Jesus, I can’t believe Soph kept that from me. “Why?”

Kaitlyn keeps her distance; frozen like stone toward the back of the room. David motions for her to leave but she’s hesitant.

“When I wave my hand like this it means go away. Shoo. Bye-bye little woman.”

“You told me you wanted to talk to Cove, and that’s why I lured him to my home, but you never said anything about being so brutal. What have you done to him anyway? I keep hearing him cry out every time I leave the room.”

“I’m fine, just leave so we can finish this discussion and I can get the fuck out of here.”

“Women, they just don’t listen,” he shakes his head and stares her down until she finally leaves. “Like your wife. I called to have a pleasant conversation with her and she hung up on me. Hasn’t picked up or returned any of my calls since. I even saw her on the street the other day and she went running. And your brute has been by her side for days. Good man you got there. What’s his name? Haverty? Yeah, hard to get close to that woman of yours, she’s a feisty little wench, isn’t she?”

“Fuck you.” My mouth tosses words into the room before my head has a chance to catch up. I lunge at him only to be slammed to the wood floor with a knife between my two broken fingers, nicking my skin and sending me into a rage. A useless burst of anger. I probably look like a fish out of water, flapping on the ground, gasping for air. “Don’t talk shit about my wife, asshole. What the fuck do you want with her?”

His hand covers the side of my face, and I can feel a brush burn begin to form from the pressure of the hard surface.

“Settle down little shit. We’re just about finished. I just want my money.”

“What money?”

He laughs and secures my arms behind my back while I surrender; lying still, shitfaced, feeling tortured by him, and betrayed by my wife.

“Are you sure you love that woman? Sounds like the two of you aren’t very open with one another. Does she even know you’re here? As far as I can tell, you keep her around so you have someone to fuck. Why don’t you find yourself a nice fake pussy? I have some at the company and could pass a used one your way.”

“And I thought Paul was a dick,” I whisper.

He laughs again, in a total state of elation with his torturous games. “Don’t you think Paul passed some of his badass genes down to his daughter? You think she’s different from him? Boy, are you fooled. Are you sure you’re part Rosen? Or are you only full of those Everton genes, ‘cause I can’t believe my niece would spawn a man as gullible as you.”

“Don’t bring my mother into this.”

“No? Maybe another time we can chat about family. So your wife... Paul left her high and dry last year. Not a dime to her name when the two of you left Vegas. What else was she going to do? Live on the streets? Think about it. She won’t be in that big penthouse of yours for long, now that the money’s finally flowing in from her father’s estate. She’s been using you, dumbass. Waiting for her daddy’s money.”

I try not to listen to his piercing words. He’s lying. She would have told me if the estate was settled and she had money coming in. I haven’t noticed anything in our bank account either. What the fuck? “If that’s the case then why did she marry me?”

“People can make a lot of money from a divorce settlement, you’ll find that out soon enough. She’s a gold digger, will do anything for a buck just like her father. With your money and her father’s, she’ll be set for life.”

I’m released again but unable to stand, or possibly too beaten down to do so. I lie on the floor feeling wounded by every person in my life.

“The state fucking seized Paul’s assets, including the house,” David says, “but luckily not the casino money, which is a shitload. Two separate accounts. As far as I’m concerned, all of that money from the porn company was mine, and I got screwed up the ass. It was my initial investment, my business, and my profits, and who ended up with the stuff that wasn’t seized and forfeited? His fucking kids, namely Sophia. I want what’s mine, and since your wife’s giving me the cold shoulder, and I’m not gonna show my face in your wussy wine bar or break into your building with your entire family around, you’re my next step in reaching her. Get your fucking wife to hand over her share of the money so we can move forward.”

He pulls me from the floor and straightens my clothing, fixing my shirt and brushing my sport jacket free of lint. My phone rings inside my pocket and I ignore it, hoping it’s not Sophia.

“You got people looking for you, Cove?”

“Probably.”

“Anyone know you’re here?”

I shake my head and stare at his gun, then at my throbbing fingers.

“I’ll be in touch. Talk to your wife and get me what I need... all of it. But for now, I’ve got other business to attend to. There’s a woman in the kitchen that was about to fuck my leg when I walked through the door earlier. I’ll let her have my dick and a pocket of green to settle her down, and then everyone in this house will be as happy as a clam. Right?”

I nod and stumble toward the door, only to have my shoulder gripped on the way out.

“Oh, and Cove,” he whispers in my ear. “It wasn’t that difficult to get your father out of prison. I’d say it’d be even easier to put him back in, don’t you think?” he pats my back as I step outside. “Take care, little fuck.”

The door slams as I head for the sidewalk. I take out my phone to see that it was Haverty who called. I tap his number and walk down the street, too drunk to make it much farther. I’m in no mood for the shit he’s gonna give me, and now, on top of everything else, a downpour soaks the city.

“Hey, I’m on Missouri Avenue next to Lafayette Square, I need you to pick me up.”

“You fucker. You went to Kaitlyn’s house didn’t you? Goddammit, I told you to hold back for a while. What happened?”

“It’s fucking pouring outside, just head down this way, alright? I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Drunken bastard,” he groans and hangs up.

I lean against an iron fence and slide down until I’m on the ground, letting the rain flatten my hair and drip down my face. The cold water pelting my body makes me shiver while my fingers are a throbbing mess. I can’t believe Sophia didn’t talk to me about any of this shit. I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry with her. Fuckin’ A, I’ve got my father to deal with, plus Ivy, and now this shit, and I haven’t even been back in the city for more than a day. What the hell else could go wrong?

A puddle of water forms around my ass as I wait for Haverty. I feel like an abandoned dog in the rain, waiting for someone to rescue it; in need of some food and a little bit of love.

The lights of the Escalade finally shine in my face after what feels like an hour. Haverty opens the back door and I crawl in and crash, completely pissed at the world. I’m not sure if I need to sleep, get laid, or punch someone in the face. Maybe all three. I’ll start with a punishment fuck and move on from there.

Haverty asks questions the entire ride to the Scarlett and gives me hell for not listening to him. He tries to convince me just to go home and sleep it off, but I won’t. I need to talk to my wife.

We pull around back of the building as the rain turns into golf ball size hail and dents my eighty thousand dollar vehicle. Yep, a perfect end to my perfect day.

“Send my wife out here, I need to talk to her.”

“You’re not coming in?”

“We need more privacy than my office. I don’t feel like talking over the crowd.”

“Fair enough. I know I keep asking you this, but you okay?”

“Never better.”

He gives me the finger while running to the back entrance of the bar, and as soon as he’s inside, my hand is yanking at my dick. I need to jerk for a minute to ready myself, and all the liquor is working against me. Luckily I’m a rod by the time Sophia’s climbing into the back seat.