They turn to me, sadness written on their faces.
“I’m not leaving you alone,” Easton proclaims.
“Sweetie, you should come back with me, this man is dangerous.”
I chuckle, the reaction shocking us all. “And you’re not?”
Dad drops his chin to his chest, and a regretful sigh leaves his lungs.
“I was taken by men you hired. Easton’s never done that.”
“Arloe, he’s the reason I even contacted them. He’s been—”
I cut him short and square my shoulders. “Blackmailing you. I know.”
Easton snaps his attention to me, a blank stare on his face.
“So I was just a job to you? A means to get close to my father, which makes no sense, considering we’ve never even talked about my family.”
Easton tries to reach out to me, but I wave him off.
“Don’t touch me. I trusted you, but the whole time you were using me.”
He huffs. “I never used you, amore.”
“Stop. Don’t call me that. You went after my dad, blackmailed him, beat him. I want to know.”
“Ar—”
“Talk. For once in your life, be honest with me.”
“I’ve never lied to you.”
His jaw tics, and it pisses me off. The audacity of him to be getting upset with me, when he started this whole thing.
“You sure as shit didn’t tell me anything. But what I don’t understand, Easton, is that you clearly got what you wanted. He signed your papers, right, so why come back and fuck me?”
My father grows irate at my words, but I don’t care. He caused my pain tonight, too, so he can be uncomfortable.
“We can talk about this later. You can leave.” Easton points to my dad then turns back to me. “You need to eat and rest. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know in the morning.”
“I’d rather you tell me now,” I insist while looking between the two of them.
Easton lets out another huff and scrubs his hand over his mouth. I can see this eating at him, but I need to know.
“There are things you don’t understand, amore. Things I’ve done that’ll change everything for us. But if you want to hear it, I’ll tell you everything.”
I fold my arms over my chest, waiting for either of them to start talking.
“Sweetheart. Just come back to Arlington with me. You’re not safe with this man. He’s a criminal.”
“You know, he’s not the one who put me in danger. That was you. On top of everything that tore us apart, you do this.”
“Arloe, I wasn’t thinking, and I never intended for them to come after you. I only wanted him—”
“Dead,” I finish my father’s statement. “Since when did you become a killer?”
“When he threatened you,” Dad says.
