I raise a brow. “Why would I?”
“Because, Daisy.” He says my name with contempt. Like always. “You know why. You shouldn’t be here.”
“It’s fine. Gage says—” Oops. I’m not going there.
“Gage? Who the hell is Gage?”
“I am.”
We both turn to see the one and only Officer Gage Golden in all his police uniformed glory. Except he’s not wearing the same uniform as he did the first night. No. Today he’s in dress pants and shirt with a jacket. He looks nice.
“You just let yourself in?” my dad snaps.
“The door was open. Finch was inside.” Gage shrugs. “Plus, Daisy sounded distressed.”
I did?
“May I ask who you are, sir?” Gage asks.
“No,” my dad says gruffly.
Not wanting this to get out of hand, I say quickly, “This is my father, Dr. Dorian Buchanan.” He prefers I say the entire name. Hell, he preferseveryonesay his entire name. The “doctor” part is very important to him.
“Right.” Gage holds his hand out to my father, but Dad doesn’t move. It’s like he’s refusing to shake it.
Doing my best to end this little standoff, I hand the entire container of cookies to Gage. “Here.” It’s sad, really. I love that container, but I can replace it. “Take these.”
Gage reaches out and takes it. “You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Thanks, Daisy.”
From behind Gage, the other cop says, “Yeah. Thanks, Daisy.”
“You’re welcome.”
I follow them both until they’re out the door. Shutting it behind them, I close my eyes, waiting for what’s to come. I don’t have to wait too long.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Daisy?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say as I turn to face him.
“Inviting strange men in here?” He points downward. “Tomyapartment?” The sneer on his face is ugly. Almost as ugly as he is in the inside. “I’ve warned you—”
“I know.” I nod. “You’ll stop paying for this place if I can’t abide by your rules.” Which is why I’m moving. As soon as this book is done, I’m out of here.
“That’s right.” He steps closer, lowering his voice as he goes. “I’ve warned you.”
I nod. He has. Many times.
“And yet here you are inviting men intomyhome.”
“I—” What? I’m not sure what to say in response. “I’m sorry.” Don’t judge. The only reason I said that was to hopefully end this conversation so he’ll leave.
“You should be.” Dad’s voice softens. “You should have told me about your neighbor.”
“It was on the news.”
