It Started with a Bang by Piper James

Chapter Thirty-Six

Ryder

Ifinished the drywall. I finished demolishing the flooring in the kitchen. I finished ripping out the musty carpet in all the bedrooms. As soon as I completed one task, I moved onto the next. Like a robot. Or a zombie.

My brothers had been giving me a wide berth for days, letting me do my thing as I tried to fill every inch of my head space with work. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t push Annabelle Parker out of my mind.

Her tear-streaked face loomed there while her broken voice rang in my ears, a nonstop litany of questions and accusations. Her demand that I get out echoed the loudest as I cursed myself, once again, for not planting my feet and making her listen. Making her hear me.

Yes, I fucked up. No, I wasn’t completely honest with her from the very beginning. But I never wanted her fucking company. I only said yes to save it for her.

If I could’ve just explained, I knew I could’ve made her understand. She would’ve seen that I only had her best interests at heart.

But no, she yelled at me, and I tucked my tail between my legs and ran. I left her crying on her back porch like the asshole I truly was. I didn’t fucking deserve her.

I’d nearly booked a plane ticket eight times since that day. I could catch a flight back to L.A., go back to my normal life, and forget any of this ever happened. Go to a few clubs, maybe get laid…

I shook my head with a curse. I couldn’t stomach the thought of sleeping with someone else. I didn’t want anyone else. I wanted my wife.

And the fact that I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to call her that was eating me up inside.

Plus, my brothers needed me here. We still had several months’ worth of work left on the house, and we still had to landscape the yard and clean up the surrounding property before we could put the place on the market. I wouldn’t leave them high and dry, no matter how fucked up my mental and emotional states were.

The sound of a car pulling onto the property broke off my train of thought. Lifting the hem of my t-shirt, I wiped the sweat from my face as I headed out onto the new front porch Noah had finished building yesterday.

A black SUV with dark-tinted windows rolled to a stop as my brothers came from various directions to stand beside me.

“Who’s that?” Chase asked.

“No clue,” I said.

The door swung open, and my chest flared with anger as Jaxson Parker climbed out. His expression was shrewd as his eyes roamed over the property and the house before finally landing on me. An ugly grin curved his mouth as he walked forward, and I felt my brothers move in closer, forming a united front.

“Ryder, my boy,” he said, rubbing his palms together. “Glad I found you here. We need to talk.”

“About what?” I asked, my voice as dead as the heart in my chest.

“Perhaps we could go somewhere a little more private? Come sit with me in the car. It’s hotter than Hades out here.”

“No, thanks,” I said evenly. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of my brothers. We don’t keep secrets, and we don’t lie to or betray each other.”

It was a subtle dig, and it seemed to fly right over his head. His shoulders lifted in a small shrug before he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and blotted it against his forehead.

“Suit yourself. How is my daughter doing? I haven’t heard from her since she quit her job and stormed out like the child she is.”

My eyes widened at his blasé tone. He didn’t care at all that he hurt her so badly and was obviously only asking about her for appearances’ sake.

“Dick,” Noah muttered under his breath, but Jaxson didn’t seem to hear him as he moved on to the next subject.

“You boys have done some amazing work to this dump. I can see why your company has been so successful. We will have to bring Perry Brothers Construction under the Parker Industries umbrella when you officially take over as president and CEO.”

Chase grunted as he took a step forward, and Ethan’s hand shot out to grab his arm, holding him back. I could hear Noah’s teeth grinding together, and I moved slightly in front of him to block him from charging.

“I won’t be working for your company,” I said, keeping my tone as even as I could manage.

“Of course, you will,” he said with a laugh. “This is the opportunity of your dreams.”

“Not my dreams,” I said in a low voice. “That was Belle’s dream, and you took it from her. Smashed under the heel of your four-thousand-dollar shoes. You broke her.”

“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic,” he said, frowning. “My daughter isn’t built to deal with that kind of responsibility.”

“Meaning she doesn’t have a dick,” I spat, the words making bile rise up my throat.

“Exactly,” he said, smiling like we were finally on the same page.

We weren’t even reading the same book.

Chase sucked in a breath, and I knew he was getting ready to kick this asshole off our property. I needed to speak fast.

“I will not be accepting your offer,” I said firmly. “I want nothing more to do with you, at all.”

“You’re still my son-in-law,” he said, obviously grasping at straws.

“Not for long. Because of you, Belle thinks I went behind her back to intentionally steal the position from her. She kicked me out, and I’m sure the divorce papers are in the works. We’re done.”

“Nonsense,” he said, waving a hand in the air. “Simply contest the divorce. Parker Industries retains the state’s best lawyers. You don’t have to live together to be married in the eyes of the law.”

“Dude, you’re the biggest asshole I’ve ever met in my life,” Noah barked.

“You can’t possibly want that for your own child,” I said, ignoring Noah’s outburst.

“She’ll be fine,” Jaxson said, shrugging like holding Belle hostage in a fake, loveless marriage was no big deal. “She has her own money, thanks to me, so she can do whatever she wants. She can travel, go shopping…whatever her little heart desires.”

“What her heart desires is to get the one thing she’s worked most of her adult life for—Parker Industries,” I said, feeling my muscles lock up with anger.

“Jesus Christ, Perry. Get your balls out of her purse, and man the fuck up,” he growled, and I had to physically hold Noah back.

“Get out of here before I call the police and have you charged with trespassing,” Ethan said, his voice deadlier than I’d ever heard it.

“Good luck with that,” Jaxson laughed. “I’ve got that whole precinct in my back pocket.”

“It’s time for you to go,” I said, my fingers still clenched around Noah’s arm. “I am not, nor have I ever been interested in your offer. I only said yes so you wouldn’t sell it out from under Belle. I was going to hand the title over to her as soon as you were out of the picture.”

“That never would’ve happened—” he started, but Noah cut him off.

“What are you not getting? Get the fuck out of here!” he shouted. “And don’t come back.”

“You’re going to regret this,” Jaxson warned as he turned and stalked back to his car.

He peeled out, scattering rocks toward us as his tires spun in the loose dirt. My brothers and I watched him go, none of us taking a full breath until the car was out of sight.

“What a dick,” Chase mumbled, shaking his head.

“How did Belle turn out so wonderful being raised by a man like that?” Ethan asked.

“It’s some kind of miracle,” Noah said.

“Where’s Daniel?” I asked, looking around quickly.

“He’s in the truck out back with his tablet,” Chase said, and some of the tension in my shoulders eased.

I didn’t want my nephew anywhere near my soon-to-be ex-father-in-law. The man was a cancer, attempting to destroy everything in his path for his own pleasure and prosperity. I was glad Belle had been avoiding him, if his claim that he hadn’t heard from her had any truth to it.

Maybe she was as done with him as she was with me.

And with that thought, my remaining anger drained out of me, leaving me with nothing but pain and regret. Without another word, I turned and shuffled up the porch steps.

It was time to get back to work, and back to trying—and failing—to forget Annabelle Parker.