Living in a fucking toilet would probably be a step up from that hellhole he was squatting in.
“There’s a chance they might be putting together a court case,” he tells me.
“Theyas in…?”
“Sally and her bullshit partner in crime. They have affairs in legality, so it won’t be difficult for the pair of them to get me in prison.”
Another step up from the motel.
My father picks at his split lip, thinking something over, and slams a restless hand onto the table. It almost makes me jump.
“Surely you can find a way to get me out of here. I’m your father.”
“And I’m supposed to be your daughter.” Rage creeps into my veins. I do my best to manage it, seeing as there are people with tasers and authority in here. “You were prepared to sell me.”
“That was just a lie to get us both out of there.”
I nod. It’s almost funny how much of a compulsive liar he is. It’s always been excuse after excuse with him. I always kept holding on, waiting for him to be my father.
“You left me alone in the house for days. As a minor.” I’m only starting to realize how serious of an offense that is, now with my own children to look after. He should be grateful that I’m keeping my voice to a minimum. If anyone important hears this, he’ll be behind bars before his Boston buddies can even file a case. “You spent all of your money on gambling, and left me alone at eighteen years old with no money, and mortgage loans to pay off. You were uncontactable.” My hands curl into fists under the table. “And you have the audacity to sit here and ask for my help to bail you out?” I sit back, exhausted from all of this. “The worst part is that I’m still counting on you to change, but that will never happen.”
“Piper.”
It’s ironic that I finally have my father’s attention, right when I’m about to walk away from him.
I think I’m ready to finally do that.
I scrape the chair back and stand. He gets to watchmewalk out ofhislife this time. Should be satisfying. He needs a taste of his own medicine.
“I hope the oatmeal they serve you in prison won’t be too sloppy.” He’s definitely going to spend most of his life—if not all of it, behind bars, so he better get used to eating the rationed slop.
“Goodbye,father,” I say, adding extra punch onto the end of his name.
And with that, I walk away and never look back. I’m straight out of the police station, and hopping back into Caleb’s truck, since he’s waiting outside for me.
“How was it?”
“Satisfying,” I say, “and necessary.”
Caleb kisses me on the lips, and sparks immediately start flying.
Maybe we can do something about those sparks the second we get home, seeing as the kids are back at school.
“Do you know if they found the hitman from Boston?” Caleb asks as we step up onto the porch.
“The police didn’t mention anything about him, no. But I didn’t ask.” I shrug. “I don’t really care what happens to him either.”
“No, neither do I,” Caleb says, “but we better hope that it doesn’t get back to the others in Boston.”
“The cops seem like they’re pretty switched on. We should let them do their thing. In the meantime…” I turn Caleb around and plant a slow, heated kiss to his lips that I know he won’t be able to refuse. “I want you to take me to bed. Now.”
“Bed?” A delicious smirk plays on his face. “I thought you were more partial to being thrown against hard surfaces?” He smacks my ass playfully and lifts me up, tossing me over his shoulder in a fireman carry.
We arrive in my room—the one we both slept in last night, and he throws me onto the unmade bed. Between all the rounds of sex we’ve been having ever since yesterday, we didn’t think it was worth it to make it. Last night, we were tangled in limbs and bedsheets until the early hours, and I plan on it being the same tonight.
“Come here,” he grunts in that gorgeous sandpaper voice of his. He tugs me, bringing me up from the bed, and swipes his hot tongue over mine, giving me everything.
He combines his tongue with mine with a new kind of desperation. Before, it was different, a rush to undress one another as fast as physically possible. Now, seeing as we have all the time in the world and are in full acceptance of our feelings, we slow it right down and feeleverything.
