19. ~Roman Knight~

19

~Roman Knight~

My son was in love.

I'd heard as much from him during our impromptu—from his perspective—get-together at that diner a few days ago.

But seeing it right before my eyes was another thing entirely.

I'd come close to giving up hope that it would ever be possible for him.

For him to be able to love like that, or to allow himself to be loved like that.

As a child, he'd been the most gentle and caring little boy. To everyone he'd met.

Even when I'd brought him into Knightsridge Engineering more so to prepare him for his role as heir apparent, I'd gone to great pains to only expose him to the legitimate aspects.

The only exception had been my business with Curt Walker. He was a dangerous individual, but he had a soft spot for children on account of having a daughter he absolutely adored. Bringing Levi into that had been a perfect compromise and a way to teach him about the dangers involved in running my empire, schooling him on how to read people, how to strike complicated deals that had high stakes attached.

But beyond that, I'd been concerned that drawing him any deeper into those aspects of my work would dim the bright spark that he'd possessed, that it would taint his beautiful innocence, that it would poison his pure and unjaded heart.

Then the kidnapping had happened and it had destroyed everything I'd guarded him against.

It had destroyed my boy.

There were those in life who never recovered from being shattered to pieces.

For the last six years, that had been the fate I'd thought had befallen Levi.

Until now.

I watched from the shadows through to the kitchen as he sat up at the kitchen island while Brianna tended to the injuries that he'd sustained.

It was uncanny witnessing such a thing where he was concerned.

Since he'd been liberated from captivity at the hands of those madmen, he'd never allowed me or anyone else to treat any damage he'd sustained. He'd even learned to perform stitches on himself to avoid it.

He saw it as a weakness.

Even suffering a single hit was a failure in his mind.

It went back to six years ago. That shame that they'd afflicted him with.

Everything went back to six years ago for him.

But now there was finally a positive element.

Her.

Brianna Walker.

Curt's baby girl.

Well, that was how he'd seen her for too long.

She was a far cry away from that now.

I'd seen it for myself earlier.

Although, I hadn't needed to see it to have been able to draw that conclusion. The fact that Levi had taken a liking to her in the intense way he never had before when it came to women had been enough to go on. Only someone strong, self-reliant, and powerful could catch Levi's interest in that way. That type of woman was also the only type that would be able to handle my son.

"Gonna keep lurking, or are you actually gonna make it inside the kitchen, Dad?"

I smiled to myself. Little miscreant.

"My doctor is finishing up seeing to Mason and Colton," I informed them. "They're well. Just minor cuts and bruises, fortunately. Although Mason has sustained a couple of bruised ribs, but they'll heal well with a little rest."

"Thank goodness," Brianna breathed, looking pained that it had come close to being a great deal worse.

The boys had insisted that she go first with treatment, absolutely not having it when she'd wanted Mason to get a nasty slice to his arm dealt with first.

It was beyond chivalry. It was a deep affection and adoration that they had displayed toward her.

More than even that. They were a unit. A close-knit team.

It was exactly the kind of support that all four of them needed.

I was aware of each of their individual issues, but together now, with the strain gone that had been there for a good long while, those issues were manageable. They weren't transcended, because that wasn't realistic, or true to life, but they were soothed by their foursome structure.

"Thanks, Dad."

I stepped up to him and Brianna eased back, starting to pack up the medical supplies I'd given her. "Let me see," I said, grasping his jaw and angling his face so I could get a look at the deep three-inch cut across his left cheek. It had been bleeding so profusely that it had required stitches. Very impressively done stitches. "This is impeccable work, Miss Walker."

She shrugged. "Unfortunately, I've had a lot of practice."

"Fixing up your father's club members?"

"During what I called the transition period where my dad tried to go to war with Malcolm Lynch and it cost him a third of his club members, before he then shut it all down."

"I see. I'm sorry you had to bear the brunt of that, my dear."

"Nothing compared to what she had to bear prior to that, the thing that caused that ill-advised war," Levi muttered.

He eased from my grasp, and I saw his hands shaking.

It was that rage.

Before I could react to calm him, Brianna surprised me as she was there, stroking his hair and nuzzling his good cheek. "Shh, lovely. Today was actually a victory. With Royce out of the way, it clears the path to Lynch. One major complication down."

"I… yeah. It was another barrier blown away." He reached out and took her hand, holding it between them. "You got hurt, though."

"Superficially."

"It doesn't matter. Somebody still laid hands on you."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not a fragile little flower then, isn't it?" She beamed at him. "Good thing I'm your Wildflower instead."

The smile he gave her… I hadn't seen it in so long. So incredibly long.

He hugged her to him, then eased away and told us, "I need to deal with the flash drive I got from Nico." He went to push off the stool, but I slapped my hands down on the arms. "No. Not tonight."

"What? To say this has skyrocketed in urgency doesn't really cover it."

"I agree. However, you're injured and exhausted. You require rest. Or you won't be any good to anyone. A couple of days, son. That's all I'm asking."

"One day and we'll see how it goes."

"Fine."

"I see you drive a hard bargain even with your dad," Brianna commented.

I shook my head to myself. "You have no idea."

"She does," Levi admitted, wincing. "Some things may have gone down that gave her an excellent insight to that side of me."

"Poor girl."

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side."

I ruffled his hair. "Go wash up. Dinner in thirty minutes. In the dining room, not the den."

He gave a nod, then I watched him and his girlfriend head out of the kitchen.

His girlfriend.

She certainly wasn't just his.

Colton's parents—Oakley and Lena—would be over the moon about this development, seeing it as an act of liberation and him staying true to what they wanted for him, to live his own life, unapologetic to anyone or anything.

Mason's parents, however, that was a completely different thing. His mother would be horrified and clutching her pearls. It had been bad enough when they'd briefly suspected that he was bisexual. I'd actually stepped in at the request of Levi when he'd seen how afraid Mason had been of incurring his parents' wrath as a result, and I'd managed to refute it and allay their suspicions with a smokescreen—yes, Levi had gotten that from me.

Over the last few days, Peter had gotten word that Mason was away from Stonewell University and he'd thrown a fit when he hadn't been able to get hold of him. I'd contacted Lena Sharp—we'd done a lot of business together over the years and she handled Peter's investments, so he listened to her opinion—and I'd had her run interference. That wouldn't last much longer. Soon he'd put the pieces together and turn up at my door.

I'd have to ensure the kids were stabilized before that occurred.

I'd been observing the four of them quietly through assets that I had in place around their college town. I had little choice with the way Levi had been operating since the kidnapping. It had been the only way to keep him safe and protect him from himself and all that rage and pain that he'd carried on his back like an extension of the torture he'd been subjected to in that hellhole.

Through said observations, I'd recognized how much they leaned on one another, especially since Brianna had entered the picture and soothed their dynamic, offering a balance that they'd needed to cast off the animosity between my son and Mason, due to their differing approaches to most things.

I couldn't allow that to be fractured now that Levi was doing so well, now that he was more stable than he'd been in years, now that he was on the road to happiness.

Being unable to stop those madmen from taking my son was the biggest regret of my life, my greatest shame. He'd had his happiness stolen that day. I certainly wouldn't allow that to occur again. If it meant striking at Peter Hall, I had no qualms about doing so.

I'd walked the line for years between the dark and the light. Even with those kills I'd made recently, it hadn't rocked me because I was stable. I'd ensured it when my son was born, having been close to drowning in it beforehand. But so much had changed for me and in me when Levi had come along. However, should Peter cause issues and threaten the kids and the unit they'd become, I would become that thing again.

After all, what could destroy a soulless husk of a man like Peter Hall but a heartless monster?

Let's hope it didn't come to that. For his sake and Mason's.

Because I wouldn't stop.

It would be a welcome outlet given that I'd made Levi a promise that I'd step aside and allow him to deal the death blow to Malcolm Lynch, when it was something I'd desired for years, ever since I'd discovered he hadn't perished.

But my son needed that release more.

What I desired paled in comparison to that.

I smiled as I heard Brianna giggling and Levi's laughter following.

My God. It had been so long since I'd heard that heartwarming sound from him.

I took a moment, then pulled out my phone to call in my caterer for tonight's dinner.

My limited culinary abilities wouldn't suffice, not for what was a reunion meal to me, something special. Levi was the ace in that area, along with Mason as I understood it. They needed to take it easy though, no tasks, no chores, no pressure.

I smiled to myself.

For the next few days, I'd be afforded the opportunity to reconnect with my son and his friends, and my future daughter-in-law.

"Like a green screen?" Colton asked.

"In essence," Levi confirmed. "A digital one, pretty much. I had to make it look like an office environment when you guys or Dear Old Dad here checked in on me, always insisting on video call."

"What about the office sounds and the people we heard calling to you?" Colton pushed.

"Downloaded background noise audio files that I did some creative editing with."

"Wow," Brianna breathed. "That's another level."

"Don't encourage him," Mason said.

"Aww, come on, brother, you know you love me again now."

"Never stopped loving you, Lev. It was just frustrating beyond belief and that was leading the way for a while."

"A bad long while," Colton interjected.

Mason nodded, then smiled over at my son. "Too long."

Levi returned his smile. "Yeah, way too long."

"I'm glad you're on good terms again," I spoke.

"Working hard to keep it that way," Mason told me.

He was sitting beside me at the oval mahogany dining room table, with Colton and Levi opposite. I'd put Brianna at the head of the table between Levi and Mason and the boys had been happy about that. I wasn't one for formalities. Nor for distance. The table was rather narrow so when I sat down to dinner with my guests, we could be close and not forced at a distance by the size of a ridiculously large table.

I looked at Brianna who was sitting there rather quietly appearing to be taking everything in, looking like the sweetheart she was for my boy and his brothers-in-arms, in a bubblegum-pink scoop neck top and a little gray skirt. None of them had arrived with dress clothes because they'd been in hiding at the safehouse with just the bare essentials that they'd packed. So, I'd kept it casual at the table too in just a white open collar shirt and a pair of navy jeans, to ensure they hadn't felt uncomfortable or ill-equipped for dinner at what people perceived as the great Knight Estate. Like I said, formalities weren't my thing. Not when I could avoid something so trivial. However, I did like to dress to impress while outside my home, hence my designer suits and my strange title as a business style icon to the outside world and the media. Perception was an interestingly complicated thing.

"I assume you have a lot to do with this peace between the boys," I spoke to Brianna.

"A little," she responded modestly.

"More like everything, dark angel."

Dark angel? Interesting. It spoke to that edge that my son needed in a woman.

"These friendships, this sort of special bond, is a rarity. Something to be cherished," I told them.

"Abso-fucking-lutely," Colton said in that bold and brazen way I was familiar with when it came to him. Definitely his parents' son.

I chuckled and my guests joined me.

"Perfectly stated," I told him.

He was most definitely the heart of their unit.

"So, Mason, I've heard you're returning to your tattoo designs?"

He hesitated and tugged at his pale-blue long sleeve tee. "I was just bored up at the safehouse. It was something to do."

"That's a shame. I was meeting with a business associate a couple of days ago whose son has just opened a new tattoo studio. He's looking for an artist to mentor."

He looked around the table.

Colton was smiling excitedly.

Brianna was looking on hopefully and giving a thumbs-up encouragement.

And Levi was watching curiously.

"Well, it's just a hobby. Law is my career path."

"Come the fuck on," Levi grunted.

" Lovely," I heard Brianna say quietly to him. "You're pushing it too hard."

"Screw this," Colton uttered all of a sudden, then turned to me, revealing, "It's because of the other mission we're working."

I looked between them. "Other mission?"

"Peter has surveillance footage of Mason killing somebody from that shitshow five years back. That's what he's been holding over Mason's head to force him into Law and every other thing he decides he wants Mason doing. Ruining his fucking life basically."

I jolted. "Excuse me?"

Levi cursed and slapped his hand to his face.

"Levi," I pushed. "Why have I never heard about this evidence?"

"It was only me on the tape," Mason explained. "Lev was at the other end of the house at that point. When your cleanup team was there, my dad paid one of them off to hand one of the tapes over."

"A physical tape?"

"Nothing online," Levi told me. "It's why I couldn't destroy it instantly."

"Why didn't you come to me about this? All these years, son?" I looked at Colton and Mason. "You too."

"Dad, you'd already busted your ass to cover up five murders that night. You were at the end of your rope. We couldn't pile on."

"I was at the end of my rope because you were hurting, Levi. Not because I was angry or disappointed. I'm not exactly a conventional father, am I?"

"No, you're not." He smirked. "In the best ways."

"I didn't want to risk the hell that would rain down if I let Levi or Colt tell you down the road, Roman," Mason informed me. "There would have been war between you and my father. And he's a vindictive bastard."

"I appreciate that, but there's no need to protect me. Besides, I'm sure your father will be along soon enough to attempt to drag you kicking and screaming back to college. Of course, that won't be allowed."

Mason looked mortified. "No. I don't want you getting caught in—"

"This is your chance."

He frowned. "Chance?"

"To stand your ground. To show him you're a grown man. No longer a boy he can push around."

"We need the evidence first," Brianna told me. "I'm working on it."

I arched an eyebrow. "How so?"

She then proceeded to tell me all about a network she'd created named Vixen. She certainly had a gift for details and subterfuge because it had even escaped my knowledge and I was plugged in to a great deal.

"Extremely impressive."

She blew past the compliment and reported, "The location of the tape has been narrowed down to two locations by my girls. Either the safe behind the abstract painting in Peter Hall's office, or the other in his study at the Hall mansion. I've called in one of my girls who's a professional thief—a master thief, actually. We're coordinating a strategy to hit each one two days apart, while keeping Hall none the wiser."

"She's damned good, hmm?" Levi said, looking at her with so much admiration and pride.

"I've also had my girl planted at his law office get him on tape. It will reach me early tomorrow."

"On tape doing what?"

"The usual with him," Mason grunted.

Colton spelled it out bluntly, "Fucking his assistants."

I screwed up my face. "No line between business and pleasure makes for complications and mistakes."

"Especially with him being a married man," Mason said with clear disgust.

Best not to tell him that his father had been cheating on his socialite wife since before he was born.

I'd caught him once.

So had Lena. He'd even made a pass at her actually.

It was a torrid situation where he was concerned.

I took in all the information, then nodded. "Understood. Then I'll have my contact mentor you covertly until the deed is done. He'll come to the mansion."

"I can't ask you to—"

"You're not asking. And you should have. These shackles your father has forced on you could have been cast off much sooner if I'd known."

It took him a moment, but then he gave me a chin lift and admitted, "I'd like that. Very much. Thank you."

"Good, then it's settled. I'll call my contact first thing and schedule mentoring sessions for once this current situation is dealt with regarding Lynch. In the meantime, continue to dust off your artistic skills in preparation." I smiled out at him. "We'll get you the life that you want." Now I was on a roll, I looked out at Levi. "Speaking of, you and I need to talk after this rest period. About Knightsridge and what you want to do where that's concerned."

"Yeah, actually that's perfect."

"It is?" I'd thought he'd been pulling away from it.

But maybe it was just that his focus had been on Lynch and I'd read too much into it.

"I've got ideas, Dad." He winked.

"Oh, fuck," Mason uttered. "Brace yourself for that talk now, Roman."

"Shit, yeah," Colt agreed.

"Aww, stop," Brianna said, fondling his hair.

I grinned at the sweetness.

Then Levi laughed at her reaction, happy, loving-it laughter.

My son was actually laughing! Again!

And it was the most amazing sound I'd heard in years.

I couldn't believe it.

The Levi I'd thought I'd lost forevermore was returning.