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“I would never call him father.”
Silence filled the room. She settled her gaze on Joseph. “You actually let these idiots think you fathered them all? Even Frick and Frack, who brought me in?”
“They are all my children regardless of blood.”
She pursed her lips. “But Peter, he’s yours.”
He glanced at the younger man and smiled. Ick, it was his smarmy smile. She always thought Joseph presumed that was his loving smile. Of course, he did. He was a sociopath. It was probably pretty close to the way any serial killer looked at their prey.
“Yes. Peter is mine.”
Was he lying? Did he really think he fathered children? From what they could determine, he had been shooting blanks for years. Maybe he had no idea.
“Well, there’s at least one child for you to claim, although I doubt he’s yours.”
Joseph’s head whipped around, his evil gaze narrowing on her. “You lie.”
“Why would you lie like that?” Peter demanded, taking a step toward her.
She shrugged. The movement caused her a little more pain. “I’m just saying that since he’s not my biological father, he might not be yours.”
Seth paused in position in the hallway just out of sight. Jesus, she wasn’t pulling any punches, but he couldn’t blame her. She had been hunting for this asshole for over a decade.
“Fuck,” Ryan muttered over the comms. He was still outside, waiting for the signal to come in. Usually, he would take Maya back to the vehicle, but they were several miles away and they might need them in case Joseph decided to run. “Joseph isn’t going to like that.”
He was right, but Seth understood what Autumn was doing. Stringing him along like this would give them time. He knew without a doubt that she had seen Nikki’s thumbs up. He just hoped she didn’t push either man too far.
“You lie,” the younger man with them said.
“Nope. See, when I got out of the cult—that’s what Joyous Wave was, by the way—I was rescued by an old friend of my mother’s. And he helped me find out who my real biological father is. But I digress. Let’s talk about how you got my mother killed, shall we? You had been under investigation for years. Illegal guns, drugs, all of it. You had your minions even trafficking girls. I might have been the catalyst, but it was a matter of time. So you faked your death and went on the run, leaving everyone to die.”
“Youaremy daughter!”
Anger threaded the man’s voice. Seth needed to get a look at the situation, so he peeked around the corner.
“You have to be.” The young man turned to face Autumn. “He’s on your birth certificate.”
“Is he?” she asked, not taking her attention from Joseph.
Seth watched the young man’s gaze ping-ponged between them before settling on Autumn. Seth was in an excellent position to see the man’s expression. He did not like the anger. That worried him, but the jealousy he witnessed flash on the younger man’s face told Seth that he was just as lethal as Joseph.
“He showed me.”
She threw back her head and laughed, but there was no humor in it. It was brittle, almost broken, and his heart hurt for her. He knew this was difficult, more than anyone else would know.
“Peter, I’m sorry to tell you this, but Joseph lies. All. The. Time. He isn’t my father. I didn’t have an official birth certificate until I escaped. Anything he showed you is a fake.” She turned to face Joseph. “Do all these idiots think you fathered them?”
Seth had an idea of where she was going with this, which wasn’t a good idea. Strike that. It could drive a wedge between Joseph and Peter, but he didn’t like that it made her a bigger target for both men. He knew jealousy could make a person strike out at the person they envied.
“I have many children.”
Not an answer.
“We’re about two clicks out,” Del’s voice came across the comms. “Warning, her brother is with us.”
If they could, it would be best to get this done before they arrived. It was hard enough for him because he just realized the woman held his heart in her hands. If something happened to her, he wasn’t sure what it would do to him.
Seth pushed those thoughts aside because he wouldn’t be any better than her brother in this situation if he didn’t.
