Page 101 of Miles Apart
“Hi, sweetheart,” he says, pulling me to his middle. My father gives good hugs. If only he made time for them. “What is the meaning of this?” He looks over my shoulder at my mother and Carter, who’s eyeing the exits.
“I’m helping Emma secure her future,” my mother says matter-of-factly.
My father frowns. “You said you came out here to spend time with her. This isn’t right, Juliette.”
“What isn’t right is you allowing her to waste every opportunity we’ve given her. You were too soft, and now she’s fallen for”—her hand waves at Miles in a T-shirt and jeans in disgust—“that. He’s a threat with a juvenile record! Carter looked into it. Vandalism. Theft. Assault.Thisis who you want your daughter to date? He’s below us!”
“He has shownourdaughter nothing but love and respect since we met him,” my father roars, silencing my mother and catching me off guard. He never raises his voice. “His past doesnot define him, nor is it a mark of who he is today.” His gaze drifts to me, with years of sadness forming tears in the corners of his brown eyes. “I owe you a lifetime of apologies, sweetheart. I’ve let my career and other influences”—his eyes shift to my mother and harden—“get the best of my judgment for too long. I own that, and I’m sorry I hurt you.”
A sob racks my insides and releases years’ worth of heartache. I look at Miles with blurred vision whose smile tells me everything will be okay. He brought my dad here from the East Coast after I texted him this morning and told him what my mother said when she came over. No matter what, he’ll always come back to me.
“You have a good man, Emma,” my father says so only I can hear. “One who protects you and those you love more than you know.”
“I rarely hate being right, but my suspicions were correct,” Miles says to the other end of the room. “I knew you were a calculated little shit, but”—he whistles—“this is some Grade A madness.”
“You will not speak to me that way!” My mother meets his accusing eyes without flinching, like she didn’t just insult him seconds ago.
Miles chuckles. “Respectfully, ain’t no one talking to you, Juliette. Youthinkyou have power, siphoning it from other people. But you’ve never been a factor. I’m talking to Crispin.”
Every head turns to Carter, who lets the faintest smile slip. My eyes swing to Miles, whose gaze is still locked on Carter. If he so much as thinks about running, it’s his ass.
“What’s going on?” I look at my father, who nods to Miles.
“Big donors spending money to influence political outcomes is nothing new,” Miles says to Carter. “TheCitizen United v. Federal Election Commissionruling at the Supreme Court made it easier to funnel millions—billions, even—to buy what we calldemocracy with money from undisclosed sources. A network of wealthy elite could push forth judicial nominees with the same money they use to buy legal groups that bring cases to courts with their people in place to rule in their favor.“ He scratches his goatee and chuckles. “It’s hard to track the source of dark money—damn near impossible. But there’s always a thread.”
Carter shifts on his feet and lifts his chin.
“One of my clients is fighting the concerted effort against voter suppression. Lawmakers and judges across the country are enshrining disenfranchisement laws, all backed by dark money from a network hell-bent on our demise.”
Miles steps closer, shaving the distance between him and Carter to mere inches. “While you were watching me, I was watching you attend special fundraisers and private events with these same judges and lawmakers you thought were flying under the radar. That took me to a deeper dive. You couldn’t pass the LSAT, but your buddy from your Ivy League did, and he’s conveniently running for attorney general and is backed by the same network. Now he’s courting Blair.”
My mother’s gasp fills the room. Her nervous gaze turns to Carter like she’s seeing him for the first time. “What are you saying, Miles?”
“Crispin is a pawn for a network of wealthy elite who are buying this country through the courts, Congress, and the White House. As chief of staff, he oversees John’s policy development and has one of the greatest influences in the office. I’d bet the network assigned him early on to see how far he could push their agenda. Why else do you think an exploration committee into a presidential bid is popping up now? John’s desire to be likable and appease donors makes him a great puppet.”
“You know nothing,” Carter glowers.
“Em, do you know why Carter started pressing up on you in your twenties? Around the time you turned twenty-six?” Milesasks over his shoulder. “That was when the Supreme Court ruled onCitizens United, making it easier for wealthy special-interest groups to shape campaigns through unlimited spending. Carter likely took the opportunity to safeguard his influence on your father by being a love interest for you, if not his right hand on Capitol Hill.”
Shock and rage hold my breath hostage. I can’t believe any of this, but I trust Miles without a shadow of a doubt.
“You have no proof, and who do you think people would believe anyway, hmm?” Carter’s head tilts in a sinister smile. “A man with a pedigree, or a thug with a record?”
My feet take off on their own to slap the smirk off Carter’s evil face. I wind up for a punch, but Miles pulls me back. “Easy, kitten,” he whispers against the shell of my ear. My body softens at his breath on my skin. “I love you, and I won’t let you go to jail for me.”
“You won’t be far if we kill him together,” I whisper back.
“I’m marrying your ass.” Miles presses a kiss to my cheek and moves me behind him. We’ll need to discuss that later. Offing Carter is one thing, but marriage is a jump I’m not ready to take just yet. “Crispin, your car is waiting for you. Say goodbye to John’s ass, because you won’t be kissing it for a while. My guess is fifteen years to life.”
All the color drains from Carter’s face. “John, what is he talking about?” His eyes flit between my father and Miles under hiked brows.
My father shakes his head and sighs. “I loved you like a son,” he says, his voice low and tormented. “How could you do this and steal from me, no less?”
“What is he talking about?” I ask Miles, whose arm is now around me.
“Money laundering through bullshit contracts. Bribery. Crispin has a shell company to conceal his assets. He got toogreedy, which made it easier for me to trace.” Miles shrugs. “Not bad for a thug with a record.”
“Hey.” I grip his chin and turn him to look at me. “None of that.”
