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“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…” My incredulous words rolled heavily off my tongue as my father managed to open the gate. Spinning at a dangerous speed, my mind fumbled over itself trying to figure out if I had passed out while Dex was talking to me. A man whom I assumed was Marissa’s husband strode to meet my dad, and I took less than an 8th of a breath before the violent, burning rage that had been dormant in my chest flared to life.
“Excuse me—this is a private party. You need to leave, sir.” The deep, male voice was firm, strong, and it rang through the yard to send a jolt to kickstart my heart. Releasing Hailey to clench and release my hands by my sides, I stalked across the large, outdoor tiles that lined the path from the house doors to the grill. My father opened his mouth, but his sharp, demeaning gaze found mine before he could say something incredibly shitty and self-centered.
“You need to leave now.” All those months of therapy helped me cope with the maelstrom of anger and resentment that swirled inside me, but it did nothing to dull those feelings. Even so, I’d never felt so powerful in my father’s presence despite how I had to hide my shock and confusion. “You’re not welcome here.”
My tone was deceptively low, and I crossed my arms over my chest just as realization slammed into me like a brick wall.
The stupid fucking P.I. was still following us—keeping tabs on us—he just stopped being obvious about it.
“Babe, call Tracy.” Hailey’s soft footfall loudened as she came up next to me, and I could feel her protest before she’d even opened her mouth. Glaring at her over my shoulder, I kept one eye on my dad while she stopped short, and she slowly slipped her hand into the pocket of her dress. Turning back to my father, I sneered openly at the appraising way he looked at her, and my body moved without thought to stand between them.
“So, it’s true, Anthony. You shacked up with some woman and just ignored your responsibilities.” Disdain laced my father’s voice thickly, and I stiffened as the urge to punch him nearly overwhelmed me. Sucking in a harsh breath through flared nostrils, I ground my teeth as dozens of pairs of eyes flickered between us. “Do you even understand how hard that was to believe? I thought the private investigator was lying. Not only that, but you’re living with her, too—like some messed up loser.”
This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening here; this couldn’t be happening now.
Those were the only thoughts I could conjure as Hailey spoke with Tracy quietly behind me. My lips twitched into a hateful sneer, and I stiffened as my father’s venomous words slithered into my ears. His eyes, darkened with age, blazed fiercely, and my eyelid twitched in agitation; this man had made excuses around his heart attack for years, but he still had so much fire in him.
And this was most definitely happening.
Silence rang as I hesitated, and the music that filled the yard became garbled in my concentration to figure out what to do. Arguing with my father would ruin the party, but he wouldn’t just leave. I didn’t want to be alone with him just in case things got physical, either, but shame clawed at my throat that people Hailey was close to were getting this impression of me.
“He doesn’t know about Antonya, Anthony.” Hailey’s soft whisper in my ear sent rigidity seizing my muscles, and my eyes narrowed even while my mind churned vigorously. “He would’ve brought it up first, right? He just thinks I’m your sex friend.”
“I guess that P.I. has some morals after all.” Mumbling more to myself than her, I leaned back on my heels and into her warm, firm palms. I glared at my father and spoke up loudly. “I honestly don’t mind being a loser.”
“What did you say?” I had to actively hide my smirk as my father practically roared in shocked ferocity, and I inhaled deeply. My mind flicked through every memory I had ever created of any time I’d confronted my father, but I
couldn’t find a single instance in which I had agreed with him. We fought constantly, and Hailey’s words from that first night sounded loudly inside the tight confines of my skull.
He’s waging psychological warfare on me, and I have no chance of winning. He needs to back out himself.
“I said I like being a bum loser.” Unable to hold back my smirk, I reached behind me while my father only stared, dumbstruck with his mouth open. Pulling Hailey in front of me by the arm, I dropped to my knees to grip her left thigh in both my hands, and my gaze never left his. “She bought these clothes I’m wearing—picked them out herself. I even let her take me to dinner a few times. And I’m on the bottom when we f—”
“You shut up.” Hailey’s harsh snap sent a weak thrill through me, and I squeezed her flesh in warning automatically. The notion that she could try to order me around was only overshadowed by the simple fact that she backed me up.
She backed me up, and she didn’t expect anything in return.
“If you want to say anything to him, you tell me, and I will tell him.” Someone, somewhere in the yard, choked loudly on what sounded like laughter, but Hailey didn’t even twitch. “Well?”
My father would never let anyone get the best of him, and silence met Hailey’s hard-pressed demand. Watching him go purplish-red in his cheeks, I almost worried that he might give himself another heart attack. His glare could cut steel, but Hailey never wavered. Her whispering to me, breaking me from my deathly enraged uncertainty, only cemented that he thought this wasn’t an act. After all, my father didn’t give two shits about my sex life; I could’ve been gay, and he would’ve never noticed.
He hesitated only for a moment before turning on the heel of his $4,000 shoes to storm out the way he’d come. Triumph ripped through me like a tornado, and I narrowed my eyes on him as he flung open the gate and disappeared behind the side of the house.
“Wow…” The exclamation came from Kelly, and I snapped out of my daze to push myself to my feet. Training my gaze on the youngest of the four sisters even as I held the eldest tightly to my chest, I took heavy breaths in a partially successful attempt to calm myself. “You really said she’s your sugar momma…”
“What’s so wrong with that?” Awkwardness surged towards me from the crowd in powerful waves, but I relaxed at the knowledge that my father had left for now. Before me, Kelly shrugged, her eyes slipping to Hailey, and I frowned deeply. My heart slammed against her cheek, but she didn’t seem to mind as she tilted her head to catch my gaze.
“He’ll find out eventually. He’s not going to just leave.” Shaking my head at Hailey’s grumble, I blocked out the invading certainty of her words. It didn’t matter when my father came back; it didn’t matter when he found out about Antonya. Now, I had a weapon to fight with that he couldn’t counter.
Now, I had something to fight for.
Chapter 25
Hailey
“That really just happened…” Relief and surprise mixed in my tightened abdomen when conversation resumed fairly quickly, and I cracked a smirk at the dazed look in Anthony’s eye. Pride swirled within the confines of my ribs, and my hands slithered around his waist to hold him to me. “You did beautifully, Anthony—I’m really proud of you.”
“That was awful… this wasn’t the impression I wanted your family to have.” Even as he grumbled, Anthony’s face broke out into a wide smile, and my smirk morphed into a broad grin. “If you ever tell me to shut up again, I’ll crack my hand over your ass.”
