“You're going to let Carlisle walk out of here with me."
One of the men snickered. "He doesn't take orders from you?—"
"Shut the fuck up!" Dad hissed at the man. "No one speaks to her." He turned to me. "You need to stay here until this is over, and then you can go."
"I'm not leaving without Carlisle," I said stubbornly. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but I didn't want to hurt him more than he already was. The pain in his eyes was evident, but I could also see love and concern shining through.
"That won't be happening." Dad moved around the desk and dropped into his chair. "Hallen isn't going anywhere with you. He's poked his nose into the wrong place this time."
Tears ran down my face at the stern look on my father's face. He was serious. There would be no budging him. "I love him. Daddy, please let him walk out with me. I'm begging you."
His eyes flickered, and his jaw tightened. "Infatuation is not love!" he shouted.
"Daddy, please," I pleaded, my voice cracking with emotion. I couldn't bear the thought of being separated from Carlisle. But my father remained unmoved, his resolve unshakable. I knew then that I would have to do something different. I wiped the tears from my cheeks, squared my shoulders, and steeled myself to fight for the man I loved. "Where Carlisle goes, I go. I don't love him because I'm infatuated with him. I have been in love with him for years. He is my future, whether he wants that or not."
Carlisle huffed out a breath. "Talla," he whispered.
I turned to him and held his gaze. "I love you, and I’m not leaving."
"Levi, you need to come in here and get Carlisle. Don't worry about me. My father is a bastard, but he won't hurt me. Promise me. Carlisle first."
"You're a pain in my ass, Tallulah James."
"Promise me."
"Buy us five minutes."
I inhaled and slowly exhaled. "Are you the boss?" I asked my father. "Aiden and Jane worked for you. I know that. I want to know if you work for someone."
He watched me thoughtfully. "Do you expect me to answer that?"
“I want to know why you would hurt the man I love. I want to know where Mom is as well. I'm also struggling to accept that Aiden acted on your orders. I don't want to believe that my father would do that. But you did. Why? Did someone make you?"
He narrowed his eyes, and I noticed the other men getting restless out of the corner of my eye. Maybe they were more dangerous than my father thought.
"Aiden wanted more. I tried to blackmail him because I knew he killed Monica. He blackmailed me in turn. That's how our alliance started.”
"What about the drugs?"
"An acquaintance needed help moving things around when he was arrested." His eyes moved to Carlisle. "A friend of yours, Hallen."
"Stillman," Carlisle snarled.
Dad and the two men laughed when one said, "He'll be out soon, and he will finish what you started, Hallen."
"Over my dead body."
One of the men snickered.
"Levi!"
Ask James who Stillman works for."
I pressed against Carlisle's side and glared at the man who fathered me. "Who do you and Stillman work for?"
He scoffed. "I just want you to be safe, Tallulah. I'm not going to get into that with you."
“If that person gets upset, they'll come for me. Surely you should know this. I have the right to know which direction the attack is going to come from."
