He snorted. “Thought so.”
“Then I guess you should be happy because I’m just as tenacious as you are, maybe even more so since I’ve had Rylee.”
He laughed. “How is my little munchkin?”
Rylee turned five a few months earlier. “She’s a good kid. Bright. Funny. Too smart for her own good,” I laughed. “She keeps me busy in the best way.”
I loved being a mother. It was an experience I didn’t expect, but one I would never trade. Rylee was my whole world.
“And Doyle?” Hannibal nearly spat his name.
“We’re trying to work things out.”
“For Rylee,” he guessed.
I nodded. “Yes. She deserves to have two parents. I don’t want to drag her through a divorce. She’s so young, Dad.”
“But he’s a piece of shit, waste of life, motherfucking,” he paused and sighed. “Sorry, baby girl. Not ever gonna see how he deserves you.”
I knew that. It didn’t change my choices, but I understood.
Silence stretched between us, growing wider as a chasm of years apart, misunderstandings, and secrets separated us from the relationship we should have had.
“Dad.”
“I know, baby girl. For what it’s worth, I love you. Always have. Made a lot of mistakes, but I’m trying. Every fucking day, I’m gonna keep giving this all I’ve got.”
I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. One of the guards tried to step forward, but Hannibal shot him a warning look. Phil remained in place, carefully observing, but not interfering.
“I appreciate that, Dad.”
He squeezed my hands in return and sat back. “I’ve got five months left. As soon as I’m out, I want to see you and Rylee.”
I wasn’t sure about that.
“Hey, give me a chance, baby girl. I’m not gonna take either of you to the clubhouse yet. I just want to visit. Not asking for anything else.”
It was hard to say no to him. “Okay.”
“Yeah?” He perked up, looking pleased. “That’s great. You won’t regret it.”
I hoped not. You couldn’t change who your family was or your DNA. That was never in our control. I knew at his core, Hannibal was a good man. He just led a hard life. But if I judged him and kept my distance, I’d miss out on a relationship with my father, and I’d lost enough years. Not to mention, Rylee should know her grandfather even in a controlled setting.
I’d take it slow and see how things went once he got out. Right now, I wasn’t making any promises other than to give this a try. The ball was in his court now. At least, it would be in five months once he was a free man again.
There was a shout behind us, and I turned my head to see the guards rushing toward the nearest doors. I blinked as I saw a crowd through the slim windows in each door, and what appeared to be men fighting with one another.
Hannibal shoved to his feet. “Get out of here, Rachel. Go! Now!”
I didn’t understand. I rose on shaky legs, confused when I saw the guards lift their weapons and begin firing through the narrow panes of glass. A large group of inmates was pushing against the door, shoving their way past the guards.
Oh my God!
Was this a riot!?
“Rachel, run!”
As soon as the words left Hannibal’s mouth, I saw a bullet hit his right shoulder. The impact threw him backward, and he hit the nearest wall, knocked out by the force of it.
Horror spread through my veins like wildfire as I debated running to him or dropping to the ground to avoid gunfire.
The problem was solved for me when a stranger tackled me to the ground, and a man stretched his body over mine, covering me completely. He shielded me from more bullets asthey whizzed through the air, terror seizing my brain as I began to tremble.
“Hey, darlin’, no worries. I’ve got you.”
That was all he said before I stared into eyes so silvery gray I wondered if they were real.
And then a bullet sank into his right side, and blood began to soak into my dress. The wet heat of it seemed to tether us together. His injured body protected mine. My shaking hand pressed to his leaking wound. Two souls locked in the same unpredictable, dangerous situation.
But my mind only latched onto one thing: I wasn’t going to survive this.
