Page 66 of Adoring Fletcher
“Jesus,” she breathed.
“Are you at my place?” I asked her.
“Yeah. Shit, your father just pulled in.”
“Don’t open the door,” I instructed her. “No matter what he says. I’m almost there. When I get there, start recording.”
“Okay. He hasn’t gotten out of his car yet, but someone else just pulled into your yard. A box truck. A moving crew?”
I glanced at the clock on my dash. Noon. “Right on time,” I murmured. “Yeah, let them in. They’re going to start packing things up to move them to the new place.”
“Got it. Okay, I see your car pulling in down the street. I’ll get ready,” she said, sounding a little breathless, like this drama excited her. “Be careful, Adam.”
“Always,” I told her.
Sure enough, Father’s car was in the drive, parking in Aria’s Porche. The moving truck had backed up to the front door through the front yard—not that I gave a damn.
The minute Father saw me pull in, he threw his door open and got out of the car. He began pacing in the driveway, still wearing the dress-suit from yesterday, wrinkles and all, as if he hadn’t slept a wink. His salt-and-pepper brown hair was mussed from where he’d been yanking at it. I knew my father’s idiosyncrasies well, and he always tore at his hair when he was stressed or pissed.
No sooner did I get out of the car, did Father lunge at me with a howl of fury. I raised my arms in front of me, warding off the blow. “Stop!” I barked, my voice sharp with authority. “Just stop it. It’s over, Father.”
“WHERE IS HE?” he screamed, half-crazed, and I realized he meant Fletcher. He was still out for blood.
Anger blistered through me. I gritted my teeth and let loose a low growl. “He’s safe!” I hissed back. “Far away from you!”
Father’s hands balled into fists, like he might try hitting me again. “I should’ve handled this my damn self, then that little whore would be dead, and?—”
“Do you even hear yourself right now?” I asked him, incredulous. “You attempted to have my mate assassinated! Over what? The fact that he isn’t a millionaire? You’re pathetic. You care more about your perfect bloodline and your money than you ever have about your wife and kids.”
I shook my head. “You know what? I want more than that. I want love. I want a family to cherish, not because they’re royalty, but because they’remine.”
“And you think a CAT can give you that? AMAN, ADAM? You’re just as disgusting as him! A disgrace to the Sinclair name?—”
“Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “I won’t be keeping your name. Once Fletcher and I get married, I’ll be taking his. Problem solved for both of us.”
“ARGH!” He swiped at me again, his fist colliding with my shoulder. It smarted, but I could handle a little pain if it meant I’d get my point across.
I shoved him back, throwing up my hands to ward off another attack. “I’d stop, if you know what’s good for you.” I pointed over to where Aria stood between the two white pillars of the manor, holding up the cell phone she was using to record all of this with. “Unless you want the pack—and your company—to know that you tried to kill someone based on their species and sexuality.”
Father’s face mottled red as he gaped at me. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, like a fish out of water. Stunned. “You wouldn’t dare!”
“I would.”
“Adam! Listen to me?—”
“No, Father.Youlisten tome. I know you can’t comprehend love, but I can, and I love Fletcher Rose. I don’t care that he’s a man or a lynx, or that he was a homeless orphan. He’s the sweetest, most beautiful soul I’ve ever met, and I’ll be damned if I let you ruin that. Do you understand?”
Father growled at me, baring his fangs, but he said nothing.
“I will keep this recording, and if you ever step a foot out of line? If you so much as retaliate or come after me or my mate, I will blast it so damn publicly that your head will spin. You’ll be ruined. I’m not fucking around, Father,” I said. “This is it. I’m done. With you, with the pack, with the family name—all of it. I’m choosing my own future.”
Father stood there shaking and red in the face, but he said nothing. He grunted, then turned around and stomped over to his car. He backed out so fast he nearly hit my vehicle, then sped off down the road with a puff of exhaust.
“Oh my god, that was amazing!” Aria threw her arms around my neck, squeezing tightly.
I hugged her back. Relief flooded my body, making me a little weak in the knees.
“Thank you,” I said, solemn. “So much. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
