Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

V alerio

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the lord.

Whatever.

On this day, it belonged to me and me alone.

Whether or not I ended up in jail quite frankly didn't matter any longer. All that did was wrapping my hands around the bastard's throat.

After what Selena had told me, Tony had brought the laptop to the hospital and after she was admitted to a room, I'd sat poring over what she'd already learned, finding even more. With Tony dispatched to protect her, my brothers and I had left the hospital in search of the bastard responsible.

Only the man behind the murder attempt, stealing money, working with a rival firm, and likely making grandiose promises hadn't worked alone. He'd had a team behind him.

My brothers had tried to convince me that killing him or any of the others for that matter wasn't in my best interest. However, I had a weapon with me. And plenty of ammunition. I suspected by now the bastard had decided to run so we were trying his house first. I had to wonder if he'd sent his wife away or had somehow managed to convince her that she was still the love of his life.

Then again, men like him used people for a living, including the girl who worked for Caldwell Michaels. The only good thing that had come out of this near tragic event was that Selena's father had finally called, both her mom and dad showing up at the hospital before I'd left.

I was thankful for their connection as well as the company she'd have while I was gone. Even if I remained pissed at the man.

Family meant everything. I knew that now more than ever.

For so long I'd avoided being a part of Progressive Media, partially because it would have meant working with my father, I wished I could go back years.

Few people realized what they had until it was gone.

I had no further plans of wasting time but the need for retaliation was far too great.

Braxton had refused to allow me to drive, literally pushing me into the passenger seat. I'd fumed the entire time he'd driven while Gage was actively making phone calls from the backseat, doing everything he could to protect our employees in every location in the world as well as our finances.

The thefts alone had already cost us several million dollars, the funds likely secured inside some offshore account. The time it had taken, the amount of effort and coordination was incredible.

And to think from what I could tell, only a single board member remained not on the take.

Janice.

Here I'd thought she could have been the one to sell out my father. Yeah, she was having a scandalous affair with Jameson, which is why he had inside intel, but who was I to judge anyone for their relationships? It wasn't like I was an expert by any means. I'd happily leave her alone as long as she surrendered her position on the board. It was a good time to clean house.

And rebuild it with family first and foremost.

However, it appeared she'd tried to warn my father early on and he'd brushed off her concerns. The single email I'd accidentally run into had been from years before. Something must have been the catalyst for the man to flip loyalties. A sudden thought dawned in my mind. It was crazy but possible.

We'd take a huge financial hit as well as to our reputation, but I could handle that. After a few things Caldwell had said to both his daughter and to myself, and given his haggard look, especially when hearing about the poison, I had a feeling he'd be happy to talk merger. Or a direct buyout.

I'd make sure the man was more than comfortable in his retirement years.

He was also getting tested for the poison, his wife as well.

As would others inside both corporate offices.

Hopefully, the poison experts would find the cause of the poisoning but if not, I'd toss out everything in the entire building, have it fumigated and start the fuck over.

As long as I wasn't in jail.

That still remained to be seen.

Braxton had barely pulled up to the curb when I was out of the car. The weapon was in my jacket pocket. I hadn't changed since the accident, if anyone was stupid enough to call it that. I smelled like soot and sweat, the aches and pains finally pushing through the heightened adrenaline, but I didn't give a shit.

Nothing was going to stop me.

Certainly not this fuck.

The inroads he'd made had been incredible. And I hadn't been paying close enough attention. Damn it. If only my father had confided in me sooner, maybe none of this would have happened.

Or maybe I was fucking dreaming.

Sadly, my father had tried to call me more than once but the subject certainly wasn't something that should be discussed over the phone.

Fuck it. Somehow, I'd keep his legacy going.

If I was in jail, my brothers could do it for all of us.

Gage and Braxton scrambled behind me, both also carrying weapons.

"Everything is a go," Gage said.

It was because I was standing outside his door.

Which I kicked in seconds later.

We acted as if we were a precision team, racing through the house with guns drawn. As expected, I found him upstairs packing.

He was smart enough to know getting the fuck out of town was in his best interest.

As soon as I barreled into the room, Timothy grabbed his weapon off the dresser, pointing it at my chest.

"I don't think I'd make that choice, buddy." I leveled my weapon at his head. "I am a damn good shot."

I had to use so much self-control not to fire off a shot. My cupcake would be proud of me.

We were apparently both drawing a line in the sand. Fortunately, for him, he finally grinned and lowered his weapon.

I walked further inside, my two brothers flanking me. "Did you know Pops was onto your scheme to take over the company?"

He laughed, the sound as bitter as I felt. "He knew."

"That's why you killed him."

"At first I just wanted him not to be himself. To question his judgment and realize he needed me." Timothy seemed far too pleased with himself.

"I'm curious. Why did you betray him? You were an intern in college, working your way up through the ranks. You were paid well, excellent benefits. Hell, my father paid for your wedding venue. What was the price to sell your soul?"

His brow furrowed. "You."

"Meaning?"

I could see such hatred in Timothy's eyes. "You didn't want shit to do with the business. Neither did your brothers. He took me aside one day and made promises. Promises the bastard didn't keep when you finally swooped in, pretending as if you gave a damn."

"So, this is all about the fact you were pushed out?"

For a few seconds, I was certain the man would become unhinged. "You don't understand. I was the only vice president. I was to become the president when he retired. He didn't even have the decency to tell me first before you waltzed into the office that day."

"Jesus," Braxton said from behind me.

He threw my brother a nasty look. "I gave that man my heart and soul. I bled for him but he chose family blood over loyalty. Why should I have maintained my loyalty when he didn't give a shit?"

"Then I managed to fall into your scheme given my lack of desire to be there. It became easy for you to exact your revenge. With me refusing to have much to do with the business, you knew you owned the board, who were prepared to go along with the hostile takeover."

"Something like that. If you would have looked hard enough," Timothy continued, "you would have noticed the discrepancies early, but you were too arrogant. I decided to enjoy making it into a game."

"I am curious," I said as I walked further into the room, noticing he was packing for an island trip. "Did Jack Banner from Harbour Enterprises have any idea what you were up to?"

"Oh, he knew. In fact, he was thrilled I was helping him obtain two incredible companies."

I was honestly surprised Timothy was being this forthcoming.

"With the help of Molly Wallace, Caldwell Michaels' assistant. I assume she knew you were married."

He still didn't seem surprised how much I knew.

His grin remained. "I knew that bitch you decided to keep like a stray was trouble. I'm sorry she didn't die in that accident. But I guess love is a many splendored thing. Molly was blindsided by it, stupid wench."

"Be careful how you talk about my fiancée, Timothy. How sad. You really were using her." I pointed the gun at his head this time, issuing a slight warning.

"Easy," Gage hissed. What my brother didn't seem to understand was that I was now having fun with my portion of the game, including that I'd hit record on my iPhone before walking in.

Snorting, he studied me intently. "Molly was a na?ve idiot if she thought I was in love with her. I love my wife. We have plans."

"Too bad you aren't going to be spending any time with her and those plans will need to be altered."

"You can't prove anything, Valerio. All your father had were suspicions."

"Hmmm… However, you tried to kill my fiancée."

"Why would I do that? I knew about the accident from the news but why would I bother with something so… tedious?" The bastard really thought I couldn't see right through him?

Now I was getting pissed. I moved around on the other side of the bed, now standing only a few feet away. I lowered the weapon but still kept it in both hands. I could feel both my brothers becoming nervous behind me. I didn't blame them.

I was about to become unhinged.

"Because you were worried she was digging. Because you knew the work she'd done with her father's business and that she was tenacious, refusing to allow her father to get hurt. You hadn't counted on her returning to the fold in any capacity."

Timothy huffed. "She's a baker. Why would she concern me in the least?"

"The dominoes were getting ready to fall, including that Janice was pushing you. So you know, I had DMV records checked. It would seem your father-in-law owns a big black SUV. If I had to guess, I'd say it's back in the man's garage but damaged."

For the first time, there was a nervous twitch on one side of his mouth.

"Given your in-laws are on an extended trip in Greece, you thought you had enough time to have the vehicle fixed. By then you'd be safely on your way to a no extradition country. Right? I mean, you have the millions stolen from my father, now the company I own with my two brothers. Coupled with a hefty finder's fee from Harbour Enterprises, you could live more than comfortably for the rest of your life. Right?"

"You're insane."

There'd been times in my life when I'd been so angry I'd either overreacted or hadn't thought about the consequences. I'd believed I had my reasons, even good ones. But at this moment, I could see so clearly that it horrified me.

The fucker deserved to die.

By my hands.

I'd always been considered dangerous, unpredictable. Certainly brutal in my business efforts. But I felt a remarkable calm, Selena's face crossing the forefront of my mind.

I felt the monster inside of me break free of his chains, the tenuous hold I'd had preventing me from crossing the one line I could never recross ready to be demolished.

Without hesitation or any additional forethought, I did so, smashing the barrel of the weapon against Timothy's head several times.

I knew my brothers were advancing, could feel hands trying to pull me off seconds later. But I was a force to be reckoned with, tossing the weapon then wrapping both my hands around Timothy's neck. I'd heard about men and women finding superhuman strength, like being able to lift a vehicle off a pinned victim.

Or breaking free of chains when absolutely necessary.

This was something else entirely as I lifted him a solid six inches off the floor, using my brute strength and rage to do so. It would be easier and cleaner to shoot him but what was the fun in that?

And where would the satisfaction be?

As he started to turn purple, gurgling at the mouth as he tried ineptly to fend me off, my brothers were clawing my arms. I heard them, their pleas to stop but the sound was muffled.

There were rumbles and I sensed we were no longer alone.

"Put him down, Mr. Royal. We got this. We got this."

I didn't care the police had arrived, although I knew Gage had arranged it.

I wanted Timothy to suffer.

"Think of Selena, bro. She needs you. She loves you. You have a life. He is not worth it. You have what's needed for the police to convict him."

Braxton was the voice of reason but at this point, I wasn't certain anything could get through to me.

"Come on, bro. Think of the future."

I glanced at Gage, who was closest. All it would take was the right snap of my wrist and Timothy would be dead.

" Don't ," a little voice said inside of my head.

Her voice.

My sweet cupcake.

And so, against my better judgment and what the fucker deserved, I let go, allowing my brothers to pull me away.

Braxton patted me on the arm.

"It's over. They're sweeping the two offices. Caldwell has shut down his operation until it's determined free of toxins. You did good, brother. Now, it's time to live your life."

As I'd done before, I turned my head toward my youngest brother. There was so much wisdom inside of the guy and I often didn't give him nearly enough credit.