Total pages in book: 211
Estimated words: 201554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1008(@200wpm)___ 806(@250wpm)___ 672(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 201554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1008(@200wpm)___ 806(@250wpm)___ 672(@300wpm)
“She seems eager to do that and more.”
“I like her.” My eyes go wide. “Oh God. You need to call Grayson.”
“Right. You’re right.” I stand up and hunt down my phone to find about ten text messages from Grayson and three calls. I dial him.
“Holy hell, I’ve been worried,” he answers. “How are you? What can I do?”
I walk to the window and stare out at the dark city without really seeing it, replaying the past week in my mind as I update Grayson. “My God. You’re the heir.”
“Yes, but I don’t want the money or the mob connections that come with it.”
“You have to take down Isaac or he’ll keep coming.”
“I will. I am. That’s next. After tonight.”
“You have a plan, don’t you?”
“Always,” I say. “You know I always have a plan. I’ll update you soon. Right now—”
“You need your woman. Understood. Tell Harper Mia and I are here if she needs us.”
“She knows that already,” I assure him before we say our goodbyes.
I turn to find Harper curled in a corner of the couch, her glass in her hand. “All is well?” she asks.
“Yes. He’s eager to lend his support to you and me. Mia, too.”
She straightens and I sit down next to her again. “How are you feeling about your father?” she asks, as if her mind has been solely on me.
I consider that for a moment and I have no real answer. “I don’t know. I’m not sure him being gone has really hit me. How are you feeling about your mother?”
“Hurt. I feel hurt like I never even knew her. I feel like I’ve been alone for a very long time, and pretending I wasn’t. I knew. Some part of me knew.”
“You’re not alone now.”
“Neither are you.”
“You belong here, Harper,” I say, repeating what I once told her. “You belong with me.”
“Yes,” she says, repeating what she once told me. “I belong with you, and you, Eric Mitchell, belong with me.”
I kiss her, a deep, passionate claiming, and it’s there in our kiss, our need for one another, our fear of losing each other. Our promises not to let that happen. Our promises to hold on forever.
Chapter one hundred twenty-six
Eric
Iwake the next morning before Harper and pull on pajama bottoms before heading downstairs and making coffee. While it brews, I stand by the window and look out at the city without really seeing it, a cube in my hand, wondering what my mother would think if she knew what I know now. I’m about to walk away from the very empire he one day wanted me to rule.
There are only three ways to do that and protect Harper. Kill Isaac or send him to jail are high on the list, but they leave me with the company and the mob, both of which I don’t want. The other option is to imprison him in his own hell and his own creation.
I walk to the kitchen, refill my cup and start making calls. Interestingly enough, when I contact my father’s attorney, I find Isaac has already talked to him. He’s pushed for the reading of the will, which will take place Wednesday, at rocket speed. Of course, I haven’t heard a peep of it from Isaac, but the timeline works for me. It’s a chess match and he too often forgets he might be a champion, but he’s not a bastard with everything to prove by winning.
I make a few more calls, including one to the mob boss, Nicolas Marshall, which is quite lengthy but productive. Once that’s done, I pour a cup of coffee for Harper, doctor it with the peanut butter cup creamer she loves, and head to the bedroom. I find her in her robe, at the window, talking on the phone.
I join her and offer her the cup of coffee. She kisses me and eagerly accepts, sipping the beverage before she says, “When do you get to Europe, mother?” her eyes meeting mine, letting me know she has details to share.
We both sit down in the chairs by the window and share the coffee while the conversation with her mother drags on. Finally, Harper disconnects and sighs. “Thank you for the coffee.”
“Everything okay?”
“She’s handling your father’s arrangements today and leaving tomorrow. Did you hear the will reading is Wednesday? She and Gigi are calling in remotely. Blake’s team is scrambling their connection so they can’t be found.”
“Isaac pressed for an immediate reading, no doubt to payoff the mob.”
“Hopefully he does and quickly, but how are you handling your stock? How does that complicate things?”
“It doesn’t. Because I have a plan, remember?”
“Yes. The plan you haven’t told me about. Can I hear now?”
“Why yes, you can, because you’re a part of it and it’s going to play out right before the reading of the will.”