Page 60 of The Fortunate Ones
Matty nodded once, but his attention was already on the door. “Let’s go.”
He squared his shoulders and pushed ahead of us. Dominic easily fell in step with him, and I was once again thankful I’d taken a chance and hired him for the team. He didn’t typically do this type of security, dropping bodies was more his specialty, but when he’d heard what was going on, he’d volunteered. Shitty parents of all varieties were a soft spot for him.
The lawyer flinched as he took us in. “Is all this necessary?”
“Yes,” I replied simply then held out my hand. “Luca Castellano. This is my partner, Wesley Hayes, and this is my lawyer.”
“Sarah Judds,” he interrupted before I could finish the introduction. His voice was full of venom.
“Walter,” she replied coolly.
“Oh good, you two know each other already.” Wesley huffed in amusement. He was the only one.
“You didn’t give us much notice.” The lawyer, Walter, addressed me with a sneer.
“Yes. I would apologize, but I’m not sorry. Our priority is Matty, no one else.”
For the first time, Walter looked at Matty, his eyes scanning him up and down, assessing. I took a step forward, blocking Matty from his view, already not liking this asshole.
“Shall we go inside?”
I guided Matty in without waiting for an answer. The lawyer started sputtering, but I ignored him. Once he realized I wasn’tgoing to do what he said, he followed us. “Mr. Covington is this way.”
I waved my hand,lead the way, and our group followed him through the marble and stone mausoleum masking as a house.
He lost a lot of weight.It was my first thought when I saw Lewis Covington for the first time since the trial that had landed him in prison. He was sitting behind a mahogany-wood desk in a chair that reminded me way too much of my father. He was still trying to maintain his position of power, but his skin was sallow and his expensive suit hung a little too loose. I could see the faint tremor in his hands as he held them folded on top of his desk.
Matty faltered when he saw him, his steps stuttering right outside the doorway. Wes and I were there, a solid reminder that we had his back, literally in this case as we were behind him. After a moment, Matty’s spine straightened and he walked in. Wes and I followed.
Lewis addressed us first. “Mr. Castellano. And I presume your partner is Mr. Hayes.” Wes tilted his head slightly in acknowledgment. He assessed us for a beat before finally turning to Matty. “Matthew.”
If Matty was bothered by the use of his full name or the cold reception from the man he’d always thought was his father, he didn’t show it. “Lewis.”
Covington raised an eyebrow at that but wisely didn’t say a word.
“Come, sit. I’m sure you’re all wondering why I asked Matthew here today.”
I didn’t respond and led Matty over to the love seat so he could sit next to Wes. I remained standing, guarding both of them.
Lewis sat back in his chair, eyes meeting Matty’s. “You look well,” he stated with actual genuine care, and for a second I wondered if we’d gotten it all wrong and he truly gave a fuckabout his surrogate son. Didn’t mean we were gonna let him back in his life unless that was what Matty wanted, but it gave me food for thought.
“I am. I’m happy.” Matty sounded strong, confident, and maybe a little defiant, like he expected Lewis to contradict that, but the man only nodded.
“Good. That’s good.” He steepled his hands on the desk. “I’ll get straight to the point. When I was in prison, I had a lot of time to think about my actions. And while I don’t regret doing what I thought was best for the family, I feel that perhaps you’re owed an explanation from me.”
Matty didn’t respond, only tilting his head slightly to indicate he’d heard. Lewis’s lips twitched in annoyance before he schooled his expression.
“The incident with Damien Larsen was . . . unfortunate, and not something I intended when I sent you with him, Matthew. He was only supposed to keep you away until I could mollify the situation with Bradley Fieldburg and his father, Marshall, who was beginning to feel remorse about the way we had handled it,” Lewis explained, his voice empty of any emotion, stating it with the same tone you would a business deal.
My fingers flexed, me itching to get my hands on the bastard. The incident? Like his son being sold into sex trafficking was nothing more than a small mishap.
I opened my mouth to tell the asshole exactly how I felt, but Matty beat me to it. “Incident?” he asked, indignant. “Y-you’re calling it an incident? I was fucking sold, Lewis! H-he was going to hurt me—rape me. Use me in ways I can’t even imagine.”
Lewis blinked, annoyance flaring in his eyes. It was clear he wasn’t used to Matty talking back, and he wasn’t handling it well. I was so damn proud.
“Like I said, it was unfortunate. You’d do well to remember I was the one to hire these men you are now clinging to. Where would you be if I hadn’t?”
Matty flinched, and I was fucking done. Wes was so tense, I worried his bones would shatter if he was jostled too roughly. “Firstly, don’t you dare talk to him like that. Secondly, you hired us to find him and Larsen. Not to rescue him.Wedid that on our own.”
