A dark laugh rumbles through me as I take her hand to the bulge building in my jeans. “No, this is.”
“Oh, that is.” Macy meets me on her knees, her mouth finding mine, soft, yet savage at the same time.
“I love you, Macy O’Conner,” I whisper into her ear.
“Okay”—she gives my ribs a tickle—“now say it the right way.”
“I love you, Sin.” I take her top off and land my mouth over that tender spot that sits just below her ear. “You’re my favorite kind of sin.”
“That’s better.” She works off my clothes while I pull off her skirt, her bra—burying my face into her soft tits. “Do you have a condom, or do we have to go old school?” She staggers her knees apart as if making a point.
I pluck out that purple box of pleasure we’ve been dutifully burning our way through.
“But that’s not going to stop me from going old school first. Lie down,” I say it sharp like an order, and Macy falls back onto the pillow. Her hair bounces off the sheets, spreading wild around her like a velvet curtain. I track my mouth straight down to the course hair at the base of her hips and take my time, licking a line to the place I need to be. Macy is primed, ready to go, jumping into my mouth, bucking beneath me before I can settle in for the ride. Her fingers twist through my hair as she comes warm and wet right into my mouth. I sit up and roll on a condom. Her hand smooths over my erection as if finishing the job for me.
She sits up and pushes me back onto my elbows. Macy climbs on board with that lazy-stoned smile of hers.
“The best seat in the house is all mine.”
A roll of thunder rumbles through my chest. “Your throne awaits.”
She sits over me slowly, impaling herself over my body. Her neck arches as she blows out a breath.
“Lincoln.” She slips deeper onto me with a sigh, and finally we’re right where we need to be, together—home.
My phone buzzes on the dresser, but I’m too busy making love to Macy to care about whoever it is on the other line. I make her mine over and over, that incessant buzzing never coming to an end. Finally, after coming in her deep, shaking over her body, and feeling her quivering breath dance on my skin, I reach to my phone as the screen lights up the room.
Forty-two missed calls—all of them from my sisters.
I hit the first name on my favorites’ list, Aspen.
Her voice is hushed, her speech pressured. Her words whistle by me like a torpedo. I grab my clothes and jump back into my jeans.
“What’s happening?” Macy cinches the sheets to her chest. Her forehead wrinkles with worry.
“It’s my father.” I pant, kicking my shoes into place. “He’s had a heart attack.”
* * *
Cedars-Sinai would have normally taken the better part of an hour to get to with thick Saturday night traffic, but somehow I managed to get us here in less than twenty minutes.
I don’t remember parking, getting out of the car, or riding the elevator up. The next thing I know Ford is flagging me down and leading Macy and me to the Intensive Care Unit. Ford pauses outside the curtain that’s portioning the makeshift room as Carter slaps me on the shoulder.
Macy slips out of my grasp as I head inside, but I pull her back.
“I can’t do this without you.”
“Yes, you can.” A sorrowful smile comes and goes on her face.
“I don’t want to.”
She presses into me, and we head inside together to find Aspen and Stevie huddled to one side of the bed, my mother and Kinsley on the other. Luke stands to the side, his hand hovering over his mouth.
“Son,” my father says weakly, nodding in my direction. I head over and lean in to press a kiss to his cheek. My father and I have never been physical. We are not ones to share an embrace, not on birthdays, not on holidays. Hans Lionheart is an old school stoic. A shield-your-emotions-from-the-rest-of-the-world type man.
“How do you feel?”
“Not well.”
My stomach sours seeing him like this, seeing him feeling not well.
Shit. “What happened?” I demand as if this were a misstep that needs correcting.
My mother sniffs into her tissue. “He was at Merlin.” There’s an underlying accusation in her voice that suggests this very event was brought on by that invisible third woman in their marriage, my father’s company. My father is an expert at infidelity, and Merlin is his favorite lover, favorite child, most beloved pet of them all.
Stevie looks up through watery eyes. “They’re taking him into surgery in a few minutes.”
I swallow hard, knowing that I almost missed the cutoff. Macy grips me tight, her reassurance that it all worked out in the end. We made it just in time.
“Stevie.” His voice gravels at her. “I know who you are.” He glares at her for a moment before softening. “I approve of what you’ve done.” His gaze shifts to Aspen. “My dear, your talent is a feast to the eyes. You are the crowning glory of this family. Keep up the good work.” He offers a peaceable smile before moving to Kinsley. “Darling, you are stronger, far more intelligent than you know. This is the time in your life to seize both. I command you to do it.” He clears his throat. My mother touches a wet towel to his lips, and he thanks her. “My sons.”
A knot grips my stomach at the thought of being lumped in with that bastard. Luke stands by my side as if he belongs here.
“I realize this transition has been toughest for you both. And I also realize Merlin and Jinx have gone to shit because of your antics,” he gruffs it out as his old, ornery self and brings a weak smile to my face. “Enough of this bullshit. Lincoln, quite frankly, I expected more from you. The way you treat your sisters like gold is what convinced me to introduce Luke into the fold. It was my idea, not his.” He looks to Luke. “It doesn’t dismiss the fact we both know you’re bitter. I apologize for the life you’ve lived, one deprived of a brother who would have loved you more than himself if only he had a chance to know you sooner. I’ve done you both a disservice. Stevie?” He looks back to my sister. “I charge you to make sure these two instate a relationship worthy of the one you share with Lincoln. There’s no excuse for what I’ve done, but this is the time to make things right.” His heavy gaze travels back to Luke and me. “You’re a family. It’s damn time you started acting like one.”
The nurse comes in and kicks everyone out. My mother kisses him on the cheek and reassures him she’ll be right outside. Kinsley carries her off. Stevie and Aspen each offer him a warm embrace and a kiss on the cheek. Stevie whispers something into his ear, and he nods. A single tear rolls down the side of his face. The only tear I’ve ever seen him shed.
Luke says a few words and kisses him on the forehead, the kiss of Judas. I can’t even look without wanting to vomit.
“I’ll meet you outside,” Macy whispers, leaving with Luke.
It’s just my father and I with the burning spotlight over his bed falling on us like a porthole to heaven.
“Come here,” he beckons, and I come in close, picking up his hand, strong and coarse in mine. “Over the years, some might say I was toughest on you, and others that I was too lenient. I suppose the truth is caught somewhere in the middle. Do me a favor—if things don’t work out for me, I want you in charge of this family. I need you to make sure the Lionhearts stand strong together, and that means everyone.”
That fist that’s been lodged in my throat for the better half of the night comes back, and it’s all I can do to nod.
“That young lady, she’s special. I haven’t seen you that dedicated since Jacqueline. I know your heart. I know you’ve thought of that girl and your child every damn day. Once you lost them, it killed me to see you throwing yourself in and out of bed with any number of women. But if in your heart you feel this new girl is the one, then I expect you to step up and be a man about it. Build a family. Jacqueline would have wanted it that way. Love them fiercely. Let nobody and nothing come between you and your blood. Do you understa
nd me?”
Tears fall like rain over our conjoined hands. I lean in and offer a heartfelt embrace, remaining like that for much longer than necessary. I knew it’d be our last.
“I understand.”
“I love you, my son.”
“I love you, too.”
The room floods with nurses who wheel off my father.
We walk him to the stainless double doors, and he gives a curt wave, closing his eyes and lying back as they take him away.
An hour later, a single nurse comes out, followed by a doctor. We rise to our feet to greet them, anxious for any bit of news. They take off their masks—bow their heads with a silent apology.
My mother lets out a horrific howl as Kinsley dives over her in grief. Stevie and Aspen wrap their arms around one another, their dark hair bobbing with their sobs. Luke goes over, and they pull him into their holy huddle.
My body goes numb. It’s a nightmare I had been embroiled in once long ago.
My father, Hans Lionheart, is dead.
What was panning out to be one of the best nights of my life will forever be remembered as one of the worst.
Macy catches me as I release over her shoulder, deep, heaving convulsions at the thought of never speaking to my father again.
Darkest Night, Brightest Dawn
Macy
I have dealt with a lot of change in my young life—my father leaving and sprouting a new family without me as an integral part, my mother marrying Jeb, the misery of having Leah as my stepsister, the deception that stopped my wedding, for which I’m thankful for, and my abrupt initial meeting with Lincoln, which changed the course of my life for the better. But I have never dealt with the loss of a parent, not in this way. I’m so glad I was there for Lincoln that horrible night. To think if I hadn’t gone to Gravity—if Leah hadn’t unwittingly turned up our affections to explosive levels, I may have missed being there for the man I love on the direst night of his life.
The funeral was attended by the masses. Knowing what little I did of Hans, I’m sure that would have pleased him.
Lincoln and his sisters, including Luke, of course, spent days together going over arrangements, meeting at the funeral home, meeting with attorneys, but mostly grieving. Christmas came and went without much fanfare. I didn’t dare leave Lincoln to go back to Oak Valley. Instead, Mom and I spent an hour on Skype, and it was blissful knowing it was a Leah-free zone. Leah sent her condolences via text, along with an apology for her behavior. That was enough. As long as we have the buffer of miles between us, I’m fine with her.
Not long into the new year, Lincoln makes the familiar drive back to work. He had gifted both Jinx and Merlin employees a two-week break at the holidays, which had never been done before, but my uncles agreed it was best for everyone to take some time off. Lincoln is diving in with both feet. He has a board meeting scheduled at Jinx and then one at Merlin later today.
I pull him in and wrap my arms around him before we walk into Jinx. “You sure you want to do this? People will understand if you don’t. We can go on as usual. There’s no reason to light a match the first day.”
“I won’t light a match.” The commas on either side of his cheeks dig in when he sheds a tiny smile. “I’m going to do my best to defuse the situation.”
We stop and get coffee. It feels so normal, so casual. Upstairs, the hive is up and bustling as if what it really needed to spur its creative juices wasn’t a pool table or a volleyball court in the quad, but a few restful weeks off during the most stressful time of the year.
The usual suspects file in—Jener along with his girlfriend Arabella, Stevie, Ford, Carter, Aspen, Kinsley, Luke, and Cash and Carson with their stern expressions, but then the doors close, and I’m stumped because half the “student” body is usually present at these things.
“Welcome back.” Lincoln gives a lopsided smile as he doles out six different files in front of him. “These, right here, are a few legal documents from each of the attorneys who wishes to prosecute me for insider-trading.” He looks around the room, and no one says a word.
I’m paralyzed. I’ll die if Lincoln goes to prison. I can’t breathe without him.
“I’m sorry,” he mouths the words directly to me. He didn’t tell me. I don’t know whether to be angry or flattered. “My legal team is doing what it can to make this disappear, but the only surefire way to see that it happens is a written affidavit from each of you testifying to the fact I have no legal holdings in the firm responsible for creating the resolution software. My purchases were ethical and legal, right down to the very last share.”
Kinsley closes her eyes like she might be sick. “But you didn’t have anything to do with the patches.”
My eyes flit across the table to Cash and Carson, and they both remain stoically silent. How can I expect my uncles to perjure themselves when I know for a fact they think he’s guilty? After all, it was me who gave them the reason to believe he was.
I look to Lincoln with mournful regret. I had nailed the casket shut and buried us long before we ever had a chance. Regret curls through my veins like poison. I want to stab the pen I’m holding into my eye. I feel so stupid. It was me who pointed a finger at him. I started this prison ball rolling, and I can never live with it.
Do I think he’s guilty? I sink in my seat as I consider it. If Lincoln denies it, I’ll believe him.
Stevie reaches over and covers his large hand with hers. “Look at me,” she says it sharp, biting like only Stevie can. “Did you develop a single patch for any of those leaks?” Her eyes remain staunch over his. I’m so very glad she asked the question because I had no intention of doing so. Things are so perfect with us right now. I don’t want anything to ruin this—to ruin us.
“No,” he bites back without hesitating, and my stomach explodes into a ball of relief. I know that determined look in his eye, that forceful tone. Lincoln Lionheart is telling the truth. My heart restarts in one horrific burst. My body claps into a heated sweat.
But how is he telling the truth? I caught him coding that night in bed. He admitted it. I saw him working on it, knew instantly what it was with my own eyes. It doesn’t make sense.
“Then I’m in.” Stevie folds her hands together as if it’s settled. “I’ll testify to any court that you’re innocent.”
“Me, too.” Kinsley doesn’t hesitate.
“Three,” Aspen spits it out, but the rest of the board remains silent, strained, unsure of where to draw the line of corporate treason and familial alliances. Ford and Carter are landing themselves in the doghouse, digging their graves deeper by the second.
Lincoln shifts his eyes to his brother as if pleading for one final act of mercy, but it doesn’t come.
“We’re done.” Lincoln rises and scoops up his paperwork.
He takes off like a bullet, and I hesitate for a moment, disgusted with my uncles and with myself.
Ford tries to comfort Stevie, but she pulls away aggressively from her husband. “He’ll take a fucking lie detector.”
And there it is. Everything is falling apart again. We’ve exited one nightmare, only to enter another. This is the pall of my life that seems to follow me wherever I go.
Luke fumes in his seat before leaving.
Kinsley mumbles something about no fucking allegiance and takes off after her brother. Ford chases after Stevie with an apology in his mouth while Carter and Aspen stagger out as if they were both mutually wounded.
“We can’t lie, Macy,” Carson says as if expecting me to ask them to.
“Perjury is serious,” Cash adds. “I’m sorry you’re caught up in this.”
I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. A kind word about Lincoln, an apology for ever saying a word to them—nothing.
Then it hits me. “What proof do you have?”
They blink back in sync.
“We have you,” Cash is quick to espouse. “Look, Macy, do yourself a favor and don’t go changing your story. It’s only g
oing to hurt you in the end.”
Carson wraps an arm over my shoulder. “We’re not the ones throwing him under the bus. Other investors are driving this train. His moves were shady. There’s no denying it.”
“Who are the customers buying the patch from?”
“Some start-up.” Carson bounces his meaty hand over my arm. “The company’s sole employee, the founder, is the invisible man. It’s a ghost ship. The internet has made being hard to find a sport.”
“Then how can they legally prosecute him?”
Carson winces as if he’s sorry for me. “The evidence is in the buyout. It was too convenient. The stocks take a massive dive overnight, and a second after the bell rings, he vacuums up all the shares he can.”
“The lion’s share.” Cash raises his brows. “Look, once the feds get involved, all anybody can do is sit back and watch—hope the sentencing needle sways toward the light side.”
“Oh, God.” I squeeze my eyes shut, so tight a thousand pinholes of light explode beneath my lids. “Just when things were going so well. I gave my heart to Lincoln. I can’t stand that he’s going through this.”
“Macy, he did this to himself.”
I shake my head. “I was wrong. He didn’t do it.”
Cash blows out a breath. “I know the guy’s dad just passed away, and I realize you’re in love with him, but there’s something you need to know. That girlfriend you had us research? She’s no longer with us, and it was by his hand. This guy has a record of acting irresponsibly—hell, murderously. We told you to be careful, Mace.”
A thought occurs to me as Jackie’s death rotates through my mind. This is playing out the same way. The world sees one thing, and Lincoln is the only one who knows the truth. I won’t let him suffer another decade or so for a mistake he didn’t make.
I tell my uncles the real truth about Jackie’s death. The whole story as Lincoln relayed it to me.
“Shit.” Cash closes his eyes, his face rife with pity. “That’s tough.”
“Maybe Linc’s a good guy on occasion.” Carson tries to soften the blow for me.