His voice drops lower as he leans into the glass between us. “Harp. I don’t know what the fuck goes on up that mountain, but it’s a big deal. Blood has been spilt before over this land, do you understand me? And your boy’s been sitting in the line of succession this whole time. They could give a fuck about Silas’s sex dungeon.”
His brow knits a little, and he winces in pain at the action. “I mean Senior might have some vendetta against Silas that goes deeper, like, old brother against brother shit. But I heard he’susing this particular asset to really turn the screws on Silasanduse it as leverage to get you to sign Bruiser’s rights away without ever being any the wiser.”
I visited Silas in prison almost every month. He watched me bring Bruiser’s drawings, listened to updates on first days of school and lost teeth—and never once mentioned my son was heir to a blood feud.
But then I guess it fits Silas’s usual way. He always protected me my whole life the only way he knew how: by running and not telling anyone—even his daughter—what he was running from.
But I’m still so angry about being kept in the dark that I could put my fist through this security glass.
“Fine,” I say, trying to keep my emotions under control. “Get me the papers, and I’ll sign.”
“Well…” Z draws out the word, eying me carefully. “That’s the other thing. You have to do it in person.”
He watches me process. “The grandfather’s will—there’s a clause. Warring family has to appear face to face with a lawyer present. He was real untrustworthy about ways his kin might try to get around it. So any renunciation has to be executed before the acting trustee. That’s the only way it’s binding.”
“She’s not going anywhere with you.” Caleb’s voice comes from behind me.
I close my eyes.Not now, Caleb.
I’m sure he left Bruiser with Anna, who’s great with him, but still.
I open my eyes and turn around. Caleb’s standing six feet back, arms crossed over his chest, jaw set in that particular configuration that means he has decided something and is bracing for impact.
His eyes go to Z through the glass and then back to me, and what’s in them isn’t control—he looks terrified and trying to cover it, finger tapping double time at his thigh.
“Did you hear what he said about Bruiser?” My voice stays level. I need him tohearthat it’s level.
“I heard.” His eyes come fully to mine. “He’s my son too, Harper. That’swhyI’m saying?—”
Oh he’s not pulling that shit on me. He has known of Bruiser’s existence for barely more than a week.
“He’smyson,” I say through gritted teeth. “And I’m not asking your permission.”
Emotion moves across Caleb’s face. It’s not hurt—the thing I’d have braced for from Z, who would have turned that into a wound he could use against me to manipulate me into getting what he wanted.
This is different. This is a man who actually hears me.
Caleb takes a breath.
Then a step back.
Not away.
Back.
There’s a difference, and we both know it, and that difference is the entire distance between every man I’ve ever known and this one.
I turn back to Z, feeling even stronger from Caleb allowing me to take the lead instead of shoving me aside and doing it himself.
“Why in person?” I ask.
“It’s how the grandfather wrote it,” Z says, eyes still pinging between Caleb and me. “The land’s worth a lot now and that compound up there…” he lets out a low whistle. “It’s all hush hush, so they keep to only doing things in person.”
“Can we set the meet site?” Domhnall asks.
I like that it’s a practical question to move things forward.
Z nods. “You can negotiate location. Senior will agree. The clause is just that warring family can’t settle anything binding without appearing in person with a lawyer present. And listenHarp, family can’t kill each other or the whole claim dissolves. Senior can’t touch Silas without losing everything. You, either, or I wouldn’t have come to relay the message.”