A surge of hatred at how often I make people sign contracts, at how ambiguous his statement is. It’s highly unlikely that Trenton knows anything about Haley. My sisters and I have an unspoken agreement not to tell Lucian about things that go on in our houses, and Trenton hasn’t been to my place in months. It’s unlikely that he knows, but not impossible. “Who exactly did I kidnap?”
“The old man’s gone missing. Settle our bet, Leo. Was it you or was it the Constantines who made him disappear?” Another laugh. “I don’t know who’d be worse for that poor sap. If the Constantines found out about your contract, they’ll put him down like a disloyal dog.”
“I’ll never tell.” I hang up on him mid-laugh.
The blocks go by outside the window. I don’t see any of them. This was what I wanted in the first place—to fuck with the tangled web of the Constantines. To keep them off-balance. To make them see each other as the threat to their sterling reputation. Above all, to bait a hook. This news should be a dream come true.
It feels like a nightmare.
Haley shifts against me, pulling away so she can see my face. “What’s wrong?”
There’s nothing I want to do less than look her in the eye, but I do it. I’m not a coward. I’m not going to lie to her. Hiding this development from her won’t stop the sinking feeling in the pit of my gut. God, fuck. It was so good in that library. Fucking filthy, but pure, in a way.
Haley looks pleasantly tired. Well-fucked. Her cheeks are still pink. I can still feel her tight cunt gripping me. Lie to her. Every instinct sinks its claws into my skin. Lie. Lie. Lie.
“Your father’s missing.”
Her smile fades in increments, dropping away from the corners of her mouth first and falling until her lips—swollen from how hard I kissed her—are parted in horrified shock. Fat tears drop from her eyes. “He’s not missing. I talked to my brother this morning. He wasn’t missing this morning.”
“He’s missing now.”
She licks her lips and raises her fingertips to touch them. The salt there seems to surprise her. Haley’s tears are a reflex. An old one, I’d bet. The kind of reflex you can only have if your father loves you like a decent human instead of a bloodthirsty fuck. “I talked to Cash this morning.”
The partition between us and the driver has been up since we left my house to go to the library, so I tap out a text with her address and an order to stop at the next block. “Thomas is the driver. He’s going to take you home.”
Haley stares at me, uncomprehending, until the SUV slows and heads for the curb. “What’s happening?” The note of panic in her voice flays me alive. “The thirty days—”
“Forget about the thirty days.” I motion for Thomas to stay where he is and open the door.
She’s crying harder now, trying to follow me out, and I have to block her in with my arm. “He’s taking you home.” Steady. Clear. I’d rather tear the SUV apart piece by piece than send her away in it, but this is where we are. “You need to be with your father.”
“No.”
“Yes.” I take her face in my hands and kiss her forehead. It’s ridiculously inadequate for this moment, but it has the effect I need—for Haley to stay in the car while I shut the door. When it clicks shut she tries for the handle. She’s crying too hard to see it and misses her moment. Thomas isn’t an idiot. He steers them back out into the road at the first opportunity.
Haley covers her eyes with her hands just before I lose sight of her.
It’s a bitter night, and I don’t have my coat. Fine. Good. My back is on fire. Maybe the frigid air will put it out soon. The answer right now is obviously to call Gerard and have him send a car, but I won’t stand here like a jackass while I wait.
21
Haley
A car I don’t recognize is parked in front of the garage. The driver, Thomas—who asked me more than once if I was all right—pulls in behind it and meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. “You okay to get out?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I’m not okay to get out. I’m half-hoarse from crying and my throat aches like I swallowed a knife. If I sit in this SUV one more second, I’m going to beg Thomas to drive me to Leo’s house. I’d offer him anything to do it.
I can’t let that become a habit.
The air outside is cold and dry and shocking, and it reminds me that I’m in an evening gown with only half a lingerie set underneath. A bizarre grief expands in my chest. Leo had other plans for tonight, and now I’ll never know what they were. It doesn’t matter. I run up the steps to the front door and shove it open. “Cash? Where are you?”
“I’m right here.” He’s sitting on the couch, back rigid, his jaw so tense I can hear his teeth grind together. “Hey, Hales.”
“Cash, what—”
A man steps into view. He has dark hair and dark brows that dip low over intense eyes. His lips are a taut line. He looks scary when he’s guarding my aunt, but it’s nothing compared to now.
My stomach twists and drops. “Ronan.” I can’t just stop at saying his name. “Did Caroline send you?”
It’s impossible not to notice the gun at his side. He’s not trying to hide it. “She learned some unfortunate news about your father, and the family has decided it’s best for him to stay home for the time being.”
Smiling feels impossible but I force it, my heart trying its best to leap out of my body and follow my stomach to the pits of hell. “Is he working now? I’d like to see him.”
“I’m not sure he’s cooled down enough to talk.”
Tiny hairs on the backs of my arms pull straight up. “My dad always wants to talk to me, even if he’s busy. Where is he?”
Ronan gestures to the workshop door. It’s closed. It’s never closed. And there’s something shiny and thick on the outside. A new lock. On the outside of the door.
They locked him in.
I take a deep, slow breath and try not to throw up.
“I’m going to go down and see my dad now.” Cash stares straight ahead on the couch, not looking at me. One of his hands clenches into a fist and opens again. “You’ll unlock the door.”
Ronan considers this for so long I think he’s going to tell me I can’t go. I prepare myself to scream. To freak the fuck out. It’s probably the most effective tool in my arsenal. Clearly, trading my body for my father’s safety didn’t work. A full-scale imitation of hysteria might.
“Fine,” he says finally. “But if he causes any trouble, I’m locking you both in there.”
Causes any trouble. Please. My father is distractible and too in love with his work, but that doesn’t mean he’s dangerous. The only trouble he causes is not being enough of a stuck-up asshole. I march over to the door and wait, arms folded over my chest, while Ronan undoes the lock. It’s too much for the old wooden door. The sight of all that stainless steel makes me want to sink to my knees and cry.
I’ve done enough crying for now.
Ronan opens the door. Silence floats up the stairs, and a new fear pierces me. What if something happened to him while he was locked in? I take measured steps on the way down, like dignified walking is some kind of talisman. Three steps from the bottom, I get the courage to say something. “Daddy?”