I started to pass by him when Dorian grabbed hold of me, hissing a warning. “You are making a big mistake.”
I didn’t have the energy to fight with him. After a few tense moments, he let go of me, and I pulled away.
“Look, I didn’t tell them anything about what happened with Todd, about the case.”
Dorian let out a long exhale. “I already know that. You see, I trust you, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why you are unwilling to do the same in return.”
“Okay, well, you’re not my father. Even if you were, he stopped having any control over me when I was twelve. This has nothing to do with trust and everything to do with you thinking you can control me which, by the way, you can’t.”
Shaking his head, Dorian raked his hand through his hair before turning his back on me and walking towards the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
Stopping at the door, he wrapped his hand around the knob and looked at me over his shoulder. “If I can’t reason with you, I know someone who can.”
What the hell was he talking about?
He opened the door and gestured for someone to enter, calling out at the same time. “Okay!”
Before I could get a word out, I looked on in disbelief, stunned at the person who entered.
“Oh my God!” I cried out, running towards my father. A huge smile came to his face. I flung my arms around him and swallowed him in the biggest hug I’d ever given to another person.
With my chin resting on my dad’s shoulder, I watched Dorian walk out of the room and close the door behind him, leaving the two of us alone.
“What are you…” I stammered, separating from him. “How did you get here?”
A tired smile spread across his face. He sat down in one of the chairs.
“Dad, answer me. What are you doing here? How did you know where I was?”
My father scooted the chair closer to the table. He flopped one arm on top of it and with the other gestured towards the entrance of the room.
“Ask the suit.”
Following his fingertip with my eyes, I glanced in the direction of the door. I couldn’t see anyone looking inside, but Dorian was out there, somewhere.
Had he done this? Why?
The fact he had… It made me feel like he really listened to me. After all, he knew how much I wanted to see my dad. What’s more, he’d done it in spite of the way I acted towards him. The cops must have told him I’d come in threatening charges of kidnapping. Maybe in his own way he was trying to prove to me I could believe everything he said.
I had no idea what to think.
I turned and looked at my father again, smiling. I’d have to get the answers to all those questions later. Right now, I just wanted to spend time with him.
“Dad, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it for our regular visit. Something came up, and I…”
With a casual flick of his wrist, he waved me off. “Don’t worry about it, Temp. I’m just glad you’re okay. I worried when I didn’t hear anything from you.”
While he spoke, I sat down in the chair next to him and frowned. “I know. It wasn’t my fault. I…”
He shrugged. “No. Stop. I don’t want to hear it. Tell me what is going on, and do it now.”
I returned his shrug with one of my own. “What are you talking about?”
“What am I talking about?” he replied, clapping his hands together once for emphasis. “Well, for starters, why are you in here? Where is Todd? I thought the two of you were coming by to see me on the way to Reno, and now you and I are here?”
The mention of Todd’s name caused me to swallow hard. I looked away from my dad, hoping like hell he didn’t notice. He stopped talking when I did. With a slow turn of my head, I looked at him again.
I met a disapproving look, wrinkling his face beyond his years. The expression spoke louder than any words he might say, but that didn’t stop him. He pointed towards the door, angling his upper body towards me and deepening the concern in his eyes.
“Who in the hell is that out there? How are you hooked up with a guy who can pull strings like that? He’s the reason I’m here, you know?”
He had me boxed in. Shit. I didn’t have any choice except to lie to him. The worst part was the lies wouldn’t stop with Dorian. There was no way in hell I was going to try to explain what happened with Todd.
“He’s um, just a friend. That’s all, Dad.”
My father slumped back in his chair and dropped both of his hands in his lap, rolling his eyes at the same time.
“Don’t bullshit me. I raised you. I know the kinds of people you hang around, and guess what, none of them are like him. That man is no friend of yours. Now, quit wasting time, because I don’t know how much I have here.”
While he chastised me, I stood from the chair and turning my back on him began to walk across the room. I hadn’t gotten more than a few steps away when he continued.
“Okay well, if you won’t tell me about him, then why not tell me where Todd is right now? And, before you say anything, I’ll add this -- now isn’t the time to lie about that, either.”
With every word he spoke, the tone of my father’s voice grew darker, more ominous. The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I started to nibble on my lip, my brain frantic to come up with anything to tell him sounding even halfway believable.
He wasn’t in the mood to wait. “Where. Is. Todd. Tempest?”
My stomach sank, hollowing out a crater of anxiousness and guilt. He left me with no choice. It was lie to the best of my ability, or else. I spun in place, fixing my face with the most annoyed look I could, hoping I would convince him.
“I don’t understand why you are wasting precious time here asking me a bunch of questions about Todd. Why don’t we just spend whatever time we have together? What difference does it make where Todd is, or what’s going on between us? You never liked him anyway!”
My dad didn’t hesitate. “Just answer the question.”
Snapping my arms across my midsection, I hooked them hard and glared at him. “We broke up, okay? That’s why we didn’t make it to see you. We broke up. I just needed some time to get my head together before I told you about it.”
He didn’t respond, only shifted his posture a bit. I’d always had a hard time reading my dad’s emotions and now wasn’t any different. I couldn’t tell whether he believed a single word out of my mouth about Todd or not.
While silence lingered between us, another thought occurred to me. Even though the detectives told me the room wasn’t monitored, I hadn’t realized how untrustworthy they were at the time. For I all knew, they were recording every word. Dropping my arms, I walked back in the direction of the table, speaking with a soft tone.
“I really don’t think we should be discussing any of this.”
I made a circular motion with my finger, gesturing around the room, indicating my suspicion about the police. My dad nodded. I sat down once again and leaned in towards him when he spoke, whispering to me.
“I won’t make you tell me anything you don’t want to, Temp, but you will listen to what I have to say.
“Dad, I…”
“Quiet. Shut up and listen. They could come back in here at any second.”