want to face the bastard with every ounce of wrath I’ve been holding inside for him for all these years. If they hadn’t already carted his sorry ass off to jail, they’d be picking up the pieces of him to arrest.
“I know,” Garrett says apologetically from the leather executive office chair behind my father’s massive hand carved mahogany desk. The pretentious prick had it shipped from overseas, claiming it would impress his business partners.
“What do you mean you know? You know what he did to Nikki?”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I thought Garrett had my back. Why didn’t he tell me?
He shrugs. “He told me she was a gold digger. Just some skank trying to get into your pockets.”
“Just some skank? I told you I was in love with her. I poured my heart out to you. How could you let him do this?”
“Dad said she—”
“Nikki! Her name is Nikki.”
“Yes. Nikki.”
“She was pregnant for fuck’s sake. If he knew she was pregnant, he wouldn’t—”
“He knew.”
“What did you say?” My eyes narrow as I try to glare a hole right through my brother’s head.
“He knew she was pregnant. He’d been having her followed for weeks. He knew when she visited the ObGyn. His guy paid off one of the secretaries to get her records.”
I come around the desk to stand next to him. “You sonovabitch! How could you go along with your motherfucking father on this?” I grab him by his two-hundred-dollar shirt collar and pull him out of the chair. “You knew she was pregnant and you let him do that to her?” He hooks his hands around my arms to try to get me to stop shaking him.
“He’s your father too,” he chokes out.
“He’s never been a father to anyone. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word father. He’s just a sperm donor.” I jerk him like there’s a chance I can rattle some sense into his stupid head. “And you! You didn’t even have the decency to tell me she had my kid?” I throw him back down into the chair.
“Dalt, for chrissakes calm the hell down.”
“Calm down? I should punch every one of those fucking veneers out of your backstabbing fucking mouth.” I run my hands through my hair to keep me from using them to bloody my own brother’s face.
“He said the baby wasn’t yours!” He yells over my rant. “Dad said she was spreading her legs for every jock in the school.”
That’s when I do it. For the first time in our lives I punch my brother in the face with every ounce of hatred I ever held for my father.
“Jesus Christ, Dalt. I think you broke my damn nose,” he cries in a muffled whine, pinching his nose to try to stop the bleeding.
“I was in love with her, shithead. We were in love with each other. She never cheated on me and Chloe looks exactly like me. It’s like staring into a mirror!”
“Chloe?” he squeaks through his hand which is still covering his bloody face.
“Chloe. My baby girl, you asshole! I gotta get outta here.”
I’ll call Dak. I need to vent or I’m going to explode. But when I pull my phone from my pocket and push the button the screen doesn’t light up. Shit. My phone’s dead. I forgot to recharge it on the plane.
“I don’t care what you do about the scumbag or the business,” I inform my Judas brother as I head toward the door.
I’m crushed by his betrayal. I’ve lost my best friend in the world—my two best friends, all in one day.
“Hire one of his million-dollar lawyers to take the case. But I hope you, him, and your whole fucking empire go up in flames.”
“You mean she kept the baby?” He grimaces when he moves his hand off his face.
Yep. By the looks of it I broke his fucking nose. He’s lucky I don’t keep going and break the rest of his traitorous bones.
“He told me she took the money and got rid of the baby.”
“Tell me something, Garrett. How can you be such a complete dumbass when it comes to our father and yet be such a successful businessman?”
“Fuck. I didn’t know. Dalt, I didn’t know. I swear. I’m so sorry, bro,” I hear him say to the back of the door as I slam it behind me.