Page 181 of Their Wicked Secrets: Untouched, Vol 5 of 6

I knock on the door.

“Come in.” Mom’s voice calms my nerves. The tension tones down.

She’s folding laundry when I open the door. Her eyes lift to mine, and she smiles softly. “Hey, kid. How’d you fare with the blackout?”

It’s too much. Maybe just knowing she’s here, and she doesn’t know what all happened last night yet. Tears flood my eyes, and I choke on a sob.

Her face turns to concern, and the next second I’m in her arms, clinging to her like my life depends on it. I didn’t know I’d been trying to remain strong for the guys until this moment.

She runs her hand over my hair and leads me to the edge of the bed. When we sit down, she hands me a tissue. “What’s happening? Are you okay?”

“I don’t know, Mom. I don’t know.”

CHAPTER 56

The Offensive Counterintelligence

Luke

Eli comes with me to my house because my dad likes him. Eli’s father didn’t leave the same way the others did. He just got busy with his own business and then cut ties. But he still has my father as a client. They just aren’t in business together.

Without entering through the garage, I can’t tell if my father is home or out of town. I’m sure the only reason he was in town was to torment Penny and me. With us gone, there’s no reason for him to stay. Hopefully.

“I’ve got your back,” Eli says as we stare at the house from his car.

“I know.”

Ride or die. No matter what. They’ll be there for me, and I’ll be there for them. That we have Harper to bind us is the icing on the cake.

I touch the thumb drive in my pocket. It’s our insurance in case I run into my father. I haven’t been home for days, but he hasn’t tried to contact me in that time. Not a single text. It has me on edge.

He rarely goes no contact when he wants something. And I haven’t given him anything that he’s demanded.

We leave the car and I unlock the door to the house. The quiet falls over us like a veil as we enter. I’m not about to sneak around this house that was never really a home. Fuck that. So I take the straight path to my room, which leads right past my father’s office.

Maybe part of me wants a confrontation with my father. To finally have it out. For better or worse.

As we draw close to his office, the door is closed, but voices come through it. I hold up my hand and Eli stops beside me as we flatten against the wall to listen.

“Do we know why they were here?” My father sounds pissed.

“Meeting with someone who knows shit. Someone who wants to talk.” The male voice is unfamiliar. “The girl? Fuck, it could be closer to home than that.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” The angry edge to my father’s voice makes me want to curl in on myself and lash out at the same time. But I focus. Who’s been here and who is the girl? Penny? Harper?

“Where’s your son, William? Why isn’t he home? Why isn’t he bringing you what you told him to?” This man knows too much. Who the fuck is he?

“My son wouldn’t betray me.” Dad’s tone is filled with certainty. It makes me want to laugh. He doesn’t know me at all.

“Even for the girl?”

My insides freeze. Fuck. There’s only one girl that has that type of hold over me. He has to mean Harper. My dad doesn’t realize he’d never had a solid hold on me.

“Especially for the girl. I’ve made sure he doesn’t care about anything. If I thought he genuinely cared for the girl, I’d remove her from the equation.”

Remove her. My fists clench. I’d take him out before that could ever happen. I’ve hated my father for what he’s done to me, but nothing feels like the rage boiling inside at the thought of him laying a finger on Harper.

The guy gives a sharp laugh. “Not unless you want whoever contacted you to blow you up. It may not be enough to put you in prison, but it’d be enough to open an investigation that we wouldn’t be able to suppress. Not and continue with our current plans.”