You & Me Make Three: Barrington Billionaire's Series: Book Three (17 page)

Patience. Understanding. Neither is my strength. But for Morgan, I’ll do anything.

“I have someone I need to go and see right now.”

“Walter?” Loras asked as Shaun headed for the door.

“Yes. No matter what Morgan thinks, I will not let that man hurt her or Tyler.” It was the only thing he knew to be true.
Even, if she doesn’t believe me.

“Would you mind some company? I have a few things I would like to say myself,” Loras said as he grabbed his hat from the banister.

Shaun looked at him. The last thing he needed was something happening to her father. She’d never forgive him.
Hell, I wouldn’t forgive myself.
“Loras, we don’t know what we’re walking into. If he’s having her watched, we are going to need to make a point in a way you might not want your name associated with.”

“And you do?”

“Hendersons aren’t known for being or playing nice. I’ll only be upholding the family reputation.”

“Then I positively think you need me, because if I’m right, my daughter is going to come to her senses, and it’ll be nice if you’re not in jail when she does.”

Having him with them was going to change how they handled things, but maybe it was time for a change.
If I plan on being any part of her and Tyler’s life, I can’t keep being an asshole one hundred percent of the time. Maybe only fifty percent.

“Okay, but stay close to Bennett. I want all of us walking out of there in one piece.”

“So you have a plan?”

Not exactly. But I’ll work on it on the way.
“It’s coming together.”

Loras kissed Elisabeth goodbye. Before Shaun made it out the door, Elisabeth came up to him and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Don’t do anything foolish, Shaun. They need you. Just remember that.”

Is this what it feels like to have normal loving parents? They worry about your wellbeing and emotional state?
He wasn’t sure how to process it, but he knew it felt good. “I won’t forget.”

Walking to the limo, Bennett and two of his men joined them. Bennett explained they had four men watching the house now, and no one was going to get close to them at all.

“Thank you,” Loras said. “They’re all that matters to me.”

Me too, Loras. Me too.

T
hey were almost at WS & Son when Loras broke the tense silence.

“Shaun, I think I hate that man as much as you, but I think we need to step back and think about what the long-term solution is.”

“Putting him out of business so he has no funds to harass Morgan and Tyler ever again.”

“You think you need money to be a creep? If only that were true.”

Loras had a point. Broke or rich, that man was scum.
Maybe even more so without cash.
Something had to be done to stop him, but what?

“Loras is right. You are reacting to the situation. I’ll back you with whatever you decide to do, within reason, but I would suggest thinking this through first,” Bennett interjected as the limo veered off the highway and entered the exit ramp.

He knew he had their support, but what he needed right now was a good plan. Going into the company and beating the shit out of Walter sounded great at the moment, but Loras was right. The injury would heal, and Walter would be back with a vengeance.
Fuck. I can’t let this keep going on, but I can’t risk making it any worse either.

Everything happening between him and Morgan was clouding his judgment right now. Even Loras was personally impacted by what was going down. He needed someone impartial to consult and advise him on the appropriate move. Someone who could look at the facts and devise a plan that wouldn’t cause the people he loved more pain.

Love. When did I start loving them? That’s not part of who I am. I don’t love; I protect. Maybe that’s all it is. I want to protect them. Yes. Protect them because I love them.

“Pull over,” Shaun said to the driver as they made their way through the streets of Boston.

Once stopped, he turned to Bennett. “You know everything I do. But tell me what I don’t know.”

Bennett looked at Loras then back to Shaun. “We don’t know if this guy Morgan saw is truly someone Walter has sent or not.”

“Who else could it be?”

“The world is filled with creeps, Shaun, not just Walter. I say let my guys pick him up and see what they can find out. If it’s one of Walter’s guys, then we need to know what he wants from them. Is he doing it because he cares about them? Does he want to keep track of his son? Does he love her and want her back?”

It took every ounce of control not to reach across and shut Bennett’s mouth with his fist. Shaun didn’t want to think about Walter in their lives at all, never mind moving forward as a family, as a father.
There’s room for only one person in that role, and that spot is not Walter’s.

“Give your guys the go ahead.” He needed to know who was behind this. Right now he wasn’t sure if he was hoping it was Walter or not. If it wasn’t, then he had more than one fish to fry.
I don’t care how many people I have to deal with. If it takes an entire army, I’ll hire them to protect Morgan. This I give my word on.

Bennett turned to his guys. “Let’s pick him up. Get me what I need.”

The two guys sitting beside Bennett sat without any emotion on their faces. Shaun could tell they were on alert and ready to follow Bennett into anything. He wasn’t used to such loyalty from staff. It was as though they were much more than just employees. He knew Bennett had served in the military before.
Maybe that’s the comradery I see. Like family even though they’re not.

Everything kept coming back to the word
family
. He’d spent his entire life not relating to it, but now it seemed to be all he saw.
And all I want. I want Morgan and Tyler as my family. Now all I have to do is figure out how to make that happen. It would’ve been so much easier to accomplish when she was still speaking to me.

“Loras, I need some advice. I have an idea, but I would like to do it without talking to Morgan.”

“Oh, son. You haven’t recovered from the last time you did that. Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking? I’ll be honest with my advice.”

Shaun could work with that. “We all agree Walter needs to be out of their lives forever.”

“You’re not going to kill him are you?”

Tempting. Very tempting.
“No. Right now his company is crumbling quickly. I think you and I should meet with him and use it in our favor.”

“Not following you, Shaun.”

“What is the one thing the Sapp family loves?”

“Money.”

“Exactly. And what’s the one thing we want?”

“Him out of Tyler’s life for good.”

“Do you know a good family attorney? I think it’s time to draw up some paperwork for good ole Walter to sign.”

“What type of paperwork?”

Shaun smiled. “One relinquishing all parental rights.”

“And he’s going to sign this why?”

“Because I’ll take everything he has if he doesn’t. If he does, I’ll pull the sanctions we have in place. He’ll recover over time.”

Loras shook his head. “Remind me never to piss you off. You don’t play nice.”

He nodded. “I protect the ones I love, Loras. And I love your daughter and Tyler. So what do you think? While Bennett handles his stuff, do you want to come see a lawyer with me?”

Loras was smiling as he reached out his right hand. “Count me in, son. I want to see that bastard’s face when he realizes he’s not the biggest fish in the sea any longer.”

Bennett and his guys hopped out of the limo to handle their business. “Don’t go see Walter without us, Shaun.”

Don’t worry. I’ll take all the backing I can get to help the Sapp family see their options are limited.
“I want this done before the end of the day. So you line up things on your end, and I’ll get the forms needed.”

“We’ll rendezvous again at sixteen hundred hours outside of WS & Son.”

Loras and Shaun spent the next two hours getting all the documents needed as well as pulling some strings with a judge so the paperwork would be processed immediately once it was signed. Shaun wasn’t leaving any room for error this time. He needed to pull in a lot of favors with the Barringtons, but once they knew what the stakes were, they used their influence as well to make it all happen.
Sometimes it is all in who you know.

He had prided himself in never needing anyone. He had his routine, and until Morgan came into his life, he never saw a reason to change it. His personal life was just that. In the last month, he’d been forced to share more of himself than ever before. It never became easier for him, but the reasons behind doing so did.
Anything for you, Morgan.

On the ride to meet up with Bennett, Shaun made a quick call to Trent.

“There’s been a change of plans, Trent.”

“Do you want to buy the company instead of crushing it?”

“Hell, no. I’m going to use it as leverage for a deal I need him to take. If he goes for it, I’ll need you to pull back so they can rebuild what they’ve lost.”

“That’s not going to be easy for them to do at this point. You said crush and that is one of my specialties.”

He’d known that when he’d asked Trent for his help. How Walter was going to able to save his company was not his issue. He was going to give him the chance to rebuild, but that was all he’d promise to do.

“This woman sure must be special to you to have just thrown away millions of dollars on something you’re not even going through with.”

You don’t know the half of it.
“I’m meeting with the Sapps in ten minutes. We should know shortly what, if anything, needs to be done.”

“I’ll be ready, just say the word.”

“Thanks, Trent, I owe you.”

Bennett’s team pulled up behind the limo, and he and his men got inside.

“What did you find out?”

“The stalker guy won’t be bothering her again.”

“One of Walters’s men?”

“No. A regular pervert off the street. Trust me. He won’t be anywhere near her again.”

One down. One to go.
“Good. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Shaun, Loras, Bennett, and his two men entered the building. The man at the security desk looked like he was about to shit his pants.
Yeah. I wouldn’t want to have to say no to us either.

“Call your boss. Tell him Shaun Henderson wants to meet with him now.”

The man dialed the number and mumbled into the phone. “Sorry, his secretary said they’re in a meeting.”

“I don’t care if he is meeting with the President himself. If he doesn’t meet with us in the next five minutes, he won’t have a company to meet about.”

The guard looked past Shaun and to Bennett and his men. He swallowed hard and picked up the phone again. It was apparent he was delivering a message that was going to cost him his job one way or another.
Sorry buddy, you’re just collateral damage.

“He’ll see you. I can show you to the conference room. Please follow me.”

When they went through the double doors, the alarm beeped. The guard turned back and said, “That’s the metal detector.”

“We know,” Bennett said but made no effort to remove his weapon. “I believe you were showing us to the conference room.”

The guy nodded, and with his head down, he hurried to the conference room and showed them inside. “They will be down shortly.”

Once they were alone, Shaun looked at Bennett. “Was that wise?”

“Giving him my gun wouldn’t have been. He’d probably have shot himself in the foot or worse.”

He shook his head.
You’re a crazy bastard. Glad to have you with me.

“With this group, I realize you really don’t need me,” Loras said, looking around the room.

“You’re the one who’s in charge of making sure I don’t rip him to pieces.”

Loras laughed. “I was going to offer to clean up the mess. Hope I can keep my cool when I see his dumb ass again. After what he put my baby girl and grandson through . . . it just isn’t right. Not one bit.”

Shaun saw the frustration and pain in the man’s eyes. All those years he’d been powerless to fight against them and their money. It felt good to knock Walter down and have Loras standing there by his side when they delivered the message.

“He’s getting his, Loras. You and I are making sure of that.” He knew Loras needed to be involved. Shaun might love Morgan, but this man had been there all thirty-six years, fighting for her happiness. He wasn’t about to steal the glory all for himself now.

The door opened and Walter Sapp, Senior and Junior entered with a few people meant to intimidate. It wasn’t working. As soon as they saw Bennett, an entirely different feel entered the room.

There was an unspoken connection, felt and barely seen, but Shaun knew it was there. He’d seen the slight nod of Bennett’s head to the man at Sapp’s side, who seemed to be in charge.
A mutual respect? Or do these guys have a history as well?
From their stance, he went with the latter.
I hear once a Marine, always a Marine.

The father spoke first. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, coming into my company and demanding to see us.”

“I think we’re the individuals crushing your company.”

The son looked around the room, and his eyes stopped on Loras. “Do I know you?”

“Yeah, you stupid piece of shit. I’m Tyler’s grandfather. You know, the son you don’t acknowledge.” His voice was filled with hate and accusations as he spoke.

“What do you want? What are you doing here?” Sapp Junior asked.

“Not what I want to do, but I’ll settle for this.” He pulled out paperwork from his back pocket.

“What is this?”

Shaun decided to take it from there. Loras had his turn, but now the business side was on him. “Legal documents stating you give up your parental rights to Tyler.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Besides the fact that you don’t want him?”

Sapp looked at Shaun then smiled. “I might not want him, but you do.” He tossed the paperwork at Shaun. “And that’s the only reason why I won’t sign. You fucked with me, now I’ll fuck with you. I want custody of my son. And trust me, I’ll get it. His mother can’t get a job other than serving coffee, and that’s only because I allow it.”