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She stepped forward, her face red with anger. “Say it, Dad. Fucking say it.” She held her chin high, the bruises still visible. “Say what you didn’t say last time you lectured me.”
“Did he do that to you?” He pointed to her neck, glaring at me. “Did you let him do that to you?”
“It’s none of your business,” she said.
“You’re in my hotel. That makes it my business. Do you even know this man?”
Audry rolled her eyes. “No, Dad, of course I don’t. Because I’m just a little whore, taking astrangerup to the suite of thefamily-ownedhotel.”
“It has become very obvious to your mother and me that you aren’t ready for this. We’re at the end of our rope with you, Audry Grace!” he shouted, her middle name cutting through the air.
I tensed as he moved closer to her, ready to jump in. No man would lay a hand on her again, not if I could do anything about it.
“Listen to my words closely,Father.”Audry narrowed her stare. All kindness had faded from it. “I want nothing. To. Do. With. The. Fucking. Hotel!” she yelled. “Give it to Andrew, keep it till your deathbed, or donate it to charity. I don’t give a shit.”
“You will knock this attitude off right now, young lady. I thought I raised you better than this.”
“Well, I guess I get my ways from my mom, huh?” Audry raised an eyebrow, the implied insult lost on me. ?
Her father raised his hand, and I moved in a flash.
My grip on his wrist was tight, stopping him from slapping her. “I don’t know about you, but where I’m from, we don’t hit women,” I said, reigning in my anger. “Nor do we interrogate and accuse them about theiradultchoices.”
Her father tugged his hand away, the anger hiding the embarrassment. “This conversation isn’t over, young lady. But I want this–this streettrash out of here.”
He slammed the door, disappearing into the hallway.
I watched Audry closely as her bottom lip quivered, her eyes filling with tears.
“Audry,” I whispered, holding my hands out.
She shook her head, scratching her arm and trying to hold everything in. That was all she had been doing, holding everything in. Ignoring it all.
A scream echoed in the room as she wrapped her arms around her stomach, dropping to the ground, her shoulders shaking.
I kneeled next to her, careful not to touch her, uncertain of what to do.
Chapter 21
Audry
Fire raged in my bones as I dropped to my knees, a scream echoing into the room. I tried my best to hold it in, but everything came toppling down. The cork on the shaken bottle of my life had popped, and everything raced out, ready to make itself known.
Kai lingered nearby, no doubt ready to write me off as insane as my shoulder shook and muffled cries terrorized me. I was okay. I wanted to be okay. Ineededto be okay. But the more I tried to convince myself, the harder it was.
My chest tightened, my lungs screaming at me for air. I scratched at my arms, the pain calming in a sadistic way. But as I struggled for air, the alarm grew. My fingertips tingled like pins and needles, along with my teeth. My limbs were heavy and hard to control as I struggled for air. I moved my palm to my throat, feeling the heat of the bruise—the reminder I didn’t need to see to know it was there.
My fingernails dug into the skin, dead set on making room for air or ripping the battered flesh from my body. Panic and dread raged inside.
Kai moved next to me, the abruptness catching my eye.
My heart raced as I watched his mouth move, but no sound came out. The only sound was the blood rushing through my ears, drowning out everything.
I didn’t let him do anything, I wanted to scream at my father.I didn’t let him.But the words would have fallen on deaf ears. I knew what he thought of me—what my mother thought of me.
The image of my mother staring at me in the office, disgust and disappointment prominent on her sneer, flashed through my mind, only making things worse.
Kai’s strong hands wrapped around me, increasing the sensation of suffocation. I struggled against his hold, scratching at him, and flailing. My neck was raw and burning, tears streaming down my face.
