Chapter 53: Family Matters

I could feel my knuckles popping as I clenched my fists and stalked over to my half-brother.

This whole thing ... it had his stink all over it.

Natalie and Tyler had dated briefly, and after confronting him in the Catskills, I’d learned that the only reason he’d pursued her was to get to me. He was like some spoiled twelve-year-old lashing out.

Was that the reason Astrid had demanded that I bring Natalie? So Tyler would have the opportunity to hunt her? Did he have something on Astrid? Or was she just interested in seeing us fight?

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’ve got to the count of three to give me a good reason why I shouldn’t—”

A hand against my chest stopped me cold.

The person it belonged to had creamy skin who had done a lot to stave off the effects of age, but was starting to show signs of losing the battle. The hand lacked a certain ‘plumpness’ that came with age. Faint blue lines where veins ran suggested thinning skin. A few faded sunspots marred an otherwise perfect complexion.

The press-on fingernails had been professionally done, and I might have mistaken them for real had I not spent so much of my time around women. They were a light crimson and applied perfectly.

My eyes traveled up the arm into the dark green eyes of Nina Gerrard Haley—my aunt. She’d been my father’s younger sister, and the last time I’d seen her was months ago at the board meeting that had caused me so much trouble. She hadn’t bothered to talk to me ... hadn’t even looked at me.

She was looking at me now.

She was older ... early fifties, although, like with many of the women in high society, she looked a little younger thanks to diet, exercise, and cosmetic surgery. She had the Gerrards’ high cheekbones and a chin that was just a touch strong, with a prominent cleft. Her lips, covered in vivid crimson, were a little on the thinner side, but not unpleasant, and her nose had a touch of Greek to it—strong without being overbearing.

Light signs of care were etched in her face—a thin spiderweb of creases at the corner of each eye and similar lines around her mouth that gave me the impression she scowled more than she smiled.

She was wearing a turquoise toga made of shimmering silk that left one lightly freckled shoulder naked. I couldn’t help but notice that her neck, left bare thanks to having her dark hair piled high on her head, was soft and smooth, almost completely free of blemishes save for a faint splotch almost too faded to notice—a hickey covered with foundation. She’d seen action recently.

Before I could stop myself, I wondered who it could have been. Who’d grazed on that lovely skin aged like a fine wine? Who was the lucky bastard—

I blinked and tried to clear my brain of that image. She was a striking woman, but she was my aunt. God, I was getting into a really bad habit of seeing every woman as a sexual object first and person later, and if this wasn’t a perfect example of why that could be problematic, I didn’t know what was.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she said in a tone that suggested I was five and had just broken a lamp.

“About to beat my brother with his own rifle. Wanna watch?”

“You’ll do no such thing.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Take your hand off me, or you’re next.”

The confrontation was attracting more attention with each passing moment as we stared each other down.

“Didn’t your mother teach you better than to threaten violence on a woman?”

“Yeah,” I admitted, “But she’s not here, and everyone keeps telling me the normal rules don’t apply to me.”

Nina smirked. “Cute.”

I spared Tyler a glance. He hadn’t moved from his perch on the table, his hands resting on his gun.

“I didn’t know you would be here,” I said, looking back at Nina.

“We knew you would be,” Tyler said, smirking.

“Cool,” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “What are you doing here?”

“Networking,” Nina said.

“Going hunting,” Tyler said. “I saw my eye on a couple of cuties. I thought I might reacquaint myself with one of them... or go for something new.”

He was talking about Natalie and Erin.

I batted Nina’s hand away from my chest, the warmth of her touch suddenly absent on my bare skin as I stepped forward. “Sorry ... it sounded to me like you just asked for another beating.”

Tyler slid off the table, chin raised as he gripped his gun like he’d swing it at me.

Nina’s hand landed on my shoulder, halting me after two steps.

“Quentin!” she snapped. “Would you get me a drink?”

Tyler looked at her, lip curling, but he didn’t move.

“Please,” Nina said, her voice remaining hard as granite.

My brother turned his gaze back to me, jaw working. Then he broke out into another smirk and said, “Sure. What kind?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Nina said. The drink wasn’t the point.

He gave me another two seconds of a dick-measuring glare before finally turning around and sauntering away.

Some of the attention from the onlookers began to drain away as my brother left, laughter erupting at some joke I didn’t hear as people turned their attention back to their rifles, or to each other. I heard deals being made ... what sounded like alliances possibly being formed.

Nina stepped back in front of me, her fingers sliding off my shoulder. She glanced at Tyler’s disappearing form and gave an exasperated sigh. “Boys.”

“Uh-huh,” I said dismissively. “I’ll ask again—what are you doing here?”

She regarded me with a gaze like frozen pine needles. “And I’ll tell you again—networking.”

“Networking,” I repeated, hardly believing it.

“Yes,” Nina sniffed. “When left with very little, we have to do our best to find new friends where we can. What better place than the Wyn’s annual rich-people party? Some of the biggest deals of the year are made at these things. People are always looking for new opportunities here, and even if we lack the Gerrard funds, the name still opens some doors.”

She was ass-pained over the inheritance. I mean, it was understandable; anyone in the family used to the kind of lifestyle the Gerrard fortune could provide would be pissed to find out that all of it went to someone they didn’t even know existed.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I said.

Nina snorted. “You didn’t exactly turn it down, either.”

“C’mon, Nina,” I said, leaving off the ‘Aunt.’ She hadn’t earned it. “Put yourself in my shoes. Would you?”

“Of course not,” she said, her jaw set. Her answer hung in the air for a moment before she continued. “But put yourself in mine.”

“Yeah. I get it. I’d be furious.”

A gleam of righteous indignation ignited in her frosty stare; she was about to respond, but I cut her off.

“But you didn’t even give me a chance,” I said. “I know my lawyers reached out to you. They didn’t hear anything until the CEO vote came up, and even then, after everything, you wouldn’t even look at me.”

She looked away, and I glanced around, noting that some of the partygoers were still trying to listen in. Fortunately, it was so noisy that it would have required superhuman hearing to make out anything.

I stepped closer to her and dropped my volume slightly, just in case.

“Set the money aside for a moment. I’d just discovered that I had a whole bunch of family out there. I didn’t know you existed either. I would have loved to get to know you, but up until now, the only impression I’ve had of you guys is your cold reaction to seeing me ... and Tyler.”

I glanced in the direction he’d disappeared. “And he’s a psycho. He dated someone I cared about and abused her just to get to me.”

“I had nothing to do with that,” Nina snapped.

“Could’ve fooled me,” I said. “I know he’s been visiting you, and now, you guys show up here together? What’s up with that?”

“Two Gerrards carry much more weight than one,” she said. “That’s all this is.”

“I’m a Gerrard,” I said. “And I’m much better company than him.”

She simply eyed me, obviously ingesting what I was getting at.

“Grandpa really left you with nothing?” I asked.

Nina gave a pair of ladies sitting at the next table a dirty look, and they quickly began whispering amongst themselves. Then she grabbed my arm and we walked over to the table Tyler had been sitting on. She sat at the vacant table, and I dropped into the seat at the corner to her right.

“Essentially,” Nina answered my question. “He left us with a few assets ... a few million in trusts.”

“Millions?” I said, dryly, hardly feeling sorry for her.

“I’m part of this family!” Nina growled. “I’ve given so much of myself! I’ve endured monsters for this family! My life ... my husband...”

Aware that she was raising her voice, she glanced around and softened it, though the harshness was still there. “Millions of dollars is enough to be comfortable. It certainly doesn’t help you build anything real. I didn’t deserve to be cast aside just because I wasn’t my father’s favorite!”

She bit off whatever else she was going to say and fell quiet, clearly growing uncomfortable with the daytime talk-show level of family drama she was spilling. I couldn’t blame her—this wasn’t exactly the ideal place to air out our grievances.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, feeling a few beats of sympathy for the woman. “Your husband...”

“It was a long time ago,” she said gruffly.

I imagined what it would be like if Hiro or Tyler killed Erin or Natalie, and I wasn’t sure that I’d be over it even twenty or thirty years later.

“Still,” I said. “It’s a tragedy that no one deserves.” I hesitated and then added, “It was really your brother?”