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My stomach growls as I look over the assortment of fruit, vegetables, oysters, and crab legs. But after what happened with Vivian and Lily at school, I’m feeling oddly wary of consuming anything from people I don’t trust. And I definitely don’t trust my father.
I look over to the waves crashing against my father’s line of boats. They crash with an alarming intensity in front of a darkening sky. I can see the storm rolling in across the sea, and it does nothing to settle my uneasy nerves about being here. The boats rock helplessly against them, tied up tight enough that they can’t be swept away. What is keeping me tied up and safe from being swept away by the currents of these rich and powerful men who keep sucking me in? Emmett. My father. They’re more alike than I want to admit, and I can’t seem to escape either of them.
“Ophelia.” My father smiles half-heartedly as he appears through the sliding back door of his home. “So good to see you.”
My father has dark brown wavy hair that pokes out from under a straw fedora. It’s almost as dark as mine, but with touches of blonde against his paler skin, giving away that my Hispanic side comes entirely from my mother. He’s tall, like me. But my mannerisms are entirely from my mom. I am practical and to the point like her. That’s what makes him so charming. Dangerously deceptive. He can talk his way around anything to get you back where he wants you.
I want to say something smart ass back, but we are here for answers. No use getting on his bad side. And anyway, his tone is unconvincing. I am guessing he is not actually happy to see me at all.
“Good to see you again, Theo,” Emmett chimes in politely, half-standing to shake his hand.
I let out a sigh, seeing the two of them greet each other. A girl’s boyfriend and her father. Something you always hope goes well, but also something I’ve never experienced outside of Brendan. Of course, these two already know each other too well for my comfort. Emmett has probably talked to my own father more than I have, with the deal they made in the past.
“How are things going with Jameson Automobiles?” he asks Emmett with genuine curiosity as he scoops up one of the hot chocolates in between his palms. “That’s a big job for a guy your age.”
“Plenty of good staff to help.” Emmett smiles. “At least until I finish school and can start running things full-time.”
“Any plans for college?” my father shoots back, and I hate how normal it sounds. Plus, we didn’t come here for small talk. I’m eager to get this over with.
“Emmett’s not exactly sure what his plans are yet, Theo,” I answer for him, firmly directing my father’s attention back to me. “His family is going through a pretty hard time right now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” he replies in smooth surprise, as if Thomas’s murder wasn’t enough of an explanation for any trouble they could be experiencing.
“Emmett’s sister, Bernadette, is missing,” I blurt out, cutting to the chase.
“Missing?” He raises his brows.
I study him carefully, looking for any hint of guilt. I may not know my father well, or at all really, but we resemble each other enough that I’m positive I could spot a lie on his face.
“Yes, missing,” I continue curtly. “We’ve looked through her things and she doesn’t appear to have run away or hurt herself. She’s been gone for a week now. No one has heard from her.”
“Such a shame,” he commiserates. “She seemed like such a bright, pleasant young woman.”
This guy’s good. I don’t detect an ounce of sarcasm or insincerity in his voice, but I know for a fact that he didn’t see anything of Bernadette besides her screaming over her father’s dead body. I wonder if he assumes we would have forgotten that much, or if he cares so little that he can’t even bother to lie well. Unless…he has seen more of Bernadette than we realize.
“I wasn’t aware that you knew much about Bernadette?” my voice raises accusingly. “You’ve only seen her once, right?”
He recoils, but not in a guilty way as I would have hoped. He just looks embarrassed over his social fumble. “Sorry, must have gotten her confused with someone else.”
I flash a look at Emmett, wondering if it seems odd to him. “Obviously you know a lot of people in Jameson,” he says to Theo, straightening in his seat. “You have police connections and you know a lot of people who, let’s be honest…aren’t entirely on the up and up. We were just wondering if you had heard anything? Any talk of someone wanting to come after what’s left of my family?”
“I’m afraid not,” he shakes his head before blowing on his drink and taking another sip. “Listen, I like you, Emmett. You have what it takes to run Jameson the way your father should have been all those years. Not only that, but you’re seeing my daughter, right?”
I shift uncomfortably in my seat, not wanting him to act like a regular father. He’s done nothing for me, and it feels insulting. But Emmett nods honorably, just as he would with any girlfriend’s dad.
“If I ever hear of any threat to you or your family, I will come to you. You have my word,” my father vows earnestly.
I can’t sit still while he sits here and acts like this great guy. I restlessly fidget, prompting a slew of warning glances from Emmett. But who is Theo to care about threats on Emmett’s family? He was the biggest threat of all when he barged in with a gun and murdered Emmett’s father. Sure, he may have been a bad guy that Emmett was happy to see go, but my father didn’t care about that. He would have pulled the trigger just as quickly if Thomas Jameson had been the greatest guy on earth. He was only looking after his own interest in getting revenge, and I can’t stop myself from thinking he won’t let things end there.
Maybe he really was planning to keep going until all of Jameson was his, which only makes it that much more convenient for him to sit here and lure Emmett into his pocket. It’ll only make it easier for him to finish what he’s started when he’s ready.
“Spit it out, Ophelia,” Theo blurts suddenly. “I see your wheels turning. You and I may not be close, but you’re still my daughter. I can tell you’re thinking something, so why don’t you just come out with it?”
“Well,” I straighten in my seat to meet his challenge with a daring stare. “If you must know, Theodore…I am just wondering how we can be so sure you don’t have somethin
g to do with Bernadette’s disappearance. You took out Mr. Jameson after all. How can we trust you?”
“That was a deal between Emmett and me, and you know it,” he defends coldly.
