Offering.
“For Fletcher?” It was more curiosity than anything else.
“Yes. For Lainey and Andrea as well.” The mention of Andrea was a fresh dagger. For all that Jason had been helpful, I didn’t trust him enough to ask him about Andrea. Frankly, if I found out he knew the people my father used for trafficking…
Well, it would be Fletcher burying his father next. I didn’t hate Jason and I needed to know he wasn’t involved. Something Fletcher was also investigating.
“That said,” Jason continued, his gaze firmly on his surviving brother. Hamilton schmoozed so well as he glad-handed his way through the circle of sycophants trying to figure out if he was the “newly-minted” head of the family or not. “I’m also doing it for you. Because you deserve more than Harper ever did for you.”
I wanted to say thank you and mean it. I wanted to believe him. We weren’t there yet. Trust had to be earned.
“I get it, Adam,” Jason said. “Guard your secrets, and keep your own counsel. But if there’s something you need me to do, just tell me. No questions asked.”
“Someday, I’m going to tell you that you should always ask questions. Blind obedience was Harper’s way.” King’s way. Wallace Graham’s way. Those ways needed to die with the men. “It won’t be mine. However, if you’re serious. I need Hamilton dealt with and distracted. I have more pressing matters to deal with before I take care of him. Can you handle that?”
“Am I free to throw money at the issue?” The bland tone surfacing behind the question almost made me laugh.
Almost.
“Depends. We’re not paying him off to go away.”
“Oh, that wouldn’t work anyway,” Jason said, then nudged me with a nod to move to another location in the room. More curious than anything, I followed him while keeping Hamilton in my periphery.
Bodhi wasn’t far behind me. He wasn’t invading the conversations, but he stayed in range. Milo and Ezra were with Lainey and her grandfather. They would keep Hamilton well away from her too.
As odd as trusting Cavendish used to be, it seemed far more natural now. I also didn’t have to worry about a knife in the back. Very little distracted him and he didn’t have to engage in pleasantries. He had a reputation for rudeness and I kind of wish I’d cultivated something similar.
“I assume you wanted a more private discussion?” I prompted Jason after he tossed back the last of his vodka. He set it on a waiter’s tray as the man passed us and then Jason faced me.
“Yes, I’m saying we can’t pay him off. We can distract him by making him think he’ll get one over on you…” He smirked faintly.
“A wild goose chase?”
“Something like that,” Jason said. “He’s been trying to gather a power base together for more than a decade. He’s never gotten close. Harper allowed it because it kept him busy and out of his hair. Sometimes, he would throw a bone out there… a comment, a company… a problem that he was having. Hamilton isn’t deep in the slightest.”
“He went for it every time?”
“Pretty much. He’s gotten close to becoming more than a nuisance, but his greed always ends up bankrupting him. Then after Harper made sure he took everything, he would ‘bail’ him out and bring him back to heel.”
Then the pattern repeated itself. “Well, at least my father was predictable.”
“Precisely,” Jason said. “Tell me something that you ‘need’ and I’ll let it slip at some point after another drink. Hamilton will think he has the inside track and he won’t be able to help himself.”
“Have you used the same technique on him previously?” I drained the rest of my tea before setting the glass on another waiter’s tray.
Jason chuckled. “Once or twice. Usually when Harper made me deal with him. If you can’t tell, I’m not really fond of my brothers. I’m happier when we have whole continents between us.”
“I can’t say I disagree.” Though now I was curious. “If you know how to push his buttons, did you know my father’s?”
“Yes, point out someone had beaten him. His ego would never have stood for it and he would become obsessed with doing everything he could… it was why he was insane about Melissa for a while.”
I frowned. “Someone beat him…”
Then it hit me.
“Lainey.”
Jason nodded. “She was punishing him, had that affair, then she got pregnant and she refused to bow to anyone. Not him. Not her father. No one. Lainey is the living breathing proof of Harper’s failure. He didn’t knock her up first, and he didn’t get the inheritance.”
Jason sounded almost joyful about that. He didn’t know about the kidnapping or I doubted he’d take that tone. As it was, I could understand enjoying my father’s pain.
I had… With every single finger they’d removed from him. The sobs and screams of agony were going to be a balm for my nightmares for a long time.
“If you wanted to get me?” It was an idle question, but I was still curious.
“Depends on what I wanted to get from you. Your obedience? Threaten your girl. Your murderous rage? Harm her. Your enmity for all time? Kill her.”
I swung my head around and glared.
“My point,” Jason said, not remotely deterred. “She is both leverage, and a cataclysmic error if you don’t understand how dangerous threatening her is. You will burn the world down for her and you’ve been this way for years. That kind of volatility, however, is far more dangerous than it is useful.”
“Threatening her in any way…” I warned and Jason nodded once.
“…is a terrible idea. We agree. However, you asked me what would work on you. That would be the fastest way. It could also backfire tremendously because she has her own allies as well.”
“Did my father know?”
“I doubt it. Though he might have. Leopold kept him from moving on it though. Leopold’s far cannier than most people give him credit for…” He paused as a man came up to us and offered his condolences. A pair of handshakes later, he was gone, leaving Jason and I alone once again. “So, yes, using Lainey against you would be effective, but only if you knew the precise pressure point and how far you could go without igniting reprisal that far outweighed any gain you might achieve.”
