Returning Home (Murdoch Falls Book 1)

Betrayal

Blood was thicker than water. But blood would never be thicker than money.

His brother had just proven that.

Forrest Buckley dropped his head into his hand and rubbed his forehead. "What the hell was he thinking? Doesn't he know he's destroyed everything two generations have worked for. I spent the past fifteen years transforming the company into a business that would keep him comfortable for the rest of his life, and he hands it over to Hamilton."

Sultan's Pride ambled across the stall toward him and his stomach lurched. He was literally sick to his stomach. How could Garret have done that to them? His own flesh and blood?

The horse nudged him and a sharp pain sliced through his chest. Shock turned to anger and he clenched his jaw. "I'm going to kill him. He knew I was trying to raise the money to buy him out. Why the hell didn't he wait? No wonder he's not returning my calls. That snake in the grass was cutting a deal with the very man who's been trying to destroy our family for years."

He turned to Colin Dressler, his lawyer and friend. Colin always knew when he needed to vent and had remained quiet. His friend leaned against the stall's rails and waited patiently for him to finish his tirade.

"Wasn't putting Pa into an early grave and then ripping my heart out enough? Why would my own brother want to hand Hamilton the gun to finish the job off?" His anger and grief collided making it hard to breathe . Lucinda's betrayal still cut deep. It's sharp edges had not yet dulled with time.

He ran hand through his hair. "There's got to be something we can do to stop this. I'm not going to let Hamilton win. Not this time."

Colin let out a deep breath. "Your Pa was right to turn the family business into a private company. But he, or his lawyer, didn't do no favors to anyone by not allocating those shares with first right buy back options." He sighed. "We have to assume that Hamilton is going to go after the other shareholders as well."

A cold sweat erupted across his forehead. Garret, what have you done?

"Even if he tried, my brother aside, I would have to think loyalty counted for something. He wouldn't be able to buy up fifty one percent."

Colin looked away for a moment before turning back to him. His expression was grim. "He doesn't need to have the majority shares, he just needs to have enough voting rights to vote you off the board. After he gets in, he'll be aiming to get you removed as CEO."

His stomach churned again, and he held onto the top rail of Sultans stall door to keep him from hitting anything. Garret walked away from the family business years ago. Even as a child he shied away from hard work. That however hadn't stopped his brother from the more than adequate income his twenty five percent share in the company gave him.

Garret was a grown man. Did he not understand his rash actions were a death sentence? Buckley Equine LLC was his life. Sure, he could start over, and he was willing to bet the majority of his team would come with him. If he was smart about it, he could scrape together enough to pay their wages for maybe six months.

He groaned aloud. This was stupid talk. Hamilton's wig must be a little loose if he thought he wouldn't fight this. The company was his. He had diversified and turned it into a multimillion-dollar business. It hadn't been easy. Especially in bluegrass country. Horses they understood. To them, equine tech was as useful as a trap door in a canoe. Until they realized that trap door just might make them faster, healthier, and richer. His equine monitoring solutions gave the industry a better way to manage the health and conditioning of their horses.

"There must be some way we can stop this?" he said.

Colin shoved his hands into his pockets. "Forrest, I know you don't want to hear this, but we need to bring in someone who understands how to counteract these sorts of hostile takeovers. I'm your general counsel. I deal with your day to day legal work. I wouldn't know where to begin with this."

He reached over to Sultan's Pride and gently scratched just behind his ears. He wasn't one prone to airing his dirty laundry. "What about Gunderson?"

Buckley Equine had used Art Gunderson, a senior partner from Sullivan, Watkins & Moore, one of the top law firms in Chicago for the past ten years. They charged like a wounded bull but were worth every dollar.

"I spoke to him this morning. He specializes in intellectual property, not mergers and acquisitions. We discussed options and he's recommended one of their senior associates." Colin's phone beeped and he reached into his back pocket.

"And? Is he any good?"

Colin scanned his message before answering. "She." He paused and glanced up. "I checked around. She's better than good. Word on the street is that she's next in line to make partner."

He pulled away from the stall and headed towards the office at the far side of the barn. They were almost there when two kittens tumbled out the office door. Both trying to best the other.

Colin shook his head. "It never ceases to amaze me how those critters never seem to get stomped on by the horses. Ya think by now there would have been at least one pancaked cat."

Forrest stepped over the barn cats and glanced around. Ruby wouldn't be far away. The kitten's mother, a feral, turned up six months ago. More than happy to add to the barn cat population that keep the rodents at bay, he was surprised to discover, when he took her into be spayed, she was one month pregnant. After years of only taking on adult feral cats, this was the first time they had kittens in the stables. To be honest he wasn't sure how the horses would react to the chaos. But he didn't have the heart to separate a mother from her young. Ruby kept Ziva and Tony out of trouble and the horses were mildly amused by the two balls of energy that had the tendency to appear out of thin air.

He sat down at his desk and stared blindly at the monitor. His head was still spinning. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Not again. He sucked in a deep breath. When Hamilton took Lucinda from him he just rolled over and let it happen. Not this time. This time he was going to take that low life head on. No one was going to take his business away from him. Ever.

"I trust Gunderson, but I ain't going to let someone I've never met, gamble with my livelihood as well as the livelihood of the rest of the people who depend on me to keep the food on their table and pay their bills. She might be good, but she's two states away. How could she possibly know what's at stake here?"

Colin held his phone up. "I thought you might say that. That message was from Gunderson. He's sending her down here to get the ball rolling."

Forrest sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. This time last week the team were celebrating a successful trial run of the Atlas project. Every last one of them had given one hundred and ten percent to push it over the line. And now? If Hamilton got his hands on the company he would tear it down piece by piece.

His muscles tensed and he sprang up from the chair. He was too wired to sit. "This is too important to fuck up. I want you to get another name lined up. If it looks like she's not the one to get us through this, I want a plan B ready, then a plan C. If Hamilton wants a fight, he's going to get one."

He reached for his Stetson. A ride might clear his head. He was going to need it. If she found out about it from one of the town gossips before he saw her, there would be hell to pay.

Colin moved out of the doorway to let him through. "Me and Nate are meeting at Mooney's tonight for a beer. How about you join us?"

He shook his head. "Maybe another night. I have another problem I need to deal with right now."

Colin's brows furrowed. "Anything I can help with?"

"Not unless you want to break the news to my Mom."

Every step he took towards Sultan's Pride was heavier than the last. The original homestead was on land owned by the company. If Hamilton won, his Mom would be kicked out within a New York minute. He swore under his breath. He didn't know who he was angrier at. Hamilton or his brother.

Either way, both were in his sights.

And he never missed.

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📎A/N: I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter.

Thanks for reading. Please comment  and let me know what you have all been up to in my absence - and don't forget to vote :-)

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