LITMIR.BIZ

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festivities a decade ago, Treffen has never canceled the event, and Manhattan’s elite all clamor for an invitation. It’s even rumored that Jason’s son, New York’s other premier attorney, will be in attendance.

      The younger Treffen has skipped the event since the unpleasantness ten years ago, which seemed to have caused a rift between father and son—the only tarnish on an otherwise glossy legacy. Could this finally be the reconciliation that the public has long hoped to see?

      Reconciliation. There was no chance for it, and yet his father had bought into his reason for coming to the office Christmas party without blinking. But then, the public had bought it as well, so why wouldn’t his father?

      He really hated these types of events. Because they were reminders. This one especially. Ten years ago was the last time he’d been to a Treffen Christmas party. His father enjoyed the holidays, not because of any sort of religious fervor or sense of merriment, but because it gave him a chance to do what he loved best.

      Showing off his wealth, his excess. Making a show of his name, his fortune. His goodwill. There was a silent auction happening tonight, the proceeds of which would go to benefit a shelter for battered women.

      The irony burned. Because if Austin’s suspicions were correct, very few people had left more emotionally battered women in their wake than Jason Treffen.

      Of course, the media would never believe it. Jason was so high-profile. On every late-night news show, commenting on sexual harassment and abuse cases in the news. Spitting fire and brimstone on any man who dared to harm a woman. On misogynists and their power games.

      But Austin knew Jason was the wolf condemning foxes for being predators.

      Still, here he was, wrapped up in his brilliant, shining lie. People fawning over him, his achievements, his goodness.

      And this year was no different. The largest of his three holiday parties, this one included past clients, current clients and anyone who was anyone in New York’s social circle.

      Everything was pristine, glittering, dipped in his father’s wealth and left to sparkle before the magpies who were attracted to it all without having any idea just how tarnished it was underneath.

      The same as it had always been. The same as it had been ten years ago.

      Oh, yes, Austin well remembered the last time he’d been to this party. It had ended with a dear friend throwing herself to her death. And it had been his own father’s fault.

      No, he wasn’t here for reconciliation. He was here for blood. But before he could have his revenge, he would have to get closer to his old man again. Keep your enemies close, and all that.

      He wondered what Jason’s reaction would be. Hell, he might kill the fatted calf. The prodigal son, returned to the old law firm.

      That was the reaction he dreaded most, though it was the one he should want.

      What he really wanted was alcohol.

      He walked over to the bar and leaned on the counter. “Scotch. Neat.” The whole bottle would be nice.

      The bartender poured a measured amount and Austin knocked it back then set the glass back down. “More.”

      He took another hit and let the burn wash through him. He’d never thought of himself as the kind of man who needed liquid courage. And maybe it wasn’t courage he needed, not really. He needed to blunt the memories. Of what it had been like to be in this building with Christmas carols playing when, suddenly, screams had risen over the band.

      When people had gone running. To the balcony. To the street. He’d stopped at the window, frozen, transfixed by the broken figure below.

      And he had known. In his gut, without having to be told, who it was.

      He hadn’t had the strength to go down. Hadn’t been able to face seeing her like that. With no life in her. Her skin cold. Her body crushed. Nothing of Sarah there anymore except for her shell.

      He hadn’t been able to face it then. He could scarcely stand to recall what little he’d seen now. This was where the alcohol came into play. Blessed alcohol. It helped hold back some of the cold.

      Ten years ago, at this very party, his life had been going perfectly.

      Two weeks until Christmas, an end-of-term party that had been filled with toasts and slaps on the back. And then he’d come to the Treffen party. He’d stood next to his father, a proud Treffen, basking in the promise of a partnership in the prestigious firm, in the position he’d gotten in law school because of that name. The name that had opened every door to him for all of his life. That had seen him educated in the finest private schools, had given to him the very best connections.

      A name he now had to see was destroyed.

      His father’s. And his along with it, because it would be inextricably linked.

      That was how it worked. That was how the media worked. It was how society worked.

      The silver spoon that had gotten him through life would damn well choke him now. It only seemed fair, really.

      Everything felt out of control. For the first time, things felt well and truly beyond him.

      Which called for another drink.

      He tapped the top of his tumbler and the bartender filled it again. Austin held it up and looked through the faceted glass and amber liquid. And he saw her.

      Nothing more than an impressionistic vision at first. Obscured by the glass and the unsteady golden line.

      Even then, he could tell she was beautiful.

      He lowered his drink and stared past the crowd of people at the woman. Dark hair twisted into a neat bun, her skin pale, flawless, her lips a deep crimson.

      It was her hair that had him truly transfixed. He wondered how long it was. What it would be like to unwind it. Wrap it around his hand and draw her to him.

      Damn. That was the alcohol. He had more control than that. He knew better than to let his mind wander down dark alleys. Every so often, in the privacy of his own room, he indulged in a bout of shameful, illicit fantasy. But never with a woman.

      Never.

      He wasn’t the type of man to treat women that way. Because he knew better than to ever let the monster out of its cage.

      And he knew there was a monster in him. In his blood, wrapped around his genes. He was a Treffen, and to most of the world, that meant something good.

      He knew that name should only ever be synonymous with evil.

      And once he, Hunter and Alex had their way, it would be.

      He would go down with the ship. It was unavoidable. He was a Treffen, after all. In name, and in every other way that counted.

      But right now, he was just a man, transfixed by a woman.

      He set the glass back down on the bar and started across the room before he could think his next action through. He wanted to meet her.

      She was something new in this stale, horrific memory. She hadn’t been there that night. She was a stranger. Separate from all of the insidious darkness that surrounded this building. That surrounded his family.

      She looked up for a moment, her eyes meeting his. They were electric blue, a shocking contrast with her dark hair. It made him wonder if her hair or eyes were artificial. It was so unusual. So enticing.

      She turned away and headed toward the other side of the room, her stride purposeful. Then Austin saw just whom she was headed toward.

      His father. Jason Treffen.

      She smiled, crimson lips parting and revealing straight white teeth. She looked down, then back up, the move demure and flirtatious. It made his blood boil. Just imagining the bastard’s hands on her...

      He started toward them, then stopped. Reconciliation. Oh, yes, that was the name of the game

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