Page 16 of Vengeful Reign

“So, you have time for someone else’s kid, but no time for me.”

“I’m sorry, but yes, that’s the case.”

“God, you’re such a bitch. When you get rid of the little brat, give me a call.” He storms out of the house with a shove against my shoulder. I lock the door quickly and then check on John, who thankfully is playing with his toys without a problem.

Chapter Six

Jack

June 2014

I slide off my ruined button-down shirt and toss it into the fireplace. “Fuck,” I grumble as I watched another two-hundred-dollar shirt burn. I’ve gone through more suits than I care to admit in the past year of searching for my little brother.

Most of the time, I manage to change before I go on a hunt for my brother when I learn of a possible lead, but unfortunately, the traffic ring was on the move, so I had to move quickly. Rushing in, I took off the heads of the bastards who held two dozen boys and girls for sale. As I looked at all the kids, none of them were my brother, but I still called the authorities and took off without a trace. This has been my tenth fucking raid on a child trafficking ring. It’s sick as hell, and yet I’m grateful that John hasn’t been found there.

Still, I need to find him. All the nanny’s ties have come up empty. She changed her name shortly after the kidnapping and attack, but there was no trace of her movement until that time between. She must have planned everything out perfectly, or everything we needed was in that apartment and was blown to pieces, completely lost to the fire.

Changing into a clean suit, I go out to meet with my investors on a new commercial building. “Thank you for joining us, Mr. MacNamara,” Franklin Simons says, shaking my hand.

“You’re welcome. I’m always looking for good investments.”

“Let’s take a look at the numbers. I have the report from the inspector, and there aren’t any concerns since it’s a brand-new construction.”

“That’s good news.” We spend a good two hours talking about the project before heading out to lunch. As I leave the restaurant, I run into my father, who is dining with a random woman younger than me as if he has no cares in the world. It irks the fuck out of me.

He pretends to not notice me with intent, of course, because he wants to sleep with her. She’s only after his money, so it’s not like he can’t pull it off. I plan to interrupt for fun because I hate the bastard.

“Hello, Father. Who is this?” I give her a wicked smile. As if I have any desire in knowing this woman. As far as I’m concerned, she’s nothing but trash to be tossed in the dumpster out back for dealing with a man like my father. I have very little respect for gold diggers, and less for ones who fuck with my father.

“You have a son?” she asks, looking up at me with sensual interest.

“Four, actually,” I add, pulling up a chair from the table across from them. The patron looks like he wants to say something, but then quickly bites his tongue when he sees me. He clearly understands what’s good for him.

“So, what are you doing with my father?”

“Enjoying a nice lunch.”

“Son, this is Detective Lopez. She’s looking into your brother’s case.” My father doesn’t get the satisfaction he’s looking for because I mask my surprise.

“Well, it’s a true pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lopez, although I can’t say you’re that good if you didn’t know he had sons.”

“I wasn’t supposed to reveal my status just yet. Apparently, your father was to keep that quiet so that we could learn who was involved in your brother’s abduction.”

“I told you, my two oldest would have nothing to do with it.”

“None of your sons had anything to do with it,” I bark out. “Ian’s the one who was worried something was wrong at the estate. He wanted to turn around that morning because he felt the atmosphere had changed. He called me and asked me to check on the property because he was in Vegas on business. It’s the reason he had to leave. If his flight wasn’t early, he almost canceled it, but the meeting was important.”

“When did he call you?”

“He called me as soon as he landed, but I was in a meeting so my assistant let me know when I had a free moment.”

“What did he tell you?”

“That it seemed too quiet. There were less guards patrolling, and no one was around in the morning. It almost didn’t feel like the property was alive. I told him that we were already out handling business, and maybe John was still in bed so the guards were light for a reason.”

“Then what?”

“He asked me to check on it.”

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