My dad ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his leather chair, then he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Right. You did mention that before. I guess I forgot. Did you eat something already?”
“No, Kieran and I will grab something.”
He set his hands in his lap. “I want to preface this by saying I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but… are you certain you can trust Kieran?”
“I trust him with my life, dad. So did you, not that long ago.”
“Yes, but that was before…” He rubbed the side of his face with a groan. “…everything happened. I just want to make sure nothing is going to happen to you again. It’s something I always worry about.”
Stepping inside his office, I told him, “I’m okay, Dad. Right now, I’m worried about you.” I could immediately tell he didn’t quite get what I meant by that, so I had to say, “I don’t have any evidence yet, but Tessa’s playing with you. I know she is. There’s not a doubt in my mind this is some twisted game on her part to integrate herself back into your life.”
My dad didn’t say anything to that.
“You can provide the life she’s always wanted. She probably assumes it’ll be easier to get back with you than it would to find another man who can give her what she wants. She came from nothing. A life like this? People would kill for it, which she is obviously more than willing to do, in case you forgot.”
“I know, I know. You don’t have to worry about me inviting her back into our lives. Maybe that’s what she wants, but I won’t do it. I will, however, agree to co-parent and try to have a healthy relationship with her moving forward, for the sake of the baby—”
“And what if, say, that baby isn’t real? What then?”
He sighed a harsh sigh that practically shook the room. “I think you’ve been watching too much TV. It might work in TV shows and movies, but I don’t think faking a pregnancy is as easy as you think it is. Besides, I met with her doctor. I’m getting a paternity test done, remember?”
Still, I wouldn’t give it up. “Have you actually seen her belly? Have you felt it?”
The look on my dad’s face told me it all: no.
“Just be careful,” I warned him. “Don’t trust her. I’m telling you, Dad, something is off with her.” I could feel it in my bones, but I didn’t say that much. I could tell the more I told him not to trust her, the more he’d checked out of this conversation. He wasso focused on that theoretical baby in her belly that he wasn’t fully open to other possibilities.
Sure, faking a pregnancy wasn’t as easy as they made it look on TV shows. Life wasn’t a soap opera. But in a city like this, everyone could be bought with a price, including doctors. To me, it was better to be skeptical than to blindly believe a well-known liar like Tessa.
“You be careful with Kieran, too,” my dad said, “and be safe tonight.”
That’s as much as I would get from him, so I gave him a smile and turned to leave his office. Until I discovered what Tessa’s ultimate plan was, I’d have to keep an eye on my dad. It was probably good that I was back here, living with him, if only for that reason.
And Kelly? Once she got over the traumatic experience, she’d be fine. She was surely safer without me in her life, that much was true.
I waited for Kieran in the front room. I made sure to slip on comfortable shoes I didn’t mind getting muddy. I wore a semi-loose long-sleeve shirt, something I didn’t often wear because typically sleeves bugged the shit out of me. But when it came to tonight, I’d rather have a long-sleeved shirt on than a jacket. I had the feeling I’d get way too hot in any sort of coat. My blood would surely be pumping enough to keep me warm, provided the chase lasted longer than thirty seconds.
I hoped it would. I’d never been chased before. I didn’t know what to expect, but it had to be a fun time, especially if it ended in a claiming. A claiming that was a long time coming.
Kieran’s car pulled into the driveway, rolling to the front door, which I raced out of the moment I saw him coming up. I was all grins when I got into his car. I leaned over the center console to give him a quick kiss before buckling in.
He smirked. “You seem excited. Anything in particular you’re excited about, my lady?” His voice took on a slight English tone, and that grin only grew when he turned the car around and pulled us out. The directions were already loaded into his car’s GPS. Our destination was a good three and a half hours away, although it’d take us longer to get there since we would be stopping for dinner on the way.
Had to be out of the city somewhere. Nowhere close by, for reasons that should have been obvious.
“Is it wrong for me to be excited to spend the night with you?” I asked, sounding way more innocent than I had any right to be. “Even if said night will be in the woods, outside somewhere?”
“Not at all. You’re not the only one who’s excited. This—” His hands gripped the wheel harder, so hard his knuckles turned white. “—has been a long time coming. Just you and me. Well, you, me, and the mask.” He glanced at me, a knowing twinkle in his pitch-black stare. “Assuming you still want the mask?”
“Is that even a question?”
Kieran chuckled. “Of course, silly me. Don’t worry, I brought it.”
The mere thought of my Devil making an appearance tonight sent a shiver down my spine, and that shiver didn’t stop there. Oh, no. Let’s just say that shiver went tootherplaces, too, places he was probably thinking a lot about lately.
“How is being back home with dear old daddy again?” he asked me.
“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. What about you? Have you talked to your dad?” I shouldn’t have brought the man up, but since he’d been on the forefront of my mind these past few days, I couldn’t help it.
