17. Callie

“Look how well she is doing.”

Eli’s smarmy words made my skin crawl, but I couldn’t deny the truth to his words. I had arrived at my mother’s hospice with the intention of spending time with her and then confronting Eli but, as always, he was one step ahead of me.

When I arrived, he was already inside, and my rising anger at how dare he show his face died when my mother appeared in the lounge and greeted me by name. She recognized me and knew my name.

That swell of emotion drowned out everything I had planned to do.

She even knew it was her birthday and my heart broke from happiness. I couldn’t pinpoint if it was the new medication or the care she was receiving, and frankly, I didn’t care. My mother knew who I was; it was the best feeling in the world.

I was almost grateful to Eli.

Almost.

It wasn’t until we shared breakfast together that I realized I had snuck out of Liam’s apartment and left the cake behind, but in the end it didn’t matter. My mother and I talked for hours, sharing stories and learning about everything she was getting up to.

She’d taken up painting, which was amazing for her mobility. It also showed how her new medication had reduced her trembling. This was the kind of treatment everyone deserved, regardless of tax bracket. It gave me renewed hope for what Sawyer was trying to accomplish. If he succeeded, people like Eli would lose. While Sawyer’s new drug wouldn’t be able to help my mother - she was too late in the stages - it would definitely help others.

Perfect.

I’d hugged her, wished her a lovely birthday, and then stepped away so she could celebrate with the new friends she’d made. That was when Eli finally decided to speak.

“She is,” I admitted sourly. “She… she’s doing really well.”

“Indeed.”

I turned to face him, narrowing my eyes. “Why are you doing this? We don’t even know each other. If you’re not careful, someone might mistake it for real kindness.”

Eli shrugged. “It’s more simple than you would ever imagine.” With a tilt of his head, he moved toward the garden and I followed. I kept one eye on my mother while the overwhelming urge to break down and cry rose like a tidal wave. I never thought I would hear my name come out of her mouth like that. It was almost too much.

“So?” Outside, the early morning sun was already reaching uncomfortable heights of warmth, so I lingered in the shade and crossed my arms. “If you want me to sleep with you, I can tell you right now I will chop your dick off the moment I see it.”

“Please,” Eli sneered. “If I wanted to fuck you, you wouldn’t have a say in the matter.”

Bile crept up my throat at the implication. “You’re fucking disgusting.”

“And yet I’m your savior. Weird, isn’t it?”

His cold smirk chilled me, and I tightened my arms over my chest. What was it going to be? What could I possibly give him that was worth anything?

“A few months ago, I got word that Sawyer was on to something new, something big. Something so big that he was happy to enter into a new partnership with another company.”

As Eli spoke, my heart began to sink. This was to do with Sawyer? No fucking way.

“Whatever it is, it’s big, and quite frankly, I am sick and tired of playing second fiddle to an investment company that turned into a medical angel. Sawyer Crane might have a lot of people fooled, but not me.”

My eyes narrowed further. “Fooled? What do you mean?”

“This little good guy act he puts on. I know him. Men like him are like me. And men like me like money and power. He might pretend that he’s above all that but I know the truth. The money he’s going to make out of this new deal is money that should be mine.”

I rolled my eyes. I knew firsthand that Sawyer planned to invest all profits back into expanding the program and getting that drug to everyone who needed it, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Getting an in was hard. Sawyer runs a tight shit but I knew since that party that he had a crush on you. So he lets you run a little looser. Off the leash as it were.”

Oh no.

My heart kicked up a gear and an unpleasant chill stole across my skin despite the warmth of the sun.

“It took me a little digging to find out exactly what makes you tick, Callie. What the one thing you needed was. The one thing you cared about above all else. I planned to press on that until you broke but I was pleasantly surprised that it was something I could fix by writing a check.”

“My mother,” I gasped, glancing back inside. My mother was full of life, laughing and awkwardly dancing with an elderly gentleman. She was a new person.

“Exactly.” Eli snorted slightly. “I don’t like to owe people, Callie, so don’t for a second think this is a kindness. I like to own people and now I own you.”

The truth was sickening.

“Your mother is getting brilliant treatment here, and seeing your face when she walked in is enough for me to know that I own every inch of you. She’s getting better and is set to enjoy more of her life for a little longer. All those precious moments with her that you thought you lost? I got them back for you.”

Warmth prickled behind my eyes and I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her. He was right. His terrible intentions had given me my mother back, and that was priceless.

“So what do you want?” I asked hoarsely, pain clogging my voice.

“All I need you to do is give me the patent info for whatever this new thing Sawyer is working on. Just one file. I saw his little announcement and if I can take him and Kane down with one stone, then I will. You get me that file.”

My stomach twisted as my heart dropped.

“I c-can’t.”

“Oh come on. It doesn’t matter who supplies the drug, Callie, and it’s all beyond your pretty little head. It means nothing to you. It won’t ever affect you. One file and this place? Your mother? The things that matter to you will be taken care of.”

He wanted Sawyer’s patent. How did I not see this coming? I was so blinded by my rage, blinded by confusion, that I didn’t see what was in front of me until it was too damn late.

Eli’s hand landed on my shoulder, a weight that dragged me off balance.

“You will steal that information and give it to me.” He turned me to face him and grasped my chin, forcing my head up. “One file. That’s what your mother’s health costs. And if you think of going to Sawyer or calling the police again, I will not only make sure you end up with the hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt that you owe this place, I will make sure your mother is lost in the system, and you never see her again.”

Calling the police again?

How did he know I tried to do that? Out of all his threats, somehow, that one stuck out to me. His reach was boundless, and nothing I did for help would get past him. I was trapped in his crosshairs, utterly frozen.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Come on, Callie. You know I would, and I would enjoy it. I can get the patent another way if I have to, but your mother is safe this way. What do you have to lose, hmm?”

Everything.

And nothing.

My mother was the most important thing in my life. She meant more to me than anything else and I had worked so hard to get her good care and support. Seeing her here, living a good life, it was heaven. And the chilling threat of losing her in the system was almost too much to stomach.

I didn’t want her to suffer because of me. I couldn’t.

But could I betray Sawyer? Would he understand?

I would lose him. I would lose Kane and Liam and Marie, too.

Was it worth it? Sacrificing them to save my mother?

I already knew the answer, even as thoughts jumbled in my mind and tears clung to my lashes. I knew what I had to do but it sickened me right to my core.

Never in my life had I felt more alone, and with Eli’s cold gaze boring deep into my soul, I was certain he could already see my answer.

“Think about it.” Eli released my chin and patted my cheek sharply. “Look at your mother. She knows your face. She knows where she is. Give me the patent and then go to her. Spend time with her before it’s too late.”