Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
I frowned at that, because how? Once I was closer, he stepped away from his vehicle and motioned with his head. “Let’s walk around the parking lot. I’ve been flying a lot lately and could stretch my legs.”
There was nothing about this guy that would’ve prepared me to meet him. This was the reason my father killed himself? The threat of this guy coming after us? No matter what the books said, I supposed I could see it. I’d known dangerous men in my life. Rapists. Murderers. None of them could touch this guy. It was his intelligence. There was a cold aura to him, a way of thinking that had made him a mastermind. That’s what made him more lethal than the other bad men I’d known—Budd Broudou, Park Sebastian, Jared Caldron. All of them were criminals, and all of them were imprisoned because of me.
Those guys were nothing compared to this guy.
“Come. Let’s walk.” He started off, watching until I fell in step, a few yards separating us. He continued to study me until there was a little distance between us and his guards, enough space to give us a modicum of privacy.
“You killed my father and you feel safe enough to walk with me?” I exhaled sharply. “I don’t know if that makes you foolish or just arrogant.”
His gaze never left me, and his mouth turned down at my words. “The reason I’m here… Your private investigator was the first to catch my attention, her digging into me. She’s not as discreet as she thinks she is, but she wouldn’t have been a problem. We gave her enough information to bait her. She’ll find out soon that the trail we left for her leads to a dead end. She’s gotten information on me. I’ll give her that, but not enough that she feels confident. When you meet with her, her file will be a lot thinner than you or she will want.”
Okay. That was annoying. “You killed my father. You don’t think I’m going to send a PI after you? You’re my enemy. I need to find out everything I can about you.” I stopped to face him. Enough with the walking bullshit. We weren’t friends out for a stroll.
He faced me, regarding me coolly. “That’s the second time you’ve brought up your father’s death. What would lead you to the idea that I killed your father?”
I was going to kill this guy. One day, somehow I would. “Other than the fact that he told me you were coming after him? My father is my source, you smug prick. Right before he shot himself.”
There was no reaction in his gaze. Nothing. Not even a blink. “Until six days ago, I had no idea who James Kade was. So no, Mason Kade, I am not the reason your father shot himself.”
That statement hit me in the sternum. That didn’t make sense.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
All the air left me. I didn’t want to believe him, but why seek me out?
There was a ring of truth to his words.
“It would be safer for me to not believe you. Someone coming after my father would probably tell me that—”
“Do you know who I am?” he cut me off, an edge of impatience in his voice. His eyes flared. “I am not looking for you to stroke my ego. But I’m not sure if you’re aware that I don’t need to waste time with bullshit manipulations like a meeting as this if I were coming after your father’s company. I’m assuming that’s why you think I killed your father? I didn’t know the man so there’s no other reason I could fathom I’d want him dead.”
I studied him, listening to him. There was truth in what he was saying.
“A man like me, if he were going to forcibly take over your father’s company, I would kill all the shareholders in one night. I’d have lawyers ready for them to transfer their shares to me, and they would sign them away because if they didn’t, I would kill their families. I would have all the official employees already in my pocket so when each one of them were killed, I would be able to walk into your company the next day knowing it was mine. That’s how I would take over your father’s company if I chose. So trust me, I’m not the villain in this particular instance.”
“Something tells me you’re always the villain in any instance.”
His eyes flashed, now showing some anger. “To be quite frank, I’m annoyed that I had to come here and have this conversation with you. Again. I have no interest in Kade Enterprises. I looked into your family a little bit after we became aware of your private investigator. I looked into you. Your father. Your mother. Your wife. Your brother. Your friends. I hope you don’t take offense to this, but there’s nothing you have that I would want. Kade Enterprises is a good business. It’s doing well. The other part of my scenario is that the way I would force my way into your company or your father’s company. It’s a losing situation for me. This company is too public. You are too public. I don’t like media coverage about my family. I do everything I can to stop it, but if your name was attached, your wife’s, all the plethora of other little celebrities in your group, I wouldn’t be able to contain that press storm.