Didn’t that asshole know she was mine today? Laina might want to have all of us together, doing things to her, but that was not on my bingo card today.
She saw it was him and answered the call, “Kieran. Why are you calling at this ungodly hour?” He must’ve said something he thought was witty, because Laina chuckled. “Well, okay, it’s not ungodly, I guess, but some of us had a late night—”
Then she stopped and must’ve listened to whatever it was he had to say.
I was slow in sitting on the bed and watching her expression change. Her pink eyes widened, her lips parted somewhat. Her eyebrows even lifted. A shock, whatever it was, and then her expression changed: eyes narrowed, lips tugged into a frown, and her brows creased. Shock had turned into annoyance.
“You’re sure?” she asked Kieran. “Okay. I’ll go warn my dad. See if you can find out what the hell she’s up to.” She ended the call and met my eyes, and I had the feeling I already knew what this was about.
Still, I didn’t say a word, waiting for her to confirm my suspicions.
“Tessa’s back,” she said, the words landing with a weight they had no right to carry. A few seconds of silence as she seemed to reckon with that fact.
“What are we going to do?” I asked quietly. She’d tried to deal with Tessa on her own, get her to leave the city by threatening her, and it clearly didn’t work. I knew my girl had a dark side, but if she said the word, I would be happy to take Tessa to the pier and introduce her head to a bullet.
Tessa would’ve had Laina killed. I wasn’t a fan of violence against women, but that was not something I could ever forgive. If she would’ve had her way, Laina and I would never have met,and that angered me, made me furious in a way nothing else in this world could.
Laina got up, and she hurriedly slipped on her clothes. “Need to go see my dad, tell him the news. Maybe we should hang with him today and make sure Tessa doesn’t try anything.”
Hanging out with her dad wasn’t something I’d enjoy too much, but if she was that worried about him that my presence in the house would make her feel better, then that’s what we’d do.
Once she was dressed, she grabbed her things. We were out of the house soon after that—I’d have to clean up the trays later, once things had calmed a bit. Right now, it was clear her only priority was to reach her dad and make sure Tessa hadn’t already tried something with him. At the rate that woman went the last time she was in the city, I wouldn’t put anything past her.
I didn’t trust her. Someone like that you couldn’t trust an ounce.
Tessa had worn out her welcome a long time ago, and now that Laina’s inner darkness had gotten a taste of what it was like, I didn’t think she’d let the woman walk away again. No, whether she was aware of it or not, Tessa had signed her own death warrant by returning.
That woman’s life ticked toward its doom, and she didn’t even know it.
Chapter Six – Laina
I couldn’t lie, my heart raced the whole time during the drive to my dad’s house. I was a mess—after a long night with Mike, my hair was greasy and I probably smelled like body odor, but I couldn’t shower or do anything until I knew my dad was okay.
If Tessa was here… only God knew what her plan was. It had to be big, for her to come back here knowing I had blackmail at the ready.
It’d been five months. Tessa would realize soon enough that I wasn’t the same girl I used to be. These last five months I’d grown and become someone else, someone who could stare at the darkness without blinking. I’d tried to give the woman her life, but apparently she was content with throwing it away.
Whatever happened next was on her, not me. I’d tried to play nice. I’d really tried.
Not anymore. I could promise it wouldn’t happen again. The nice Laina was gone.
We pulled into the driveway that led up to the house, and my heart practically fell to the floor of the car when I saw Tessa’s vehicle parked near the front door. “She’s here,” I whispered, curling my hands into fists, though my right fist was definitely more useable than my left.
I flew out of the car before Mike put it into park, abandoning my bag as I raced toward the front door. Mike was close behind me, his long legs easily able to keep up with my sprinting. I threw open the door and ran inside, my heart pounding so loud I could hear the blood rushing through my ears.
It was a strange thing, for me to care so much about my dad, after everything. Half a year ago, I might not have blinked at something like this. Now? Everything was different.
I heard voices in the sitting room, right down the hall from the front vestibule, where my dad kept his liquor cabinet. I skidded to a halt beneath the archway to the room, and I saw the woman in question sitting on one of the sofas, wearing a loose dress, with her brown hair pinned up in curls.
The second I appeared, Tessa turned her head in my direction and gave me a smile. “Laina,” she said. “It’s good to see you again.” A few feet away from her, my dad stood, his gaze fixated on nothing in particular. Though it was before lunch, he had a glass of something in his hand, which he sipped from like he was nursing it.
Shit. He didn’t look happy, and what’s worse, Tessadid.
Double shit.
Tessa got to her feet, not breaking eye contact with me when she said, “I’ll send you over the papers soon so you can verify what I told you. I assume you’ll want to tell Laina yourself, so I’ll leave you two to it.” She let out a hum as she sauntered past me, and then when she walked past Mike, who was behind me, she craned her neck back and muttered, “And you’re still here. Wonderful.”
Grinding my teeth, I turned to watch her leave. Soon I heard her exit the house, and only after I knew for a fact she wasn’t coming back did I meet my dad’s eyes from across the room. He ran his liquor-free hand over his face and shuffled to a seat, collapsing on it like he was suddenly drained of all energy.
