The Darkness of Perfection by Michael Schneider Read Free Book Online Page A

my wife yet, but that would be remedied very soon. I straightened my jacket while Jerome doubled over, coughing to catch his breath. I pointed to her window. “Jayden is mine. She always has been. She always will be. I only need to reclaim my property and bring her home.”
    I shoved my hands into my pants pockets and rocked on my heels, contemplating my next move.
    Standing here staring at her dorm, empty-handed yet again, made me think that maybe, just maybe, Jerome had a small point. I’d learned her patterns and made my plans only to have them ruined time and again. The first time we tried to grab her some punk pulled the fire alarm as a gag. The next time, the girls in the room next to hers threw an impromptu allnight party.
    For anyone else, I would have washed my hands of the whole deal and moved on, but the more challenges I faced, the more determined I became. Guardian angel or not, Jayden would be coming home with me. I refused to leave without her.
    My brother would not win. William was dead-set against me bringing Jayden home, even though he knew she was mine. He would just have to get over his high and mighty attitude. The last few months had been annoying as hell. He’d become an old woman, always worrying and throwing up roadblocks or excuses, refusing any input from me regarding his side of our empire. Before long he’d have us sitting on the porch knitting with the women. William had kept his thoughts and opinions to himself, until I announced my plans over dinner to retrieve her. I had been careful and kept my plans to myself until the last minute to prevent his interference.
    My father was pleased. He looked over the photos I’d taken of her on vacation, while my brother tried to dissuade me. He argued she wasn’t a good fit in our world anymore, since she’d had twelve years to forget her place. She would be too unmanageable, too volatile, completely lacking in what it took to be my wife in our world. There were too many unknown variables, and with the Feds snooping around, our family didn’t need the attention right now. He said it was best to leave her be and let her continue to live her life. My father reminded him that the ultimate decision was mine and he had every confidence in me to take care of any trouble Jayden might cause. After all, I had trained her before, so I was well aware of what it took to handle her.
    He finally caved and assigned Antonio and Jerome to assist me.
    It was all fine and good for William to have his wife, but not for me to have Jayden. I don’t know what triggered the change in him, when he became weak. The shift was very subtle in the beginning. It only really began coming out after our father’s heart attack weakened him and we stepped up to take over.
    Our father was still ultimately in charge, but we handled the day-to-day running of our businesses.
    Harrison Oil & Energy Inc. was the face of our empire. To the outside world we were simply a family who had dealt in crude oil and natural gas for generations.
    Over the years our father and grandfathers cultivated close friendships with royalty in the Middle East and became fascinated with the way they lived their personal lives, specifically how they handled their females. Wives and daughters had no power or standing other than what was allowed them by their husbands and fathers. Men ruled their world, and no man answered to a woman.
    The beginning of our family’s wealth actually came through my great-grandmother. She was the pampered only child of her family, and even though women of her generation had few rights, she was groomed to take over and run her father’s oil company. My greatgrandfather was a roughneck who worked in the field, but had great ambitions. He courted and wooed my great-grandmother behind her father’s back with a single-minded determination to better his station in life. She became pregnant and, to avoid scandal, they were married quickly and quietly.
    He thought he would have the