He sniffed, clearly not used to people not fawning over him, and shifted on his feet. “Well, I’m hoping you can help me find my daughter. She hasn’t been returning my or her mother’s calls, and we’re worried about her. Since she wouldn’t pick up the phone, I had to take some time out of my schedule to fly up here and make sure everything was okay. You know how she can get…”
I folded my arms over my chest and leaned back against the counter. “No, I don’t think I do. Why don’t you enlighten me?”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, you know. Always so dramatic. Making a bigger deal out of everything than it is. She doesloveto play the victim.”
This motherfucker…
“You thinkshe’sthe one who plays the victim,” I said, tone flat.
He blew out a long-suffering sigh and shook his head. “Afraid so. She’s been doing it since she was little. Her mother and I have tried to get her to stop—honestly, it was embarrassing. Well, I’m sure you know what that’s like now. Being—” he cleared his throat, giving me a once-over “—married to her.”
“Oh, I know exactly what she’s like.”
Beautiful and kind and strong and stubborn and committed and determined and soft in all the perfect ways and loyal and giving and a million other qualities I couldn’t even detail.
“Exactly, so you know she’s—”
“I’m not sure what you think is going to happen here,” I said, cutting him off. “Or if you thought somehow I’d be stupid enough to take your words at face value… As if my wife hadn’t confided in me all the awful, fucked-up things you’ve been doing to her for years. But I—”
“Whoa, whoa. Now wait just a minute.” He held out his hands, as if that would be enough to calm me down, his face a mask of concern that was pure bullshit. “I don’t know what she’s told you, but you have to take what she says with a grain of salt. Girls like her say whatever they need to to get the attention they aren’t going to get otherwise because…well, you know.”
“No, I don’t know.”
“She’s—”
“You think I’m just going to let you stand here and insult my wife?” I pushed off from the counter and stepped toward him. “Go ahead. Try it again.”
He held up his hands in placation, the corners of his mouth turned down. “Look, I’m sorry if you were offended by what I said. I just want to talk to my daughter. I haven’t seen her in months, she’s not answering our calls, and then last night, I find out my best friend died at her hands.” He shook his head, his façade cracking for a moment as anger overtook his features. “Well, it wouldn’t surprise me if she just let it happen. She’s always hated him, even when he gave her a handout so she could work at his clinic. God knows he could’ve found a dozen other more qualified physicians to take her place.”
“Get out,” I said, my voice hard as I pointed to the front door.
“Excuse me?”
“Get the fuck out, get back in your rental car, head to the airport, and fly home. If you think I’m going to let you within breathing distance of Quinn, you’re out of your mind. I don’t want you here, and it’s obvious neither does she, so I’m not letting you anywhere near my wife. Not now, not ever. Not when I’m around.”
“You can’t stop me from seeing my own daughter.”
“The fuck I can’t.” I stood to my full height—I had a couple inches on him and quite a bit of muscle, and I was damn well going to use it—and stared him down. “If she says she wants to see you, then I’ll support her, but that hasn’t happened. So it’s time for you to get out before I call the sheriff and let him know you’re trespassing on our family’s property.”
He breathed out a forced laugh. “You can’t be serious.”
“Can’t I?”
“How am I supposed to talk to her if she’s not answering?”
“Maybe take that as the hint it is—your daughter doesn’t want to speak to you anymore.”
“Well, she can’t just—”
“She can, and she did. And it’s about fucking time because you’ve been abusing her for too long. Don’t contact her again. If she wants to be in touch with you, she will be. Do we understand each other?”
His demeanor changed so fast, it was almost like a switch being flipped. One minute, he was all confusion and remorse, and then next, he was glaring at me, his eyes hard and jaw tight, hands clenched at his sides.
But I wasn’t moving. In fact, I wished he’d take a swing at me so I could lay him out. He could try to intimidate me all he wanted, but it wasn’t working. This waste of space thought I was going to let him within a ten-mile radius of Quinn? I didn’t fucking think so. Not when he was only going to pile more stress on her shoulders. Not when his only intention was to tear her down.
When he finally realized I wasn’t budging, he sneered at me. “You can keep her. She’s been nothing but an embarrassment from day one.”
The only thing that kept me from decking this asshole was the fact that if I were in jail for assault and battery—and there was no way this motherfucker wouldn’t press charges—I wouldn’t be able to find Quinn and make things right between us.
