Page 52 of His Master

“Uncle Vincent has already set the police after us,” Victor went on. “My friend, Artemis Montgomery, indicated it’s because he’s somehow spread the lie that I was behind Hayden’s kidnapping, and that I’ve kidnapped Simon now?”

“Which clearly isn’t the case,” Hayden said with a wink.

“Until some sort of statement can be made, the rest of the world might think you really did kidnap him,” Mason said seriously. “Especially if you’re evading police instead of talking to them.”

I gasped suddenly. “Ari!” I said. “He’s my second for the fantasy, and I haven’t checked in with him since yesterday. He’s going to think I’ve actually been kidnapped.”

Hayden held up a hand. “I’ll talk to him,” he said. “As soon as we’re done here, I’ll call him and tell him what’s really going on.”

I breathed out heavily. “Thanks.”

Hayden glanced between Mason and Victor, then asked, “So what’s really going on?”

Mason nodded to Victor, who said, “We need to expose everything my uncle has been doing with Victory Holdings for the past few years. It might break the company, but if he’s going to play hardball, we have to as well.”

“Expose what he’s been doing?” I asked.

Mason nodded. “To the board at the very least. Guys like Eddie might be slimy jerks, but they won’t want to be involved in anything illegal. Remember, these people care about money more than anything, and most people will avoid criminal activity if it cuts into their bottom line.”

I wasn’t so sure I agreed with that, but if that’s what Victor believed, then I would trust him.

“Are you ready to have Victory Holdings break into smaller companies if your uncle is removed from the business end of the whole thing?” Mason asked.

My brow went up a little. Had they discussed voting Vincent Woodbury out and letting all the company-shattering contingencies take effect while Hayden and I had been gone?

Victor started to answer, but his phone rang. Not only that, I recognized the unique ringtone he used for his cousin Vivien.

Victor snatched up his phone and tapped it to answer the call on speaker with, “Vivien! Where are you?”

Instead of answering, Vivien all but growled, “What the fuck is going on, Victor? Why is my father calling me to say you’re a dead man?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Victor

I’d gotten a good vibe from Mason Canton when I’d crashed his pool party to apologize for my uncle’s actions a few months ago, and that feeling was confirmed as I spelled out the situation with Victory Holdings to him across his kitchen table. Mason understood how major companies worked, and he had a few, strong suggestions for how to proceed.

One of those suggestions involved the possibility of the two of us working together, in the event that Victory Holdings dissolved into smaller companies. I didn’t hate the idea.

Part of me had hoped to open further discussions about an entirely new business venture with Mason, particularly since it could be argued we’d be keeping it in the family, albeit a new, different, and probably better family. But Vivien’s call tossed a bomb in all that.

“What do you mean that I’m a dead man?” I demanded, reaching one hand instinctively to Simon, who knelt sobeautifully and obediently by my side. “What did your father say to you?”

Vivien huffed impatiently. There was a lot of loud, vague background noise to her call, so I almost didn’t catch her reaction.

“He said you’re dead to him,” she clarified. Even though that potentially meant something entirely different from just being a dead man, I didn’t relax. “Did you kidnap another omega?” she demanded, as impatient as ever.

“I never kidnapped the first one,” I said, glancing across to where Hayden sat on Mason’s lap. “That was entirely Colin Gregory’s doing, but with Uncle Vincent’s full knowledge and assistance.”

“I can’t tell if you’re blaming my father for something criminal or not, but I also don’t care,” Vivien said. “The only thing I care about is whether you or my dad is trying to blow up Victory Holdings. It’s my company, too, and I won’t let you two men ruin it because you’re in some dick-measuring contest.”

My brow flew up. On the one hand, I was offended by her characterization of the situation. On the other, it gave me hope, because she didn’t seem to be on Uncle Vincent’s side more than mine.

It wasn’t really the right time, but I decided to lay things out on the table.

“Look, Vivien, your father is involved in some bad shit,” I said. “He’s been steering the company in a direction that neither of us want it to go in for a while. As soon as I figured out his intent, I started trying to wrestle it back from the brink.”

“All of which means nothing to me if my deposits stop coming in,” Vivien snapped.

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