“You don’t know what you’ve done, Poppy.” Anger vibrated through his voice.
“Please don’t do this, not again,” she pleaded, trying to wedge herself between me and her father.
“How could you?” His anger was directed at me, gun still drawn and stance steady. “After everything?”
“What is everything?”
“Unless you have a warrant you need to get the hell off of my property.”
“This is a public road,” Captain O’Henry grit.
“The hell it is. Why am I the only one maintaining it then? Poppy can make her own decisions.”
Poppy pushed my chest away, fire lighting her pretty irises. “I can fight my own battles.”
It took every ounce of control in my body to stop myself from fighting this one for her.
“Dad—” She turned to him, leveling his chest with a palm and pushing him away. “Can we talk this over with some coffee?”
“Thought I was coming to chase down a missing person, Poppy.” Her dad’s voice was soft, ravaged with worry like a good father.
I still hated him.
But I loved her.
“Let’s go up to my palace and talk it out—”
“I'm not going anywhere with him.” The Captain nodded my way.
I rolled my eyes, throwing my hands in the air and turning to walk to the edge of the cliff that overlooked the bay.
“Talk to me, would you, tell me what’s going on that I don't know exactly?”
“That animal stole the first woman I ever loved and then he murdered her.”
“That’s not what happened, you dirty snake.” I knew Connor had always had a crush on Lily, I just never thought he'd go that far. The man held a grudge from a junior prom dance when Lily had chosen me to be her date and not him. The beef between Connor and I had only grown since then.
“Ssh.” Poppy pressed a finger to her lips. “You're not helping.”
“He’s been blaming me for bullshit for decades!”
“He isn’t wrong about that.” Poppy frowned at her father.
He huffed, holstering his gun, and then headed to the cop car idling at the shoulder of my road.
“Good riddance.”
“I’m not leavin’ without my daughter, I don’t care what it takes.” He flipped his handcuffs in one hand. “I wouldn’t leave my worst enemy alone with you.”
“Dad—” Poppy protested.
“Surprise, she’s stayin’ forever, asshole.”
“You’re the only asshole here, and over my dead body Poppy stays.”
“Dad—”
“Poppy, if you stay you’re dead to me, alright? It’s that simple and that important.”
