Ruthless Mate

1

The lump in my throat was so bulky, I couldn’t swallow. I placed one hand on the back of the black leather sofa and ran the other down my stomach, where it hit the black belt of my short polka-dotted dress. I couldn’t fathom what might be so urgent that Drake Hale, heir to a billion-dollar company, would show up here at eight on a Friday night.

I’d arrived home in Asheville, North Carolina, just an hour ago to stay for a few weeks before starting med school at UNC this summer, and he’d come knocking about fifteen minutes ago. I’d let him in and pointed to the door that led to the finished basement where my stepdad’s office was.

My twin half siblings didn’t even glance up from whatever video game they were playing. I hadn’t gotten more than a hi from them since getting back, which…wasn’t abnormal.

Eva punched the buttons on her controller harder than necessary, a victorious grin spreading across her face. A lock of dark brown hair fell over the back of her white strapless shirt, and her steel blue eyes narrowed. “I told you I’d learned some things since the last time we played.”

“I see that.” Elliott scowled. The only difference between them appearance-wise was that he was male and a little taller. Also, his hair was shorter, but it still hung in his eyes. Everything else about them was like looking into a mirror. “How the hell is that possible? We just played a few nights ago.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” she sang as she continued to press the buttons on the controller.

If I left, I was certain neither of them would notice. “Aren’t you at all curious why a certain visitor is here?” I asked.

“Not at all.” Elliott leaned forward on the sofa, focusing on the flat-screen TV hanging on the dark gray wall. “The few times I saw him at Dad’s office, he made me uncomfortable, so my motto is ‘stay the f**k away.’”

“Elliott,” I hissed. “Language.” Before Mom passed away six years ago, she’d asked me to watch over the twins. She’d said she hated putting the burden on me, but she had no one else to ask since my stepdad had begun acting strangely. So here I was, trying to make her proud.

However, I couldn’t stop wondering why the owner of the largest rental property company, whose assets my stepfather managed as part of his realty business, was visiting this late on a Friday night.

“Oh, please, Ev.” Eva rolled her eyes but kept her attention glued to the game. “We’re eighteen. We can totally cuss.”

My heart panged. They were growing up quickly, and every passing year was another reminder of how long Mom had been gone. God, I missed her. She’d wanted me to change the world with my love of painting and art, but when cancer had stolen the only parent I’d ever known, I’d decided to change the world in a different way—through medicine. I didn’t want another kid to lose a parent to this horrible disease. It had left me an orphan and my half siblings with only one parent.

Something boomed from downstairs, and the walls shook all the way up to the living room.

My lungs seized. That was definitely something. But the twins kept playing their game as if they hadn’t noticed a thing.

Figures. This was another thing I’d have to deal with on my own.

I marched toward the white-framed door in the middle of the wall behind me. My black strappy heels clacked on the white oak floors as I walked past the sizable kitchen on the right.

As I put a hand on the doorknob, a deep, angry voice stopped me in my tracks. “Did you really think we wouldn’t find out about what you did, Peter?” It was Drake. The man emanated power even when he wasn’t speaking.

Peter had been Mom’s husband, and he’d allowed me to live under this roof after she’d died. I couldn’t stand idly by while Drake attacked him.

I inhaled deeply, straightened my shoulders, and cracked open the oak door. As quietly as possible, I slipped down a few of the dark gray carpeted steps and peeked into the basement.

My world tilted.

Drake stood behind my stepdad’s cherrywood desk, leaning his more than seven-foot-tall frame over my stepdad in his leather desk chair, which had crashed into the white wall behind him. Drake’s formidable muscles were evident through his black suit, and his onyx eyes narrowed as he grasped the black armrests. Despite the turmoil, his brown-black hair remained perfectly in place, styled upward in small spikes, and his olive complexion glowed. He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen, but even when he wasn’t furious, something about him unsettled me.

My stepdad’s bottom lip quivered, and the crow’s feet lining his chestnut eyes deepened. I could’ve sworn more gray had appeared at the temples of his light brown hair. I hadn’t seen him since Christmas, when I’d come home to visit.

“I…I’m sorry.” My stepdad’s voice quivered. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Clearly,” Drake rasped, and his hand flinched like he wanted to hit my stepdad.

Two men in suits stood behind Drake with their arms crossed. They were slightly shorter than their boss but still taller than most men I’d encountered.

They were ganging up on my stepdad, and someone had to interfere.

Without thinking it through, I continued to the bottom of the stairs and cleared my throat loudly. “What’s going on here?”

Drake’s head spun toward me, and for a second, I swore his pupils elongated like a lizard’s.

I gasped and shook my head. I had to be seeing things. His eyes were dark; it had to be a trick of the light.

“Dammit, Everly,” my stepdad snapped. “You’re always sticking your nose in places it doesn’t belong.”

My head jerked back like he’d slapped me. Here I was, trying to help him, and he was scolding me. Obviously, I’d messed up and needed to fix it.

“Sorry.” I grimaced. I hated how weak I sounded. I’d always hoped he’d be like the dad I never had. “I thought I heard something, and I—”

“No, it’s fine.” A casual smile slipped over Drake’s face as he straightened. He adjusted his black tie, which hadn’t been out of place, and winked. “We are disagreeing over a business matter. I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

With his easygoing persona in place, I almost doubted what I’d walked in on, but I’d seen the conflict with my own eyes. I wasn’t stupid. However, after Mom had died, I’d learned how to act myself, so I smiled back. “Well, misunderstandings happen. Don’t they?”

He smirked and scanned me from head to toe before turning back to my stepdad. “Peter, you have three days to fix this in one of the two ways of which I’ve informed you. That’s more than generous, based on the amount of time you’ve already had to remedy the situation. If you can’t deliver, you know what will become rightfully mine.”

My stepdad’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he blanched.

The hairs on the nape of my neck rose. One thing was clear: the “situation” was bad, and it didn’t take my perfect GPA to pick up on that.

Drake’s gaze landed on me again, and he slightly bowed his head. “We’ll leave now.”

I nodded back. I needed to know what was going on, pronto, so I could fix it. Drake’s family was the most powerful in our city. They owned most of downtown and so much more than I could even fathom, so I had to play nice.

I managed to spit out the one word I could say. “Goodbye.”

My voice sounded rough, as if I hadn’t drunk water in days.

“Don’t worry. We’re going.” Drake strode around the desk, then passed me and went up the stairs, each step steady and confident. I shrank back. He oozed dominance, and his aura struck me as unbalanced.

His men followed. The thicker guard, who resembled an MMA fighter, glared at me as he went by. His cobalt irises would have been mesmerizing if it hadn’t been for the scowl on his face.

I listened carefully once all three of them were upstairs. When their footsteps didn’t pause and the front door opened and closed, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

Now that we were alone, I turned back to my stepdad. “What was that all about?”

He yanked on his button-down shirt, trying to smooth out the wrinkles, but I noted the dark blue spots where sweat had pooled under his arms. He scoffed. “It’s none of your concern, Everly. Why are you even here?”

I flinched. I’d come downstairs to check on him, and that was the thanks I got? “I took my last exam at UNC and drove straight here. Thought I’d stay for the couple of weeks between now and the summer semester. I wanted to see my brother and sister.” I kicked at the concrete floor, hating the way I explained myself to him all the time.

“You could’ve called them.” He stood and rolled his chair back to the desk.

I called at least once a week, and half the time, they didn’t answer. But I didn’t want to get into that with him. I’d made a promise to Mom, and I intended to keep it. “It’s not the same.” He was deflecting, and I couldn’t allow that. “Again, what was that about?”

“It’s business. Part of my family business, which you aren’t part of. You aren’t my blood.” He pointed to the stairs. “Now, I have a pressing issue to deal with. If you must stay, then stay in the guest room, and keep out of the way.”

The guest room. That burned. It had been my room, but as soon as I’d moved into my dorm at UNC Chapel Hill, he’d taken it over and thrown my stuff away like I was a nuisance he’d gotten rid of.

“Peter—” I started.

He lifted a hand. “Seriously. I don’t have time for this. Your sister’s future is in my hands.”

I froze. My sister? What did Eva have to do with his meeting with Drake? “Is that what Mr. Hale was talking about?”

“For f**k’s sake, Everly.” His nostrils flared. “Get out of my hair. Now.”

My eyes burned. I should’ve known he wouldn’t talk with me, but I’d hoped he might see that I could help him work out the problem. “Fine. Just let me know—”

“Leave!” he shouted and slammed his hands on the desk.

Any sense of dignity I had left was gone, but I refused to leave like a coward. Instead, I lifted my chin and slowly walked back upstairs.