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"No way." I start walking across the yard in the direction the guys just disappeared. My sister, Raine, Bella, and Mila tag along. Before I even round the corner of the clubhouse, I instantly recognize a raised male voice. I stop and look at Scarlett, and her face pales. "Dad," she whispers.
"Shit," I hiss, and take off in a jog with my sister hot on my heels. When I reach the compound's entrance, all I see is a wall of muscle. Standing between Jake and Logan, Blake sees me and looks over his shoulder at me. "Get inside, baby."
"Stay with Bella," I tell Scarlett. Ignoring Blake, I make my approach.
"I demand to see my daughter," my father barks.
"I don't give a fuck how things work where you're from, but you're standin' on Kings territory, and that means you don't make demands," Blake snarls.
I reach the wall of men standing between my parents and me and push my way between Blake and Logan, coming face-to-face with two people I haven't seen in years. Nothing about them has changed. My father sports a perfectly tailored navy suit with gold cufflinks and perfectly cut hair. My mom is in one of her signature cream pantsuits, a scarf around her neck, a simple string of pearls, and, as usual, not a strand of hair out of place. My mother barely contains her gasp of surprise but quickly recovers. My father, however, looks at me with disgust. "Where is she?"
I cross my arms over my chest and pop my hip. "Nice to see you too, Dad." There is no mistaking the sarcastic tone of my greeting.
"Don't get cute with me, you little tramp." My father points his finger at my face. Behind me is a scuffle, and from the corner of my eye, I see Gabriel and Logan holding Blake. My mother pales and inches closer to my father's side.
Jake straightens to his full height and takes a step forward. "Because you're Ember's father, I'll give you that one, but you get out of line one more time, and you'll regret the day you stepped your pompous ass onto my property," Jake warns, his tone lethal.
"You think I'm scared of you and your pack of criminals?" My dad lifts his nose in the air. "I'll have the police down here so fast your head will spin."
My father's sad threat earns him a chuckle from Logan, making my dad's face turn ten shades of red. Ignoring Jake's warning, my father turns his attention back to me. "I want to see my daughter."
"She doesn't want to see you."
"That's ludicrous," my mother chimes in. "You've probably gotten inside her head, filling it with nonsense."
"Ember is not filling my head with anything." Scarlett appears beside me.
My mother perks up at my sister's arrival. "Scarlett, honey, we've come to take you home."
"I'm not going home with you."
"Scarlett, listen to your mother. Retrieve your things, and we'll leave."
My sister grabs my hand, needing support, and I gently squeeze it.
"I'm staying here with Ember and dropping out of school. I've also been seeing someone. His name is Keith. He's a mechanic, and I'm in love with him," she exclaims all in one breath.
My father goes silent, and I can hear him grinding his molars. He narrows his hardened eyes at me. "This is why we have fought so hard to keep your sister from you. We knew you'd ruin her if you ever got your hooks into her. You ruin everything you touch. Look at Scarlett. She's dropped out of school and hooked up with some mechanic we know nothing about, and now we find her staying here, in this place, with you and a bunch of low-life criminals. You couldn't hack being a part of a respectable family. Instead, you brought us nothing but shame. You are not my daughter. You are nothing."
"Dad!" Scarlett gasps.
I stand there feeling empty inside as my flesh and blood spews his disdain for me. I refuse to let him see how badly his words hurt, but it takes all my strength to hold back the tears.
"What's next? Will you rub some more of that filth off on your sister? Will you turn your sister into a whore, just like you?"
15
BLAKE
Bone and cartilage crack against my knuckles, and Ember's father falls to his knees, his hand cupping his nose. Blood seeps between his fingers.
"Oh, my God!" Ember's mother cries as she reaches for her husband, but he rejects her help, pushing her away.
"You broke my goddamn nose." He spits, getting to his feet. "You have no idea who I am or what I can do to people like you."
"You're lucky busting your nose was all I did." I advance in his direction, and he stumbles back. I reach out and fist his shirt, slamming him against the chain link fence. "And you are sorely mistaken if you believe I give two shits who you are, motherfucker.” I shove him one more time. "You and your uppity wife trespassed on our property. You have no power out here."
Ember's father takes a small white handkerchief from his suit pocket and presses it against his bent nose. "I'll have you brought up on assault charges and put in jail." He looks at his wife. "Call the local authorities."
