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I huff a laugh. “It’s the easiest way to get him off my back. I only went home because he insisted on making me beg each week for grocery money. Then one day, he just disappeared.”
“He didn’t tell you where he went or give you an indication that he was safe?”
My throat tightens. I feel like shit for not spending every waking moment looking for Dad, but life has been a thousand times better without his presence.
“Nothing,” I croak.
The professor inhales a deep breath. “I asked around about your father and discovered something interesting.”
I tilt my head, trying to meet his eyes, but he stares up at the chandelier. “What was it?”
“You mustn’t speak of this to anyone.”
My heart clenches. “Did he get killed?”
“No,” Professor Segul says too quickly for my liking, and then pauses.
Air gets trapped in my lungs. Every part of my body falls still.
“An associate told me he was appointed the new warden of Seacroft Prison.”
“Sorry, what?” I ask.
“How much do you know about your father’s dealings?”
“He always told me he was an accountant, but he kept me out of things.” That’s an understatement, but I’m too accustomed to keeping secrets to blurt that Dad works for the Irish mob. “Why?”
“He would have done a bit more than bookkeeping to have earned such a responsibility. Seacroft is where the underworld puts people too important to kill and too dangerous to live.”
“Don’t tell me it’s an actual place,” I say.
“Apparently so.” He runs his fingers through my hair, sending tingles of sensation across my scalp. “I thought your father swore you to secrecy about where he had gone.”
“No.” My jaw clenches. “I can’t believe I wasted a full hour worrying about that bastard.”
Professor Segul laughs deep from his belly and continues to do so long after it’s appropriate. It wasn’t even that funny. I draw back, my head now resting on his bicep, so I can take a better look at his face.
The corners of his eyes crinkle with mirth, and his smile is so wide it looks manic. What the hell did I say to trigger this reaction?
“Marius? I mean Professor?” I rub a circle on his chest.
He blinks over and over as though activating his stoic mask. “You just reminded me of something.”
“Did your dad disappear?”
He laughs again. “I wouldn’t hate him so much if he had.”
“Oh.” I slide my arm around his chest and bury my head in his neck. “Sorry. I suppose he was worse than mine.”
Professor Segul runs his hand up and down my back in a soothing motion, but I wonder if he’s doing that for his own benefit. “Bastard doesn’t begin to describe my father,” he snarls. “His only redeeming feature is that he valued education.”
I snort. “Same with mine.”
He presses a kiss on the side of my head. “Did he ever hurt you?”
“It could have been worse,” I mutter.
“How?”
