Controlling Interests: A Step-Brother Romance (The Legacy Book 2) (37 page)

They were traitors for the right price, rapists to earn a penny, and murderers to save their investments.

My coughing hid the truth, buried the secret beneath layers of wheezes and choking, half-breaths and pathetic whines.

I had never been so scared before, but I’d die before I admitted it to any of the monsters so eager to ruin me.

“Darius?” Bryant sighed. “What do you say?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Nay.”

Stanley tapped the table. “You’re alone in this.”

Darius didn’t answer.

His attention focused on the door, and the thinnest amusement coiled over his lips.

“No. I’m not.” His voice edged hard. “Nicholas has yet to vote.”

I stared at the doorway in blind panic, utter terror, and such stark, abandoned relief I nearly cried out for Nicholas despite the attention of the board.

But Nicholas said nothing, simply adjusting the buttons on his suit and facing the men he considered enemies with a confidence unrivaled by any of their voting, threats, or implications.

For a moment, only a flicker of perfected warmth, his gaze studied me. The golden halo of his eyes returned, though the hardened crest of amber was nothing he previously possessed.

Had I not known Nicholas Bennett—had I not fallen for my lover, submitted to his hand, and earned his devotion—the authority radiating from his presence would have convinced me this man was every bit the enemy I once believed him to be.

He didn’t greet the board. They turned to see
him
. Like a prince seizing the crown from a wayward king, he chose the empty seat at the opposite end of the table and made it into his throne. The warm mocha of his voice froze with an unspoken threat, as smooth as ice and every bit as dangerous as the thinnest layer over the endless depths of a black and terrible lake.

“Sarah Atwood is mine.” He made no apology for his words. He stated the truth. “She belongs to me. Her life, pregnancy, or death is, and always has been, my decision.”

Darius stared at Nicholas, his voice mimicking his cool, even tone. “And what have you decided?”

“She stays alive, no matter the consequences.”

“Are you prepared for those consequences?”

“Are you prepared for the war which will come if she dies?”

Darius looked over his partial board, the few men who traded their souls for power, wealth, and more control over an innocent woman than any one man deserved.

“Two Bennetts in support. Motion fails.”

The board grumbled, but Darius took my broken hand and squeezed, grinding the fractures.

My life was spared, but it was anything but safe, not if Darius stole me away only to make my every surviving moment a living hell.

His voice lowered to a growl, a prelude to the animalistic and vicious instincts that would mount me before the day had passed.

“Meeting adjourned.”

My vision darkened with my failing breath, but Nicholas didn’t move as the board shifted.

“We have one more matter to discuss.”

He adopted a perfect stillness and didn’t ask twice. The board members waited, watching in silent confusion as the son of their leader assumed a control he never before exploited.

Nicholas didn’t smile. He didn’t scowl. He pulled a contract from his suit jacket and pressed it on the table before him, pen in hand.

“You all know Sarah Atwood stands to inherit a considerable interest within the Bennett Corporation,” he said.

The board nodded. Darius squeezed my hand to make me gasp.

“What you don’t know is that my brothers and I agreed to sell Sarah Atwood our personal and professional shares of the company to assist in a hostile takeover of this board.”

What the hell was he doing?

He’d kill us
both
.

 “Sell to an
Atwood
?” Bryant said. “Why, Nicholas? For Christ’s sake, you’re the successor!”

“For the same reason the rest of the board sold to Mark Atwood and his sons. This company doesn’t need an Atwood to destroy it. My father is doing his best to bring it to the ground.”

“Enough, son,” Darius said. “Haven’t we aired enough grievances for one day?”

“This isn’t a grievance.” Nicholas pushed the contract down the table. “This is an agreement. A solution to the problem. A way to ensure the Josmik Trust never steals what rightfully belongs to the Bennett Empire.”

I couldn’t handle a second betrayal.

Not in the same day that Nicholas already stole too much of my confidence and strength.

He didn’t look at me. Whatever he planned was in motion, and like the last three months of my life, I was helpless to stop it.

“This is a contract of sale,” he said. “An agreement between Sarah Atwood and you gentlemen, the
loyal
members of our illustrious board.”

I forced the question through reluctant lips. “What sale?”

“Your inherited shares, granted through the award of the Josmik Trust.”

“Why would I sell my shares?”

Nicholas nodded to each of the men seated around me, the ones all too eager to end my life.

“We will secure the amendments to award the trust to you before you turn twenty-one. You will then sell your shares to the remaining board members, dividing the stock equally and selling for an exceedingly reasonable price.”

Darius studied his son. “And what does she get in return?”

“Her life.”

I couldn’t breathe.

Nicholas was an unbelievably cunning bastard.

I expected a rescue, but I imagined what he and my step-brothers attempted during the night, with guns and leather, motorcycles and darkness, stealth and hostility.

But Nicholas was a Bennett. A true Bennett.

He wouldn’t debase himself with violence. Not when he could destroy his enemies with the power he cultivated from his name.

Money stained more than the spread of blood.

Darius grinned, reading the contract with a sick pleasure. “Son, you’ve forgotten one important measure. What do
you
gain from this?”

Nicholas stilled. “Ten minutes with Ms. Atwood. Alone.”

“Ten minutes?” Darius laughed. “Nicholas, you are awarding a vast amount of shares to these men, men who support me. If we sign this, you will
never
hold a majority. You won’t have the power to seize control from me. And you are doing it to earn
ten minutes
with her?”

Oh, no.

“Nicholas, don’t,” I whisper. “Please.”

He ignored me. Damned me. Lost me.

Nicholas offered me a way to survive, but, in doing so, he lost any chance at ever deposing Darius. He left the head on the snake. What good was my life if Darius had the power and means to end it?

Or worse.

We couldn’t escape him. We couldn’t defy him. Nicholas would never assume control of his inheritance, and he did it to protect me with a momentary freedom.

We survived the knife-fight only to stare down the barrel of a gun.

“Sign the contracts, gentlemen,” Nicholas said. “Once Ms. Atwood is awarded the trust, she will immediately transfer all rights of her stock to you. The Bennett Corporation will be safe from outside interference, and you will have no reason to interfere in our…” He stared at his father. “Family matters.”

The members of the board silenced. They looked to Darius for guidance.

And, finally, Nicholas held my gaze.

I’d never survive it. He bargained away my life just so my relief and pain and confusion would end in his arms. My heart broke too many ways to fix, and yet, he’d try.

He sacrificed everything to mend the shattered pieces.

He couldn’t fit them back together as they were, but his love would heal me. Make me stronger.

He gave me that chance, even if it existed under the threat of his father.

“Sign it,” Darius said. “This is how it should be. What happens to Sarah Atwood stays within the walls of my home.”

The pen clicked. Signatures released me from the board’s hold.

Nicholas stood, taking my hand and pulling me from his father.

“Now the meeting is adjourned,” he said. “You have your company.”

Darius folded his hands. “And she has a ten minute head start.”

I couldn’t run. The asthma wouldn’t let me. We wouldn’t even make it out of the building before Darius would chase.

Nicholas said nothing. He hauled me from the board room and helped me to the elevator.

He didn’t push for the ground floor. Instead, he took us to the roof.

I wavered on my feet, but Nicholas knew. He always knew. He pulled the inhaler from his pocket and tucked it in my hand.

I ignored it and sunk into his arms, seeking safety in the embrace of a man who, only hours before, trapped me within sorrow.

He kissed the tears on my cheek.

“I’m so fucking sorry for what happened,” he whispered. His kisses didn’t stop. Comforting, loving, warm. I clutched at him and ached for every crest of guilt that darkened his expression and lashed his confidence. “I’m so sorry, Sarah. I’ll never ask your forgiveness. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay.”

“Did he…?”

The cough stole my words, but I shook my head. “No.”

Relief, for both of us.

The elevator opened, and Nicholas guided me into the hall, pressing a fob against a locked door to let us out into the daylight.

A helicopter waited for our departure.

A man paced near the door, his dimpled grin a warmth I didn’t deserve.

Reed
.

He pulled me into a hug and squeezed until I wasn’t sure if it was the asthma or his grief that punished me. I searched over his shoulder, recognizing the pilot in the helicopter.

Max?

Nicholas didn’t let me speak. He held me close, touching my cheek.

“Do you trust me?” He hardened as I hesitated. “Sarah, for once in your damned life, do as I say. Max and Reed are going to take you away from here. They’ll make sure you’re safe. I’ll handle the rest.”

“What rest?” I squeezed his arm. “What are you doing?”

“Finishing this deal.”

“
Why
?”

Nicholas’s grip tightened on me. Reed shouted, and they pitched me behind them.

I should have expected him if only because Darius understood his son as well as I did. He knew where Nicholas was, what he planned.

“He wants to save your life, my dear.”

The monster approached, but only so he could face his son.

“He’s going to hide you from me,” Darius said. “He thinks he can save you.”

Nicholas didn’t flinch as Darius released the gun from his jacket pocket. The barrel pressed against Nicholas’s forehead.

“Don’t make me do this,” Darius said. “This is a messy business, and neither of us are meant for it.”

“Then lower the gun.”

“Give me the girl.”

Nicholas didn’t move. “It won’t happen. You won’t take Sarah. You won’t kill us.”

“You’re so sure?” Darius flipped the safety off. “I thought I raised an intelligent son. You’re nothing but a coward. Too weak to protect your family.”

“You and I have a mutual interest in Sarah’s survival,” Nicholas said. “But we have more business than the girl. Without Josmik, the directors have no cause to kill her. But the board you created won’t tolerate the leadership of a man who refuses to do as they say. This family faces a greater threat than Sarah Atwood. The dissention on the board will destroy the Bennetts far easier than one little girl.”

Darius nodded. “Money corrupts, son.”

“You need an ally.”

“Do I?”

“You give me Sarah Atwood, and I’ll give you my unconditional support. Every vote you require, every decision you make. No matter the conflict with your partners, the vote will always sway in your favor with two Bennetts in agreement.”

Darius lowered the gun. He studied his son.

“And the heir?” He asked.

Nicholas shook his head. “Forget it.”

“You see, son, that’s where you and I are different,” Darius rested a hand on his shoulder. “Investors and board members will always be a thorn in our side. But an
Atwood
? They are the true enemies. Do what you want with the trusts and the girl and company, Nicholas, but know this…”

I shuddered under his attention, pierced by hatred and every reserved aggression he meant for me in an untasted lust.

“I don’t care if the company burns to the ground, if the estate is turned to ash, or if each of my sons betrays me and ends up dead on the side of the road.” Darius pointed to the helicopter. “Take her, son. Go on. Hide your little whore.”

His words were filth, and he stared at me with dead obsession and violent intent.

I stepped backwards, forced into the helicopter by Reed. He followed me inside.

Nicholas didn’t move. Didn’t look. Didn’t even attempt to say goodbye. Not while he faced the threat of his father and did all he could to free me from my captivity.

“I will have Sarah Atwood’s heir,” Darius said. “Not because it benefits the company or the family or protects our interests. I will have it because I
want
it. I want to destroy her. I want to hurt her. I want to claim every inch of her body and mark her as mine, and son?” He smiled. “When she swells with my child, I want you to remember
this
moment. Remember how foolish it was that you let her live instead of killing her to spare her the suffering.”

Darius pocketed the gun and grinned, bidding his sons a farewell with arms raised in momentary surrender.

“And Nicholas? She will suffer and suffer greatly.”