“I’m a smart guy,” Dad boasted.
I could have argued that because it wouldn’t take a super-sleuth to figure out his ex-wife had a house not far from that shopping center.
“Are the police after the boxes?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about those,” Dad said in an exasperated tone. “You gotta pay Frank. Whatever amount he says, you gotta come up with it.”
“Nope. She isn’t paying to keep your ass out of a sling.”
Dad shook his head. “It’ll be CatalinaandSavannah in the sling.”
Punc pushed closer to Dad. “Not happening. You make it clear to Frank,you’reon the hook for this shit.”
“I tried.”
“Try again,” Punc said, then shifted his gaze to me. I couldn’t tell if he was calm or hiding his fury. “You got anything else to say to him?” he asked.
Deep down, I didn’t, but my anger got the better of me. “Don’t you want your boxes?”
Dad widened his eyes at me like I was being dense. “I didn’t drive here, Savannah, which means I can’t take them anywhere.”
I crossed my arms on my chest. “In other words, it’s a-okay with you to leave them here, so Cat and I are sitting ducks?”
Dad rolled his eyes. “Everyone has boxes in their garage. You’re not sitting ducks. Don’t be so dramatic.”
Punc’s eyes shifted to me for a split second before he twisted his torso and cocked a fist. The movement provided extra momentum when he clocked Dad in the eye. Dad’s face whipped to the side as he yelled out in surprise.
I’d never seen a fistfight up close, and I grimaced.
“Get out. Don’t come back. You’re dead to them,” Punc bit out.
Dad straightened, puffed up his chest, and I thought he might retaliate. Whatever he saw in Punc’s eyes made his posture wilt. It didn’t stop him from aiming venomous eyes at my man. “You can’t keep me from Catalina.”
I stepped forward. “He can’t, but I can.”
Dad looked at me like I’d sprouted a second head. “Where is Cat? I bet you don’t even know.”
“She’s spending the night at a friend’s house. Punc’s right. You’re dead to me, now get out.”
I was ashamed to say that, but it was clear that Dad cared about himself more than Catalina and I being safe. Having a dad like that was embarrassing, to say the least. And sad.
Part of me expected Dad to look especially remorseful at this point, but instead he blanked his face, turned and left.
Punc locked the door after him and came to me.
“I don’t mean to bring up an earlier topic, but are you still sure you want to be with me?” I asked.
He grabbed my hands and gave them a squeeze. “Fuck, yeah. It takes a helluva lot of courage to do what you did andmeanit. People say shit, but you weren’t wishy-washy at all. I’m fucking proud you’re my woman.”
I twisted my hands free and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Thanks for that.”
With his arms around my shoulders, he hugged me tight. “You’re more than welcome. Are you sure you’re okay after that? It was pretty intense.”
“I’m trying to ignore it,” I murmured.
His fingers traced the underside of my jaw to tip my face up. “Your days of ignoring shit or powering past it are over. Let it out, sweetheart. I’m here to do more than just keep you safe.”
I gave him a wan smile. “I think I gave up on Dad a long time ago. And my instincts were right, that conversation had to be private.”
