“Don’t you dare try to tell me what to decide. You’re in the wrong, Park. The decision was made long ago. Ben wasn’t aware of Analise’s deception when she and Garrett were in college. All these years, he’s been cheated from knowing his granddaughter. I won’t stand for it any longer. Now,” Gerald gestured to me with the same stabbing motion, “take her to the meeting room and fill her in on everything. I want the Kade boys here within the hour, too.” He turned to me, gentling his tone a little bit. “When this boy is done, you come and find me. I’ll personally introduce you to your grandfather.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I nodded, feeling dazed.

“Good.” He clapped Sebastian on the shoulder. “Go on. Fill her in, and drop whatever silly issues are going on between you and her boyfriend.” He moved his head up and down in a slow and exaggerated motion. “You know what to do.”

Sebastian’s shoulders dropped an inch, and he nodded back, his head hanging down. “Yes, sir.” Everything about him was submissive.

I was holding my breath. The exchange I’d just witnessed was overloading my senses.

Sebastian’s gaze found mine when his grandfather left the room. He nodded behind me. “It’s down that hallway.”

“Sebastian, what’s going on?”

“I’ll explain everything.” He moved around a couple. “Just follow me.”

We went through the kitchen and out to another hallway that led to an adjoined building.

As we moved past a pair of French doors that opened outside, I asked, “I need to know where we’re going. Enough of this crap. Start filling me in on something, or I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He stopped right before a closed door and looked back at me. I remained by the French doors. When he didn’t say a word, I folded my arms. I meant business.

A short chuckle left him, and he jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the room. “We’re here.”

“Oh.” I unfolded my arms. My mind was scrambling. “I have to pee. Is there a bathroom close by?”

His head tilted to the side. He studied me and then sighed as he gestured to a door on his right. “You can use this one, but come here first.”

“Why?” My feet didn’t move.

“Because what I have to tell is top secret.” As he said that, he opened a cupboard on his left that was directly across the small hallway from the bathroom. As he opened it, he told me, “There’s a rule of no cell phones. You have to lock yours in here before hearing everything.”

Holy shitola, as Logan would say. I was about to be inducted into a secret cult.

Edging closer, there were a bunch of small drawers in the cupboard. Each of them had a key code in front of them.

Sebastian said, “Pick a drawer. Put your phone in there, and code in whatever you want. Same thing as a safe in a hotel. Only you have the code to get your phone, but that’s the rule.” He opened the door for the main room and stepped inside. “Take a piss, put your phone away, and come in.”

“Where are you going to be?”

A dry laugh came from him. “Making myself a strong drink. I need it after getting my asshole chewed off by my grandfather.”

I waited until he went in and closed the door. Then, I went and made sure the French doors were unlocked. They were, but to make sure nothing went wrong, I went into the bathroom. I hadn’t come to this party alone. Mason and Nate were waiting for me. Not far away, they pulled off the road.

I texted Mason now. Not only was it safe for him to come to the party, he was also invited. I said enough in the text to let him know that Sebastian’s grandfather was pro-Mason.

He texted back, I’m pro-grandpa, I guess.

I thumbed back, Ha-ha. French doors are left open. Go all the way to a second building. It’s all connected. In the room at the end of the hallway.

And with that last text, I had a dilemma. Actually put my cell phone away or not? If I didn’t, Sebastian could use it as an example to pat me down, making sure the phone was away. I didn’t want to deal with that, so I opened the door. Sebastian looked up from behind a bar. I waved my phone in the air and made a show of putting it into one of the drawers. Cupping my hand over my other hand, I put in a code and stepped back.

My phone was now locked away. It was just Sebastian and me—until Mason would join us. I didn’t know how long that would be, but okay, here I went.

Sebastian was watching me as I stepped inside. He slid a drink across the counter to me. “I’m surprised you actually put the phone away. After Logan and the board meeting, I would’ve assumed you wouldn’t trust me at all.”

Yes, a sane person would have that reaction.

I let out a shaky breath, rubbing the palms of my hands down my legs. “Yeah, well, as you apparently know, a little craziness runs in my blood.”

“Yeah, about that.” He stopped, waved me in, and said, “Shut the door, please.”

I did, a full knot forming in my gut. “I’m in. Now, start talking.”

He opened his mouth, started to lift his drink, and then paused. “No.” He put it back down. “You start talking.”

“Excuse me?”

His eyes narrowed, and his nose crinkled up. His eyebrows furrowed together. “Why are you here? My friends and I beat the living shit out of Logan, someone who you call family and claim to love. What’s the plan? I’m protected here. There’s no way Mason can come in and punch me.” His lip curled up in contempt. “I doubt he’ll set fire to this house.”

Ah, fuck. We were doing truth talk, huh? Okay.

I nodded to myself, stepping forward. “Fine, yes, your sister told me that she was supposed to invite me to this party, but she wasn’t going to. She was honest about that—right before she left.” I pretended to check my invisible watch, tapping my wrist instead. “And right about now, she should already be in New York.”

He straightened from the bar. His face instantly dropped to an impassive mask. “Bullshit.”

“I see the word is a family favorite.”

“My sister wouldn’t go to New York.”

“She did, and she went with your mother.”

A savage curse slipped from him.

“And I can see that she told the truth about that. Your mother’s not a big fan of yours?”