AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I won't let you ruin her again,” I tell him.
“I didn't ruin her. You did. She was a good kid; I had no issues with her growing up until you got your filthy hands on her,” he snarls.
“Yet you have no issues trying to pawn your other daughter off to me, so what is it you want?”
“Nothing. I am just here to check on her.”
“I don't believe you,” I tell him, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“I need–” he begins sheepishly.
“There it is. You aren't here to check on Everly at all. You want something,” I tell him.
“Your father and I had a deal; he broke it.”
“A fucking deal for what? I marry Ava. Then what?”
“We have an alliance, that's what.”
My brows furrow at his words. “I don't buy it; you're hiding something,” I argue.
John sighs, scrubbing a hand down his face. “How is she?” he asks, taking a long sip from his cup.
“Alive, and now marked,” I say.
“So she’s awake?”
“No, not yet,” I answer, shaking my head. I lean forward and brace my arms on the table. My beard has started to grow over the past few days of sitting in the hospital, and I scratch at it; I feel dirty. I actually don't mind how it looks, but as soon as I get my hands on a razor, it’s going.
“The other girl, Emma? Emery?” he asks, and I can see he’s trying to make small talk.
“Emily?” I ask.
“Yes, that one.”
“She lost a leg, and they aren't sure she’ll make it. Emily isn't strong enough to fight off the infection.”
“She never found her mate?” John asks.
“She’s rogue. What do you think?”
“I know she is rogue, Goddamn it. I'm just saying she might stand a chance if she had one,” John snaps at me.
“As far as I know, she hasn't, and since when do you care about rogues?” I ask.
“I don't,” he says, folding his arms across his chest and staring at me. His eyes run over me before they flick away.
“You look like shit,” he says.
“And you look old. Time to retire, don't you think?” I retort, and John scoffs.
“This is the last time I am asking; if you don't answer, you can leave. Why are you really here, John?”
He scowls before looking at me. “It scared me seeing her like that; I thought they killed her,” John says.
“And where’s your wife, Claire?” I ask him, and he looks at the table.
“Staying with her friend; we had an argument,” he says.
