“That’s a pathetic power-play, even for you.” I push off the desk and barge past him, jerking the door open before I add. “You can’t stop me from seeing Mom.”
“Not if you ensure that I don’t know about it.” He turns to stare at me over his shoulder. “But then again, you’ve shown you’re not very good at keeping secrets, so…”
“It’s really no mystery why everyone fucking hates you,” I snarl. “Not when your daughter does too.”
I retrace my steps at a brisk pace, waving a stiff goodbye to Suzanne after I punch through the access door.
Fuck him. I won’t feel bad for what went down. Not when it’s been coming for years.
I make it to Theresa’s cafe within minutes, not sure where else I want to go right now. The keys to my new house are at my parents’ place, but their depressing abode is the last goddamn place I want to be at the minute. I praise my luck when I find a singular patron inside besides Theresa and Vanessa.
“You look… more lively today,” Theresa calls from where she sips on a coffee at the register, one eyebrow raised. “Not sure we have a spare table for you, though.” Her intrigue turns to a grin.
“Dad’s an asshole.” I pause and stare at the patron, daring them to tell him what I fucking said before returning focus to Theresa. “He won’t tell me what’s going on with the Devil’s Breed, and he just kicked me out of his house.”
“He what?” Vanessa sets dirty dishes on the servery, wiping her hands on her apron when she looks at me. “Why?”
“Because I’m a disappointment.”
Theresa tuts, letting herself out from behind the counter. “Make Kyra and yourself a coffee, Vanessa. And bring cake.” She gestures to the table farthest from the sole patron. “Sit.”
I do as she instructs, flopping over the table when I do, head cradled in my arms. “I’m not even surprised.”
“Doesn’t make it right, though.” The chair scrapes as she settles opposite me. “What was the bully’s justification?”
“Huh?” I lift my head and rest my chin on my arm.
“Why are you such an apparent disappointment?”
I sigh, gaze flicking to where Ness makes our drinks. “He said I’ll ruin his reputation and his career with my choices.”
“Let me guess,” Theresa drones, leaning back to sling an arm over the chair. “Your association with the club, namely Jinx.”
“Among other things.” I sigh, staring at the fliers tacked to the front of the counter. “Being the Sheriff was his career choice, not mine, so why do my life choices have to revolve around his image?”
“Because he’s one of a group of professions who all believe status means everything.” She taps her finger on the table as she lists them out. “Lawyers, cops, judges, even doctors. They all believe a little bit of scandal will topple their pedestal and leave them stranded.”
“To be fair,” I murmur, “it’s a bit more than a little bit of scandal.”
“Color me intrigued.” She leans in as Vanessa arrives with the coffee.
I glance at both women and sigh. Seems half the county already knows, so why not tell them too? “I have—had—an OnlyFans account. It’s why the Devil’s Breed stopped me, not because of Dad.”
Vanessa tilts her head, both eyebrows raised, before turning to retrieve the cakes from the counter.
Theresa sits frozen for a beat, then snorts and erupts with laughter. “Oh, girl, I wish I had been there to see his face.”
“It wasn’t all it was cracked up to be,” I say, bursting her bubble. “He called me a whore.”
Her humor disappears. “He what now?”
“Said I was a whore for undressing for the world.”
The sole patron rises from his table and drops a tip on the surface before smoothly making for the exit.
Theresa waits until the bell over the door chimes behind him, and then looks back at me. “Do not listen to a word that ignorant asshole has to say.” She almost seems personally offended. I guess it makes sense given her history as a club bunny. We’re no different at the heart of it, just operating in different times. “What you do is honest work.”
“Did,” I correct her. “I can’t do it now that I’m here, in Minnesota.”
