Quarterback Keeper (Fall Lake Ballers #1)

Chapter Thirty-Three

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

KYLIAN

T he storm worsened as I sat in Dad’s Chicago office. Lightning pierced the sky in a backdrop behind his thirty-something administrative assistant, who kept flashing me apologetic smiles. My father had kept me waiting for an hour. Each minute that ticked by only served to harden my determination and add another log to the banked fire inside me. I was ready to kick his self-righteous ass.

I was about to jump out of my skin, my foot tapping to expel some of the excess energy. He was going down. The days of him controlling Mom and me like puppets were almost at an end. I was armed with information and proof that he couldn’t slither out from under. And I didn’t feel bad about throwing him to the wolves.

Hours before arriving, I’d shared the data from Mom with Melanie. Immediately after, I’d contacted the FBI and the Illinois Attorney General. The number I was to call was already preprogrammed into my phone. A buzz sounded, and every nerve ending in my body zapped with the need to move.

“You can go in now,” the secretary said with relief as she gathered her belongings, signaling the end of her workday.

I slid my hand into my pocket and pressed the button to connect the preprogrammed number as I grasped the brass doorknob. A turn and push of the door revealed Dad, dressed in a charcoal-gray suit with a white button-down and red tie, sitting behind an ornate desk. A bookcase behind him displayed tomes and pictures of him posing with various members of Congress and other high-powered businessmen, the perfect backdrop for meetings.

He leaned back in his chair, not bothering to stand, and waved for me to sit across from him, like a goddammed king. I shouldn’t have been surprised. There was no love lost between us. And soon, our relationship would dissolve to irreparable levels.

“Kylian, what a nice surprise.” Dad flashed a practiced smile. “I just wish you would have called. I could have had my administrative assistant pencil you in to avoid waiting.”

“And give you an opportunity to be in Springfield instead? No thanks, I’ve played that game before.”

I knew how he liked encounters with Mom and me—on his terms. And though I was on his turf, he didn’t like surprise visits containing issues he wasn’t optimally prepared for. Not that a snake in the grass like himself couldn’t outmaneuver his opponents, even in a surprise face-to-face.

Anger flashed in his eyes, but he never let the emotion color other aspects of his practiced persona. “What’s this about? Did you get some bad news from the docs? Don’t tell me your NFL career is compromised.”

For that, I let some of the irritation slip. “No. I’m good. Nothing to worry about there. You still have bragging rights.” For now.

“Then, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“I came across some rather disturbing information about you and a land deal where you cheated people out of their hard- earned money. Since you’ve used every tactic to control Mom and me, this tidbit flips the tables in our favor.” And it was about goddamned time.

He leaned forward, and I mimicked his pose, careful not to compromise my phone’s speaker.

“Your mother finally told you all the details?” He pensively rubbed his fingers over his top lip. “I wondered why she hadn’t done it sooner. After all I did for her when we were married and just starting out, and now, with the free rent and covering her astronomical medical bills.”

I wouldn’t go there. He used me anytime Mom or I needed help. “Good thing you already paid up for the next two months with the news coming out.”

He huffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kylian. I have nothing to worry about. All the paperwork you’re referencing is public knowledge. I have nothing to hide.”

“The real accounting books are out there.”

“There’s no proof. Everything from twenty years ago is erased, gone.”

“Oh, Dad, rookie mistake. Don’t you know the internet is forever?”

He stood, towering over me, which I couldn’t allow.

I uncurled from my chair and matched his six-foot-three height. “I have names, dates, and a money trail that links you to Honeycutt and the scam. You’ll have to repay the money and possibly face jail time.”

“That money never existed. It’s all smoke and mirrors.” His tone turned threatening. “The apartment building your mother lives in is built on that property. You do anything, and she’ll suffer.”

“As of two hours ago, she doesn’t live there anymore.” I’d enlisted Ares and Liam to help move Mom, and we’d gotten everything done by maxing my credit cards. We’d left the furniture behind. It was all beyond old, and I’d made sure she had a new set, soon to be delivered. I paid extra for the bed to arrive that day. “I’ve made sure you can never threaten her again. Your accommodations inside a federal prison won’t allow it.”

“I see I’ve taught you well. It’s a good bluff.”

He looked proud, and I almost vomited in my mouth. What a sick, twisted fuck. I estimated the time. Another arrest should be happening currently. “I’m nothing like you, and I’m not bluffing. Turn on the TV. A news break should be showing the feds hauling Honeycutt out of his office building in cuffs right about now.”

When he didn’t move for the remote, I went to the credenza on the far wall, pressed the control’s power button, then turned the station to the appropriate channel and turned up the volume. Sound blasted through Dad’s office as a reporter narrated footage of a cuffed Honeycutt being led from his house by the feds.

Dad remained frozen while the reporter’s voice detailed the events as they unfolded. “Authorities have received new information about a land scam perpetrated twenty years ago by Harland Maxwell Honeycutt and another investor not yet named by the authorities.”

Instead of watching the TV, I observed the color leach from Dad’s face. He had seconds of freedom left.

“I’m not worried about that. The fool probably incriminated himself somehow. It’s good you didn’t get mixed up with Melanie.”

“She has nothing to do with this.” I needed that on record, not that she required saving but because I wouldn’t let him taint anyone else on his fall from power. “You don’t have much time. I need you to know that Mom and I are done with you. Our connection is severed as of this moment.”

His lips peeled back, and he sneered. “You’ve got nothing on me.”

The office door burst open, and agents swarmed inside. I stepped back, giving them more room.

Dad spat a parting threat my way as the officers read him his rights while slapping cuffs on him. “This isn’t over, son . I’ll be out by dinner.”

That might be true, but it would be a long time before he could wreak havoc on any life but his own, and that was all I cared about. Well, not all.

I’d needed to make things right because I’d figured out something vital—Aurora was my endgame.