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Emmett polished off his drink as well, and they made their way toward the front door together in what Braden assumed to be a companionable silence.
“Braden?”
“Yeah?”
He turned as they reached the front door, and pain exploded across his right cheek. Stumbling backward into the wall, Braden lifted a hand to his face and rubbed at the spot where Emmett’s fist had connected. “Jesus. You’ve got one hell of a right hook.”
“Good. That’s for whatever the hell it is you’ve been doing with my little girl behind my back. But I’ll mess up a lot more than just your pretty face if you break her heart. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Good.”
They made it over to Emmet’s house without any more violence and were greeted by almost complete silence when they stepped inside. Braden was reminded of the times he’d come to visit recently and been surprised by the lack of staff in his friend’s home. But Emmett had obviously already been trying to plug those holes in the dam he’d been talking about even before Charlotte had realized what was going on.
Thinking about his little girl taking on that kind of burden made him want to strangle Emmett a bit. If he didn’t get his act together soon, that might still be on the table. For now, he was willing to give his friend the benefit of the doubt and do whatever it took to make things better for him, and for Charlotte.
“She must be up in her room,” Emmett said as they made their way toward the stairs.
But even as they started the climb, alarm bells rang in the back of Braden’s mind. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something just felt… off. The house was too quiet, even if Charlotte had locked herself away in her room.
“Lottie?” Standing outside her room, Emmett leaned into the door, listening for her response. “Open up honey, it’s Dad…” He trailed off and grimaced. “It’s Dad. Open the door honey, Braden and I just want to talk to you.”
“Is it locked?”
Emmett tested the knob. “No.”
“Open it. Just do it, Emmett,” he snapped when Emmett shook his head.
Frowning, Emmett turned the knob and pushed the door open. Braden stepped in behind him, his suspicions confirmed as he scanned the room. His stomach sank, fear and worry churning in his gut.
“Son of a bitch. She’s gone.”
* * *
LOTTIE
“So, yeah. Now Braden knows the real reason I put myself up for auction and my dad knows I sold myself to pay off his debts.” Groaning loudly, Lottie grabbed a throw pillow and pressed it against her face, as if hiding herself physically could make the problem go away.
“Well, that’s good.”
Yanking the pillow from her face, she glared at Frankie, who was curled up in the armchair beside the couch Lottie had thrown herself onto when she’d arrived at the cabin. “Good? How is any of this good?”
“No more secrets. Your dad knows about you and Braden, and you can finally get your cherry popped.” Frankie scowled. “I can’t believe he held out on you like that. The bastard.”
The moment Lottie had stepped foot in the cabin, she’d broken down and told Frankie every dirty little detail of her short-lived relationship with Braden Elliott. Frankie had, in a very un-Frankie fashion, listened silently throughout the entire sordid story.
“Weren’t you listening? I ruined their friendship, Frankie. They’re never going to forgive me.”
“Well, I think that might be a little dramatic. Your dad loves you and it sounds like your Daddy does, too.” Wrinkling her nose, Frankie shook her head. “Okay, yeah, I hear how weird that is, now.”
“Fine. Maybe they’ll forgive me. But how the hell am I supposed to look my dad in the eye after this? He’s never going to look at me the same way again.”
“Honey, I hate to break it to you, but that’s pretty much any dad after he discovers his precious baby girl has done the deed. He’ll get over it.”
“Yeah, but most dads don’t also have to come to terms with their daughters whoring themselves out.”
The look Frankie sent her was the very definition of withering. “Okay, first of all, not a fan of that phrasing. Second of all, if he has a problem with it, then he needs to look in a mirror. You never would have done the auction if he hadn’t pissed away all your money.”
