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“He showed us the video the Mounts have of you robbing their safe.”
“Did he tell you why I did it?”
Victor is back to playing with the ends of my tumbled hair. “Why did you do something like that? What were you after?”
I take that as a no.
I shrug. Nothing Just a stupid dare that cost me everything.” Which is not a lie. My friends dared me to sneak in. They knew why but also how scared I was. And now their fathers are dead because mine saw their dare as a betrayal to our family.
Everyone must protect the princess at all costs.
Ha. What a fucking joke. My father shoved me out of the family and turned his back on me. Now I have no mother, father or friends.
I turn and stare out of the moving vehicle as street lights create pockets of golden light to shine down on the freeway. I let my hair fall to the sides of my face to hide the burning tears wetting my lashes. I can’t let them see me weak or tell them I was desperate to find any reason that would prove my mother didn’t end her own life. If I could just find a contract out on her or someone trying to get to my father through her, then it would all make sense. And I am definitely not letting them know their house was next on my list.
It grows quiet. A shuffle catches my attention and then there’s a light touch to my knee.
“Call him. Trust me.”
“Those are two words I never put stock in.” I can’t trust a stranger. No way. Besides, if I call and my father humiliates me and tells me to get lost in front of these men, then what? Hell no. I push Darius’ phone away. I don’t dare believe him. I don’t want to cry in front of these men. The second I hear my father’s voice I won’t be able to stop the tears or from begging to see him. I know myself. “He told me never to return or reach out. If he sent you, what did he tell you to do with me? Give me new papers and then drop me in some unknown city? Or is there a grave with my name on it somewhere? He probably learned about the contract and then decided he can’t have me stain his name.”
“He hurt you, didn’t he?” I can feel Augustine’s eyes on me through the rearview, but it’s Victor who leans his head against mine and whispers, “He won’t ever have the chance to make your heart hurt again. If he does, I’ll serve it up on a platter for you to do with as you please.”
My breath hitches. Did he just say he would kill my father for me? And I thought I was morbid.
Darius’ touch on my knee is warm and comforting. The last thing I ever thought of feeling in his presence. Horny or dead, yes but not comfort.
“Things have changed. He misses you.” Darius presses a few buttons and my heart goes from calm to chaotic in an instant when I see my father’s number on the screen.
“It will have to come from him for me to believe it.” I try to tell myself not to have hope, but that poisonous emotion bubbles in the pit of my stomach.
Darius puts the phone on speaker and holds it between us. It rings and then there's a familiar voice booming through the truck.
I look to Darius then Victor. Their expressions are void of emotion but their light touches to my knee and hand feed me with that trust Darius wants me to believe in.
I flick my gaze to Augustine and the kindness in his eyes belies the killer I know him to be.
“Dad?” I ask in a strangled tone. It can’t be. But it is. Darius presses the phone into my hands. It’s hard not to drop it while my fingers tremble.
“What is going on?”
“Bailey.” There’s a pause like my father is wrestling with his emotions as much as I am, but when he speaks again, any notes of longing to see his daughter vanish.
“Is Darius and his men with you?”
Cold. To the point.
I raise my chin and stiffen at the feel of ice rolling down my spine. “Yes,” I offer, my tears freezing from the ice in his voice.
“Go with them. I will explain later. I can’t talk now but later you and I will need to discuss your future, child.”
The line goes dead and the indifferent tone in his voice helps dry the remaining tears choking me up.
I give Darius his phone back. “At least you were not lying about him sending you after me. He’s going to have you drop me somewhere. You might as well save yourselves the hassle and drop me at the nearest truck stop or whatever. I’ll find my way.” Heat fills my cheeks at the public shunning.
“Settle in and try to get some sleep. We’ll be in Seattle soon.”
Victor pulls me into his lap and tucks my head under his chin. I don’t fight him. I don’t have the energy. Besides, he’s warm and smells good. I could use the sleep. Adrenaline crashes are harsh on the body.
