The Covenant (The Billionairess, #3)

Chapter 16: Real Man

Rose had some things to sort out regarding Adrian Ruther's arrest, leaving me with lots of waiting time until we could talk again and decide what to do next. So I returned to the penthouse to wait until she got home.

Two hours later, there was a knock at the door. This was strange. Rose wouldn't knock on the door to her own house. Did she forget her set of the keys?

I went to the door and opened it. It wasn't Rose.

It was my father.

I let out a groan. I was really not in the mood for whatever he had to say. But then I noticed he had a weird look on his face. None of the loud machismo I was used to seeing on him.

"Hey, Thomas," he said. "Mind if I come in?"

No "Tommy"?

"Uh, sure," I said.

I let him inside and closed the door behind him. He turned to face me with his thumbs in his jean pockets.

"Is Rose home?" he asked.

"No, she's...she's out," I said.

My father nodded then glanced at the floor. His deamnor was so off. What was he doing? Why was he here?

He finally brought his gaze back up to me.

"So," he said. "You two found the hacker."

I froze in my tracks.

"You...how do you know...?"

My brain was racing. My father could see my confusion, because he cleared his throat.

"I know about the blackmail, Thomas," he said.

"How do you...?"

"I work in IT, remember?" he said. "I've got a buddy who works for the same company Rose hired to try and track the hacker. When I heard my son's girlfriend was hacked, I couldn't help but do some investigating of my own. I used some of my old government equipment and found the IP address of Garrett Lars."

"Why...why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, you didn't tell me you and Rose were hacked, so I figured you didn't want me to know. And besides, I..." He scratched awkwardly at the back of his head. "I wanted to know what it was that was so bad that you and Rose didn't want it leaked to the public. I worried she'd roped you into doing something illegal. Then I found the photos and videos and..."

I cringed at the thought of my father watching anything in those files. My father seemed to agree, and quickly assured me.

"I didn't look at all of it," he said. "I watched about a minute of it then got the picture."

I bit my lip and nodded.

"Anyway, I wnated to help you two, so I found the source of the hacker and sent it your way to help you out."

"Wow...I..."

I wasn't sure what to say. So I started with the first question in my head.

"Why...did you help us?" I said.

My father looked at me like I was crazy.

"I'm your damn dad, Tommy," he said. "If my son and the woman he loves are endangered, I'd be a bastard not to help.'

His face softened, and he approahced me then grabbed my shoulder.

"Thomas," he said. "I know I've given you a lot of shit over the years. I guess...I guess I just never learned how to deal with a son that was different from me. I thought the world would chew you up and spit you up if I didn't toughen you up until I thought you were a real man. But...I've been thinking about what you said back at my hotel room and...I realized I was wrong. You're clealry doing just fine for yourself. You've built a decent writing career for yourself, and you've got a beautiful love of your life. What else more do you need?"

He ceared his throat.

"And as for the stuff you and Rose were doing in the video...uh...it's not my thing, but if it's your thing, and both of you are into it, what's there to judge?"

I culdn't believe what I was hearing. My father, who always called me a pansy and a sissy for not being manly enough, who once told me real men are never sorry for anything, was apologizing to me?

"Wow, dad..." I said. "I...thank you..."

He gave me a smile and patted my shoulder.

"It's the least a tech-savvy dad can do," he said.

He let out a breath then drpped his hands from my shoulders.

"Well, I haven't eaten since breakfast, and I could go for a pizza order. I'm going to go do that." He gave me a look. "Meanwhile, I would go check on that lady of yours."

For the first time in what felt like a while, I smiled at my father.

"Okay, dad."