Page 19 of A Dirty Business
“I know you, son—”
I was railing inside. “I’m not your son. Your sperm helped create me, but you and I have never been father and son, so do not start trying to pull that card right now.”
His eyes widened, and his face jerked back a little.
In public, I held more decorum. I let him parade around the father/son charade, but Stephano, my sister, Ashton—they knew the truth. They got the real show. They knew how very,veryestranged my father and I were, but I still walked the line in their presence. I played my part in the pretend game, because that’s what we did in the West family.
It was a rule.
Nothing got addressed. Everything got ignored.
But this, how my father took advantage of my relationship, how many times he must’ve gotten high, had sex parties, made a scene—this was only being handled now because another family was fed up. Dominic had committed the cardinal sin in our family. Nothing messes up business, and he’d done that. We needed the Walden family, like they needed us. If there wasn’t harmony between the two,both sides would take a hit. Our alliance was protected at all costs, and now because of that rule, we could finally do something about my father.
My father very much knew that he had truly and royally fucked up. His time for having fun at the expense of my friendship with Ashton was long over. He was getting all of that right now, and I waited, biding my time to see what card he would pull next. He’d either shit his pants, or he’d get self-righteous.
I was hoping for the latter because it wouldn’t feel right hitting a crying man.
He swallowed, taking a step backward, his hands raised. “Tra—”
I let out a low growl.
He amended, “Tristian—”
“Who are those girls?!”
He let out a sigh. “I got ’em from Nemah.”
Nemah.
I didn’t know if that should make me feel better or not, but at least I had options now.
Nemah was locally known for being in the sex business, so that meant these girls knew the score.
“That one needs medical attention now,” I said to Marco.
He nodded to the guard at her door, who went in. The guard came out a second later with her body in his arms, and Ashton hit the elevator door. They opened right as he got there.
“Take Josiah. Take her to the hospital, back entrance. Call our doctor,” Marco instructed. The man gave Marco a nod right as the doors closed on him.
I turned to the guard on the other girl. “Give her something to cover herself.”
He went to the closet and pulled out a blanket, then took it inside the room.
Marco approached as his men did that and asked under his breath, “What do you want done with her?”
I ignored his question for a moment, focusing on my father again.
Dominic West, even though he was a fuckup, was still a West.
Despite the general rule of not killing each other, I wondered, deep down, if I could give the order. If I told Marco to execute my father, would he? Maybe. Ashton, yes. Ashton’s family? I wasn’t sure. It would put them at odds against my family, but Stephano, would he let me do what we both knew needed to be done at some point?
I didn’t know. There was no love between them, and I had no idea if there ever had been.
I was tempted, so really truly fucking tempted.
My mother was dead because of him. He used to beat the shit out of me on the regular until Stephano caught the bruises on my arms. The beatings stopped after that, but I knew he only intensified on my mother.
Family rules. I couldn’t say anything. She didn’t either. Whenever he did whatever he did, he did it in private, and she never talked.
