When Empires Fall (24 page)

“Your father’s ninety years old, Win. What the hell do you think he’s gonna do to you if he finds out?”

“
He has people…assassins…
” The last word was said in a hushed whisper, as if even the mention of it could get him killed.

Wyatt snorted out a laugh before he could stop himself. “Lay off the coke, Win, it’s making you paranoid.”

“
I’m not fucking around, he’s dangerous!
” Win shouted desperately, causing Wyatt to purse his lips in irritation.

“Alright, calm down,” he insisted, rubbing his temple wearily. “So if this detective happens to somehow find his way to my doorstep, I should play dumb. Got it.”

“
You’re a good man, Wyatt, a good man,
” Win said then as he calmed, his voice slurring again as Wyatt heard him take another drink. “
I knew I could trust you, one of the few…the only, really…
”

“That’s me, Mr. Trustworthy.” Wyatt sighed, shaking his head and running a hand through his length of bronzed hair. “Get out of that bar, Win, and get some sleep. It sounds like you’ve had one too many already.”

“
I didn’t want to call from my house…phones could be bugged…
”

“That’s unlikely, but okay.”

Win let out an unstable laugh, the sound tired and worn. Wyatt felt sorry for the man, even though he had made nothing but bad choices in his life.

When he had learned the truth, years before, about why Win was the way he was, somehow it had seemed justified. Anyone would be screwed up if they had seen what Win had seen when he’d been just a little kid…

“
I know I’ve said this before, but my daughter should have married you,
” Win said suddenly, regret thick in his voice. “
She loved you the way she’ll never love me…
”

Wyatt winced, downing his beer in one final gulp in an attempt to battle back the shame. “Life sucks, Win. But we all get by, somehow.”

Leaving it at that, he snapped the cell phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket, feeling more than a little restless and edgy.

Great, this was the last thing he needed now that he had finally gotten his life back in order and his priorities set straight. Sure, he could do what Win wanted and just ignore this, and if some detective contacted him he could just shut up and move on. But that just wouldn’t be right and he knew it. Not now, not when maybe he could finally help Win get over this fear once and for all.

It was time that the truth came out, and even though it was going to cost him a lot more than just gas money and time, Wyatt knew he had to get to New York and see to it that things be set straight.

He wasn’t sure he could live with knowing that he’d passed up on this opportunity, not when he’d lived his entire life hedging his bets and taking chances. This was it, and he had to take it. And not just for Win, either.

No, he was going to make this trip more than worthwhile for himself, too. And if he got burned while doing it…well, at least he’d know he had savored the heat of the moment before it came to devour him.

Fire flared in
Madison’s eyes as she gripped the phone tighter in her hand, though her voice through the receiver came out smooth and collected, without even the slightest hiccup to give away her anger.

“Detective, I just don’t see the point in risking upsetting my relatives, all of whom are over sixty years old and not in any shape to take such questioning when this is all very likely nothing more than the wild imagination of a foolish dead woman.”

“
I understand, Ms. Vasser, but this process is a necessary one if we are to get to the bottom of this.
”

Madison frowned, vowing to have this man’s badge if he caused her family to implode upon itself over this. “You are wasting your time and tax payer’s money, detective. I hope when you finally realize that, you will give up this game and do some real police work.”

She hung up the phone before he could respond, not wanting to listen to him any longer. She was frustrated with his insistence and annoyed at his blind faith in a dead woman’s letter filled with accusations that could destroy her family. Did he not understand the precariousness of the situation? If even a hint of this leaked to the press…God, she didn’t even want to imagine it.

She grabbed her coffee mug and sipped, needing to do something with her hands to quell the urge to throw something that would cause a loud crash. She had to maintain control of herself if she was going to handle this and handle it properly. The detective would have his conversations with the family and tear open some old wounds, but he wouldn’t find anything. How could he, when everyone knew exactly what they had been told and nothing more?

“
Your father is on line one
.” Carrie’s voice floated suddenly through the intercom, causing Madison to nearly drop her coffee.

She stared at the phone, her eyes wide and her breath caught in her throat. Blinking away the shock, she carefully lifted the receiver on the phone and pressed the button for line one.

“This is Madison.”

“
Hi, princess
,” Win greeted, his voice overly cheerful and polite, but still marred a bit by what she knew must have been the drink he’d had before having the nerve to call. “
How have you been?
”

“Fine,” She responded as she leaned back in her chair, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “I see you’ve decided to emerge from whatever hole you crawled into two years ago.”

“
I know it’s been a long time…things have been rough, Maddie, you know?
”

“I don’t know. Maybe you should enlighten me on why your life is apparently so rough.” Acid dripped sourly from her words and she regretted none of it. “Let me guess, you’re contacting me now because you need something. I don’t get so much as a Christmas card from you these last two years, but you have the audacity to call me now?”

“
I’m sorry, I know I’ve been a shitty dad to you guys, but I’m going to make it up to you, I promise…I just need your help, baby, please.
I tried to call Marshall first, but-
”

“Why? Because you knew he would give you whatever it is you want?” she spat, the vaguest hint of tears threatening behind her eyes, caused more by spiteful hate than pain.

“
I just know you’re all so busy…
”

“Just get to the point and tell me what it is you want,” she huffed, furious that she was allowing him to upset her this way. He had no right, no goddamn right to do this to her, not when he’d all but disappeared from her life. Though if she gave it consideration, perhaps she had been much better off without him.

“
I just need a little bit of extra money, sweetheart, just a little,
” Win told her, desperation in his voice. “
I’ve come into some troubles, and my income just won’t cut it this month…
”

“Income? You mean the monthly allowance we send you simply because you share our blood?”

“
Right, allowance…
” Win conceded, ignoring the venom in her voice. “
I’m sorry to ask this of you, but I’ve run out of options…
”

“How much?”

He named a figure and she grit her teeth, sucking in a livid breath. She wished desperately that it was possible to slap someone through the phone. God knew he deserved much more than a slap in the face, but it seemed the man had good enough luck to avoid any and all consequences of his actions. Just how was it that her father had turned out to be so incompetent when everyone else in the family was just fine? What was it about Win that made him utterly incapable of being anything more than a leech on the family fortune and a stain on their reputation?

“
If it’s too much, I suppose I could figure something else out…
” Win said quietly, misery and hopelessness in his voice. Despite her better judgment, despite the years and years she’d spent scorning the man for his stupidity as a person and his ineptitude as a father, Madison still felt the strings of loyalty tug at her heart.

Underneath it all, he was still her father and a member of the family. And as much as the thought of him lying in a gutter somewhere living with regret and despair for his actions appealed to her more vengeful nature, some tiny part of her still knew that she couldn’t allow that to happen.

Family was family and blood was blood. End of story.

“Fine. I’ll transfer the money to your account this afternoon.” Her eyes shut tight as she spoke the words, hoping to God she was doing the right thing. “But if I find out that you’ve shot this money straight into your goddamn arm, God help me, I will take away everything you have been given and toss you out onto the street. Do you hear me?”

“
Thank you, Maddie, thank you
,”
he nearly sobbed, the sound sickening to her as she held the phone away from her ear and shuddered. Men were supposed to be strong and resilient; women were the ones who were supposed to cry. So why was it that her father wept while she boasted a spine of steel?

“Goodbye,” she murmured into the phone the second before hanging up, not wanting to hear anything more. All that conversation had done was further lower her already rock bottom opinion of him.

Madison rubbed at her temples, fighting to calm the tension there as she furiously bit back the emotions. Because as much as she tried to deny it, she knew that there had once been a time in her life when she had loved him. When she was very, very young, her father had been her hero, her king, her everything. But after facing disappointment after disappointment from him, she’d given up faith and lost so much innocence in the process.

Win had destroyed any chance she had ever had of trusting men with her heart, simply because she had given him hers all those years ago and he had carelessly mangled it without even noticing what he had done. And now the man she had wanted him to be, the man she had needed him to be, was nothing. He was a failure in every single way: a drunk, an addict and a fool. Surely if it had not been for her uncle and her grandfather, Madison may have never learned to place any amount of faith in others, particularly men.

And even then, there had only ever been one man she had given her heart to after her father and grandfather. Her time and her body were other things, but as far as her heart…no, there had only ever been one other man who’d had the honor.

Cursing violently under her breath, she shot to her feet and left the room, leaving her thoughts behind. There was just no room in her life now for thoughts of those mistakes, none of them.

She stormed straight downstairs and into
Cherir
, somehow knowing that if she distracted herself enough, maybe thoughts of him would leave her mind. But when she reached the kitchens and heard the chaos ensuing within, she, for the briefest of moments, wanted nothing more than to shrink into a hole and cower.