Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
"You and me both."
"Think he'll back off?"
"He isn't stupid," I murmur. "And men like him have all kinds of skeletons they'd prefer to keep hidden. If you have one of his men and he's talking, he won't want to risk any of those skeletons falling out of the closet." I'm the voice of fucking experience on that shit. My father was just like Jackson. And men like that? They'll take any deal to keep the truth from leaking, especially if it means they might lose the power they live for. "His threat was a last-ditch effort to salvage our deal because he wants that money. He knows the police are going to be knocking on his door soon. My guess is that he intended to use it to disappear and leave his people to clean up the mess."
"Well, he fucked that up," Mac mutters
I snort because he isn't wrong.
"Why were you going to pay him, Brantley?" Mac hits me with a hard look. "And don't bullshit me. I want the truth."
I blow out a breath, shoving my hands into my pockets to hide the way they shake. "My father was a prick," I say. "The shit he did…well, the world is better off without him. No one believes that, but it's the truth. The day they caught up with him, I saw them slipping into the parking garage. Didn't know who they were or what they wanted, and I didn't really fucking care to find out. I just left. And when I found out he was dead, I didn't mourn."
Mac eyes me, not speaking.
"But I didn't know about Bella. When I found out that she saw them kill him, I felt like a fucking asshole," I admit. "I've felt like one ever since. I guess I thought paying them would quiet the guilt, make me feel like someone worthy of Isla."
"And did trying to pay the debt help?"
"Fuck no." I swallow. "Isla did."
He jerks his chin in a nod. "She has a way of doing that. She helps without even realizing she's doing it. It's just who she is."
"Yeah." I stare out over the grounds, watching wind rustle leaves in the branches of the willow planted in the middle of the lawn. "I've fucked up a lot in my life, Mac. I'll probably fuck up a thousand more times, but I love your daughter. And I'm trying like hell to be a man she can be proud to call hers." I cut my eyes at him. "I'm sorry as hell I drove away that day and Bella ended up embroiled in all of this. Had I known…"
"I know," he says, holding my gaze. "I have contacts at the police department, Brantley. I knew before I ever came to see you that day."
"Fuck," I whisper, my heart in a vise.
"Anyone could have made the same mistake you did. Not saying I'm not mad as hell, but my anger was never directed at you. Bellamy is the one who put her in danger. He's the reason all this shit happened," Mac growls. "He's the one I'm fucking livid at. But you can't rail at a goddamn ghost. I'm thinking maybe you know that better than most."
"Yeah, I do."
"I'm not going to ask what he did to you. I can guess. It's always the same story with motherfuckers like that," Mac says, his voice quiet. "But I am going to ask…can you put it behind you? Can you learn to be at peace with it? Because that's what you're going to have to do if you want to love my daughter the way she deserves. You can't love her—really love her—if you've still got one foot in the past."
"I'm working on it, Mac. I…fuck," I huff. "I started attending meetings again. I've been in therapy for years. I've got an appointment with a psychiatrist to figure out the rest of it."
"Good," he says, pride in his eyes. And then he narrows them on me. "I won't allow you to break her heart. She's had enough of that in her life. You love her the way she deserves, and you and I won't have a problem. But if you fuck up, drinking is going to be the least of your problems."
"Understood," I say, grateful as hell that he's giving me a chance. I clear my throat. "For the record, she was nervous the whole way over here, thinking you were going to be angry with her for not telling you about me sooner. I'd appreciate it if you took it easy on her about it. She didn't tell you because she didn't want to disappoint you."
"That's not true," she says from behind me.
I spin around to find her standing a few feet behind us, her lips pulled down into a frown. "I wasn't afraid he'd be disappointed," she says softly. "You aren't a disappointment, Brantley. I was afraid he'd ship me off to Texas with Bella because he told me to leave it alone, and I clearly didn't do that." She shrugs, grimacing. "I couldn't risk leaving you behind, but you aren't a disappointment."