Page 63 of Wicked Oath
“Because my men are hungry for more. They won’t stop. The only way to get them off my back is to trick them. A couple of them will be pissed, but I can handle them. The rest will fall in line. I’m done with my anger toward your father. I promise.”
I lean into his hand. “I want to believe you, James.”
“Then, believe me. After tomorrow night, you’ll see it was my shipment they messed with, not your father’s. We can go on being together. Problem solved.”
“Problem not solved, you motherfucker,” a man’s voice growls behind James.
I gasp and look over his shoulder to see my brother, standing in the doorway, with his gun raised. My dad is right behind him, also pointing a gun at James.
“What’s going on?” I demand.
Owen’s eyes narrow. “We just found out your husband is a traitor, and we’re here to punish him.”
CHAPTER17
James
“Punish me?” My lips quirk. Even when he’s trying to be intimidating, Owen’s still a little punk-ass. “What are you even doing here, Owen?”
He storms through the doorway, keeping his gun raised high. Patrick follows behind.
“You don’t need to do this,” Olivia objects, holding up her hands.
“Olivia, stay out of this,” Patrick snaps. His eyes are locked on me. “Owen is right. We’ve just found out James is a traitor. We need to deal with him,”
“Deal with him?” Olivia looks between all of us. “What? Do you meankillhim?”
“If it comes to that, yes,” Owen grits out.
She steps in front of me. “No. You’re not killing my husband.”
I place a hand on her arm. “Olivia, it’s all right. I know how to handle myself.”
“No.” She whips her head frantically. “Why do you think he’s a traitor in the first place?”
“Lucy,” Patrick explains. “She came to us and told us that James caused the fire at my warehouse and he had another plan to attack. You really thought you could get one up on me, didn’t you?”
I’m caught. They know the truth. There’s no denying it. “I did, Patrick.”
He grips his gun tighter. “I always saw you as a second son. How could you do this to me?”
“How could you fuck over my dad the way you did by stealing from him?”
Patrick pauses, and Owen looks between us. “Dad, what’s he talking about?”
“Yeah,Dad, explain if you want to. If not, I’ll gladly clear some things up.” I cross my arms, trying to look the picture of cool when, in reality, I’m freaking out.
Patrick glances at Owen. “Now’s not the time for this.”
“Your dad,” I say to Owen, “stole money from my father. The businesses they owned together, Patrick took them for himself and left my father without a penny to his name. He died knowing his best friend had screwed him over. I was only trying to get justice for my dad by doing the same to your father—taking him for all he was worth.”
Owen’s face morphs into a twisted, ugly version of his normal self. “You’re lying,” he spits.
“No, he’s not,” Olivia cuts in, angling herself in front of me again. “His mom confirmed it. Dad, how could you do that?”
Patrick sighs, dropping his gun slightly, which makes Owen raise his gun closer to my face. “I got greedy. It wasn’t my finest moment, I’ll admit. But I never meant to hurt your father, James. It just happened.”
“Yeah, and so did the fire,” I snap. “So, are you going to torture me and then kill me, or will you drop this petty shit and let me be?”
