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"What the hell was..." Ace comes to a stop when he sees me standing there with my chest heaving. "You need to calm down."
"Don't fucking tell me what to do," I bark, taking a step toward him, not stopping until my chest is brushing his.
He doesn't so much as flinch as he waits for me to take out my frustration on him.
"Conner. My office. Now!" A booming voice fills the silence around us as Ace continues to hold my eyes, daring me to do my worst. "Conner?" James says again, finally breaking through my haze.
I take a step around Ace, whose concerned eyes follow me, but I don't look back. Instead, I start up the main staircase, storming toward James and letting myself into his office.
By the time he follows me in, I've fallen down on his couch with my legs stretched out before me and my head resting back on the cushion as I stare at the ceiling.
Dad closes the door before coming to join me. He doesn't say anything, but I know he's looking at me. His attention burns my skin.
"Talk to me, Son."
"Nothing to say."
He lets out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, let's do this a different way. Who is she?"
I think for a few seconds, the silence stretching out between us. "She's... she's everything."
"Okay."
I keep my eyes on the ceiling as words start to tumble from my mouth. I have no idea if he wants to know what I've got to say, but now I've started, I can’t stop.
"She's been my best friend for... well, forever. We met in pre-K, and until I moved here, well..." I trail off, not really needing to say the words. "She's got a boyfriend. Warren.” Warren Kraven. His name is like ash on my tongue. “He was our friend too. They got together a few months before we moved here. I thought she was safe."
"You're saying he did this?"
Dragging my head from the cushion, I stare into my father's eyes. "Yes."
"And you know that for a fact?"
"Well... no, but—"
"You can't start accusing him—going after him—without any evidence, Son."
"Who said I was going to..." His brow lifts in accusation, and I trail off. "I won't let him get away with this."
"I'm not suggesting we do. But you need to know for sure first."
"She said it was a random attack. She's lying."
"What makes you think that?"
"That fact that I know her better than I know myself."
James nods, accepting my words. "No man should ever hit a woman. You get me the evidence, and it'll get sorted."
I narrow my eyes at him, wondering who the fuck our father really is. We were under the impression he was just a businessman, but as time goes on, he only seems to get a shit ton more complex.
"What do you want to do now?"
"Now?"
"Well, I'm assuming you don't want to send her back?"
"Fucking right I don't."
