He held out a hand, silencing me.
“He thought you were an intruder, Dad. You never said anything about coming here, and it’s eight in the morning. What the hell were you thinking?”
He tilted his head, staring at her. “Allison let me in before she left. I guess she didn’t close the door. I wanted to surprise my little girl.”
“Well, you did that.” She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “I’ve missed you.”
I stood there, watching them, knowing I should back out of the apartment just like I’d entered.
As I started to move, his eyes slid to me. “Stop.”
I didn’t move another muscle. “Not moving, sir.”
“Thank you,” he said, catching me off guard. “Thank you for making sure Makenna was safe even if it cost me a few moments of…”
“No problem,” I said, not even blinking. “She tried to come in here herself, but…”
“I can handle myself, and I wouldn’t have attacked my own father, so…”
I rubbed the back of my neck, wanting to get lost. “I’m going to be late. I have to go, Mak.”
She smiled. “Thanks for walking me home.”
“You’re welcome,” I said to her before turning my gaze to her father. “Again, I’m sorry.”
He gave me a chin lift as I backed away toward the door, getting myself away from the entire clusterfuck I’d just created all in the name of keeping Mak safe.
Chapter Nine
Makenna
“Who is he?” Dad asked as soon as Austin left.
“Just a friend I met.”
“You’ve been here under a week, and you already have a friend who’s willing to risk his life for you?”
“Well, kind of. Yeah.” I raised my shoulder, wishing I could run to my room and away from the conversation. “He was just being a gentleman.”
Dad’s eyes didn’t leave my face. “What’s his full name?”
“Austin Moore,” I said, wincing immediately, knowing I shouldn’t have opened my big fat mouth.
Dad took out his phone, pressed a button, and kept staring at me.
“What’s up, man? Aren’t you supposed to be visiting the kid and not busting our balls at work?”
“I want all the details on an Austin Moore. He’s enlisted in the navy where Makenna is stationed.”
“Um,” I muttered, inching backward. “He’s stationed in California.”
My dad’s jaw ticked. “Scratch that. He’s out in California. I want it within the hour.”
“You got it. I’m on it,” the man on the phone said before hanging up.
“You don’t need to check him out. I can tell you whatever you want to know. He’s only here a few more days.” I collapsed back onto the couch, kicking out my legs and resting my tennis shoes on the coffee table. “You don’t need to run an entire background check.”
“I do. The man has been to your place, had his hands around my neck, and didn’t seem right.”
