Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(52)
Author: Jennifer Foor

My letter was meant to be short, but the more I tried to write goodbye, the more difficult it became to find the words to create the closure that I needed her to have.

Since Charlie didn’t know about my father’s ultimatum, she would believe that me leaving was for real and that I had changed my mind about being in a committed relationship. I needed her to believe it, because my father was no fool. He would make sure that me leaving wasn’t a ploy to beat him at his own game. I had to make sure that everyone, including Charlie, really believed I left her.

After having sex and doing a couple things around the house, I kept her close to my body. When she finally fell asleep was when I let my emotions really get to me. She was warm against my skin but I felt cold knowing this could be the last time I ever held her. If I didn’t come up with that fifty grand our relationship couldn’t be. Sure, we could move away, but my father would stop at nothing to keep us apart. He was an arrogant man that had to be in control. If I could have changed my name, I would have, just to get away from him. Hell, I’d even considered faking our own deaths to escape his controlling demeanor. As cool as that played out in my mind, it wasn’t exactly possible without some kind of illegal connections.

I got up early the next morning and brewed Charlie’s coffee for her. I’d carried Ryan to his room in the middle of the night, right before heading back to bed, so I leaned against the counter and quietly tried to think of reasons why I shouldn’t be going through with my plan.

Charlie was the most important thing in my life. It was no longer about pool, or who I was going to hustle for the win. It was about giving her everything I possibly could, which included her family’s business. I sat the letter next to the coffee pot and looked into the bedroom where she still lay asleep. She looked so peaceful and happy. This was the day where she would feel the most pain. By tomorrow she would hate me and hopefully in time she would have the strength to move on. Of course, I wanted to believe I could win that money, but it was farfetched and more of a dream that I couldn’t get her excited about.

As I exited the building, I looked back at the door I had walked through so many times before. It was by far the hardest thing I had ever had to do. I wasn’t just going to miss Charlie; I was going to miss Ryan. I wanted to teach him about pool, just like his dad had taught me. I wanted him to know that I’d always be there if he needed to have a guy talk. I wanted him to know that I would do anything for his sister and that even when he grew up and went out on his own, she would always be taken care of.

But…I couldn’t tell him, because I knew it just wasn’t possible.

I could have sworn that Joker or maybe even her mother was giving me signs to turn back around and just stay. The door wouldn’t lock when I went to leave. It took me ten minutes to get it to work. When I got to my car, I couldn’t get my key out of the door and then my car wouldn’t start.

I loved Charlie, I knew that, but I didn’t realize what loving her would feel like when I walked away. My first inclination was to drive to my father’s place of business and beat him to death. I filled my heart with rage to avoid feeling the guilt and pain. My chest felt tight the farther I got from the tavern. I beat my hands against the steering wheel, finally allowing myself to see what a mistake I’d made. There was no way in hell that I was going to win that tournament. Signing up was going to cost me everything.

Sadly, I continued to drive away from Charlie and our life together, until I reached the lawyers office. They were more than surprised to see me walking through the door like they hadn’t been searching for me for months. In a matter of fifteen minutes, I was signing over my share of ownership to Charlie and Ryan.

When I walked out of there, I knew exactly where I was going next. My father needed to know that I’d left her. The sooner the better.

I wanted that bastard to know exactly what he was taking away from me and that he was dead to me. I never wanted to see him again and I would not even attend his funeral when his sorry ass died. He didn’t deserve to be a parent to any child.

When I looked down to check my phone, I knew that Ryan would be awake, which meant Charlie had read my letter. I had no calls on my cellphone, but it was because I asked her to never try to call me again.

I pulled over and parked the car in front of my father’s office. As I climbed out; I cracked my knuckles and prepared for what I was willing to do. I’m glad I never owned a gun, because if I did, I would be in jail by nightfall. He had taken away my future, my heart and all hopes of ever finding happiness. I wanted him to pay.

I found him in the back office talking to someone who was sitting with their back turned to me. When he saw me barge in, he stood up. "Marcus, I’d like you to meet my son."

I looked at the man, who turned around and noticed he was one of the goons that had tried to break into the tavern when I had first got back into town. "Are you f**king kidding me?" I looked at my father and waited for him to respond. When he cocked his eyebrow, but said nothing, I took it upon myself to reiterate. "This mother f**ker tried to break into the tavern." I pointed to the dickhead. "You have two seconds to get the f**k out of my face before I pummel you into the concrete wall."

He turned to look at my father and shook his head as he walked out of the office door.

"Son, what is this visit about? I think you need to learn business etiquette." He crossed his arms.

"I wouldn’t ever want to learn jack shit from you. I came to tell you that I signed over my quarter ownership and walked away from Charlie. I hope your f**king happy for ruining my life. I’m out of here!"

I went to leave, but heard him talking and froze. I didn’t turn around to face him though. "One day you will thank me."

"I wouldn’t thank you if you saved me from being hit by a f**king train." I turned around and looked right at him. "I despise you. You don’t even know what love is, you common bastard. I hate you so much!"

"You think your mother is so innocent. For all I know, you could be Joe’s son. How would it make you feel to have f**ked your own sister?"

A knot dropped in the pit of my stomach and I felt like I was going to vomit. It had to be a lie. She couldn’t be my sister. There was no way. "You lie!"

"Before you accuse me of being so horrible, I think you need to ask your mother for the truth. I caught them together. Don’t tell me that I don’t know. Why do think you feel so connected to her? Think about it, son."

Did he just call me son after saying he wasn’t my father?

I walked up closer to him. "You’re not worth the breath." I spit right in my father’s face and walked out of the building. Feeling sickened over his confession about Charlie and I being related. I needed to visit with my mother, before I left town.