Chapter Ten

Dalton

" O pen up, Triton!" I growl, pounding on the door to his hotel room. The sun is barely over the horizon, but I don't fucking care how early it is. Tempest cried half the night, devastated because her goddamn cousin is a manipulative prick. I'm not waiting for the asshole to make a move against her. Fuck that.

Jake and I have been compiling evidence against him for two fucking days. I know everything—the drugs, the women, the gambling. He's in deep with no way out. He thought Evernight would be his ticket. He's fucking wrong. He can crawl out of his hole himself because he isn't touching her company.

He rips the door open, shirtless and bleary-eyed, his hair all fucked up from the pillow. "What the fuck do you want?"

That's as far as I let him get before I grab him by the throat, shoving him back into his room.

"You manipulative son of a bitch," I growl, slamming him up against the wall so hard that a piece of framed art clatters to the floor.

He tries to buck me off, hands scrabbling at my grip, but I'm not having it. I squeeze tighter, watching his face redden.

"Get the fuck off me," he snarls.

I ignore him, not interested in anything he has to say.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully," I tell him, my voice a low rumble next to his ear. "I live and breathe for your cousin. If you don't want everyone you owe finding out exactly where the fuck you are, don't ever try to come between us again. Evernight belongs to her. Try to take it, and I will destroy you."

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Triton lies, still struggling in my grip.

"Yeah, you do." I release his throat, shoving him away from me.

He stumbles before he manages to catch himself, glaring balefully at me. But he isn't stupid enough to charge at me. I think he knows exactly how that would end for him. He may have twenty pounds on me, but while he spends his time snorting coke and drinking, I'm in the goddamn gym every day.

"I've got every piece of evidence I need to bury you." Taking a menacing step towards him, I let all my rage blaze in my eyes. "And I won't even do it legally, motherfucker. I'll let your goddamn bookies and dealers fight over your scraps."

Fear flickers across Triton's face and I smile coldly, glad to see it. Good. He's listening. He knows I'm dead fucking serious.

"Stay the fuck away from Tempest," I snarl before turning on my heel and storming out, slamming the door behind me.

I meant every word. If Triton comes for Evernight or tries to get near Tempest again, I will ruin him. I'll spill every dirty secret the motherfucker has—and there are so many more than Tempest will ever know. Her cousin is a piece of shit through and through. But I'll be damned if I let him hurt her again.

That's over and done with, effective immediately.

But I'm not done with him. Not yet.

My grandfather's loud complaints reach me long before I step into his room an hour later to find him glaring daggers at the petite nurse changing his IV bag.

He looks better every day. His hand still trembles faintly, but the droop on the left side of his face is gone. The doctor is concerned about his blood pressure, though. It's been high. Probably because the crotchety old bastard is always mad at something.

"I don't need this shit," he complains, flicking the IV line. "I just need that asshole doc to let me out of here."

I lean against the door frame, a smirk tugging at my lips. The old man never changes. "Leave her alone and eat your pudding, old man."

He whips his head in my direction, his eyes narrowing when he catches sight of me. "Oh. You're back," he mutters.

A loud laugh bursts from my lips. "Hello to you, too."

"Don't you have a new wife to annoy?" he retorts. "Why are you always here, annoying the hell out of me?"

"So you're in good spirits today, huh?" I ask, unable to resist needling him. "Was your sponge bath too cold?"

"Unhook me, nurse. I need to get out of this bed to stick my foot up his ass."

The nurse chuckles softly, stepping away from the bed as if to say she wants no part in this. "I'm going to leave you two alone to work this one out." She meets my gaze over his head, rolling her eyes. "Good luck."

"He doesn't need luck. He needs sense," the old man sniffs haughtily. "If he had any, he'd be at home with his wife instead of here."

As the nurse ducks out of the room, her laughter trailing behind her, my grandfather turns his scowl on me. "Why haven't you brought her to see me yet?" he demands.

I walk over to his bedside. "Because you're mean as hell. I don't need you running her off."

"To hell with that," he mutters, his gaze sharpening. "You decided to fight for her yet?"

Damn, he cuts right to the chase every time.

I pull up a chair and sit, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. "That's actually why I'm here. I need a favor."

Suspicion clouds his expression. "What kind of favor?"

"I need you to renegotiate the contract with her father," I explain calmly. "Offer him a ten percent stake in Grady Records, free and clear, if he strikes Triton from any will. He isn't to have anything to do with Evernight Music Group. He doesn't even breathe in the direction of Tempest's company. If Evernight does that, I'll personally hand over ten percent of my shares once I take over."

Evernight will get his piece of Grady Records, just like he wants. More importantly, Tempest and her company will be safe. No merger required, no giving up anything on her end. What she does with the company should be her choice to make, not his.

Right now, merging with Grady Records isn't in her best interests. Her father may not have faith in her ability to continue running Evernight after he's gone, but I know better. She's already the one running it.

The old man's jaw drops, his eyes bulging. "Have you lost your mind, boy?" he sputters. "That'll mean you're giving up majority ownership. You and Lena will both have a 44% stake in the company."

Rising to my feet, I nod. "I know. But this has always been a family company, Gramps. Maybe it's time for it to have more than one majority owner."

And it's not like Lena gives a damn about running things anyway. All this does is ensure she owns every bit as much of it as I do. It's only fair. She's family, too.

And after all this shit with Tempest, I want to make damn sure my baby cousin is protected the way Triton should have been protecting his. No company, nothing, is worth fucking over family.

"You…" He gapes at me, his voice raspy with emotion. "You just called me Gramps."

I smirk, heading for the door. "Did I? Huh. Interesting."

"You haven't called me Gramps since you were a kid," he says hoarsely.

Glancing back, I meet his watery eyes, the hope and surprise in their depths gutting me.

"Guess a lot of shit is changing around here…Gramps."

His throat works as he swallows hard, his hands trembling in his lap. And in this moment, I glimpse the grandfather I remember from my childhood. Before the grief and stress turned him hard and bitter. Before I locked my heart up tight, refusing to open it for anyone else.

And fuck, seeing that man again…that's fucking worth it.

I swallow the lump lodged in my throat as I step out into the hallway. "I'll bring Tempest by tomorrow. Try not to be a complete asshole."

"No promises," he mutters gruffly. But the pleased gleam in his eyes gives him away.

Maybe, just maybe, we're going to be all right.