by Hart, Rebel
John poked his head around the corner.
“Coffee’s up when you’re ready. Some of the guys are still here, so I’m gonna whip up something for breakfast real quick.”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I’m coming.”
He paused. “You good?”
I shook my head softly. “Yeah, yeah. Just--worried about Dani.”
“You looked in a mirror lately? You should be more worried about yourself.”
I grinned. “That bad, huh?”
“You’re gonna need two cups of coffee to wake up, let’s just say that.”
I stifled my chuckle as I walked into the kitchen. Standing there, in every corner and along every wall, were my men. Tall and short. Broad and lean. Their hands were on their weapons, waiting. Protecting us even in the dead of night.
I owe them my life.
We all got coffee while John whipped up some toast and eggs. Then we gathered around the kitchen table. John and I sat with a few guys in front of us, the rest standing around the table as if they were looming over us. I groaned over John’s coffee. I hadn’t had a decent cup of caffeine in fucking days. It felt so great that I refused to communicate until I had gotten through two mugs.
After pouring my third one, John finally spoke.
“We’ve got some bad news.”
I clicked my tongue. “I’m well aware of the fact that Dad’s still alive.”
John blinked. “Wait, what?”
My eyes peered over at him. “What?”
“Dad’s still alive?”
I furrowed my brow. “That’s not what you were about to say?”
John turned fully toward me. “Are you fucking telling me our father survived?”
“What the hell were you about to tell me?”
My brother sighed heavily. “Rupert’s been charged with attempted murder.”
I felt my anger boiling over. “Shit.”
How the fuck were we going to reverse something like that? Especially when it was fucking true. I didn’t know how we were going to dig him out of this mess. I mean, shy of my father admitting what really went down at the estate, I didn't know what the fuck to do. The only way out of this I saw for my best friend was to convince a jury that, had he not taken that shot, my father would’ve killed me, Dani, and him. Just to get what he wanted.
But a jury would never know that if my father kept quiet what happened that night.
“You know he’s not the sort of man to bend over and accept defeat,” John said. “But it’s not going to be easy, either.”
I leaned back. “The only shot we’ve got is getting Ashton to give up the truth.”
Even the guys chuckled at that statement as John quirked an eyebrow.
“Okay, I’ll bite. How do you figure we pull that off?”
I rubbed my stubbled jaw. “We’ll have to trick him.”
Now the guys were holding back snickers that should’ve gone along with bigger guffaws. I mean, even John rolled his lips over his teeth.
“Trick him? Really, Max?”
I nodded. “Yes. Trick him. Convince him we have something he wants.”
“Something he wants. Like…?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a beginning idea. But if we can convince Dad that sending Rupert to jail isn’t going to be good enough, we might catch him in another act.”
John paused. “You want to convince Dad he has to kill you? Are you crazy?”
I smiled. “What if we convinced him that he’s got a chance to kill me? You think he won’t take it? I mean, really?”
“He’s in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound to his gut, Max.”
I shrugged. “So he’ll send someone in his place. Someone who wants the job done as badly as he does.”
He blinked. “You’re not saying…?”
I nodded. “Benji.”
The guys fell silent around me as John fell against the back of his chair.
“You know damn good and well Dad will leave it to Benji. Especially since he succeeded in getting me tied up in that fucking warehouse. That’ll be proof enough for Dad that he can get the job done. Especially with emotions running high.”
John sighed. “Dad never was good at separating his actions from his emotions.”
“Exactly. He sees that as a strength, but we can easily turn it into a weakness.”
“How does that get Rupert off the hook?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. But if Benji’s caught trying to take me out, you think he won’t sing like a bird for the cops?”
“If Dad doesn’t kill him first.”
“This is Rupert we’re talking about. We’ve got to do something.”
“You don’t think I know that, Max? I just don’t want to go around trying to get people killed on some long-shot idea that might not work.”
I smiled. “Got any better ones? Because I’m all ears if you do.”
The room fell silent as my guys looked around at one another. No one had a better idea because there was none. This was our last shot. Our last chance at bringing down my father for good. And the only chance we had at freeing Rupert from these fucking charges. My brother pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. John sighed.
“He’s not going to trust a little fuck-up like Benji with something like this, Max. There’s too much risk for fallout.”
I licked my lips. “Which is why we play directly into Dad’s--”
“If he gets caught--”
I interrupted him. “Dad will have taken precautions. You know how calculating he is.”
“And yet we’re planning on using his emotions against him? You’re talking in opposites.”
“No, you’re just not listening.”
“If Benji gets caught, Dad’s going to scrub everything, cut that cord, and let our cousin flail. That’s what he does, Max. Dad will let that asshole rot in jail and he won’t shed one tear for it. Benji is the no-risk option.”
“Which is why we have to use this moment. Think about it, John, just for a second. Listen to me. Benji is no-risk. You just said it. Dad’s other men aren’t like that, though. They’re not as desperate. They’re not as emotional when it comes to all of this. Benji will want me dead badly enough to do whatever Dad tells him to do. And it will mess with both of their judgment.”
John shook his head. “This is complicated and diluted. We’re hinging this on some other-worldly force we can’t control.”
I snickered. “And when has Dad ever been a force we could control?”
Silence fell between us as I reached for another piece of toast.
“I’m right about this, John. I know I am. Dad’s got a raw nerve exposed right now, and it’s directly linked to Benji. Does it have other ways it could spin that aren’t good for us? Yes. But so does every other fucking situation with that man. This is the best option we’ve got, even if it isn’t good. With the hand we’ve got and what’s at stake, this is our play. Even you can’t deny that.”
John blinked. “There really isn’t another way?”
“Let me finish my coffee and you think about it. Then we can talk.”
I sipped my coffee and kept eating toast. The men around us looked at each other but stayed silent. All eyes and focus were on John as he murmured to himself and slid his hands down his face. I had to admit, he was trying. I gave him props for that, too. Benji had been John’s little project. While it was my job to uphold John’s wishes, it was John that originally denied Benji entry into the club. Denied him a chance at being a prospect. In my brother’s words, “He’s got too much to offer this world to be running around with a bunch of bloodthirsty men.”
I knew John wouldn’t like any plan that put Benji in harm’s way.
“You’re right.”
My brother’s voice pierced the air before my eyes panned to his face. I watched him heave the heaviest, most burdened sigh to ever come from any man’s lips.
“You’re right. There’s no other avenu
e to exploit. And now that we’ve tried taking Dad out once, he won’t stop until we’re both dead.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Which means it’s us or him.”
“I know.”
He reached for his fork. “So how do we make this happen? How do we orchestrate this?”
I placed my hand on my brother’s shoulder, trying to provide him with some sort of comfort.
“We lure Benji out of hiding. Right now, he’s hunkered down somewhere. Waiting for some sort of signal, no doubt. We lure him out. Make him think I’m an easy target. With Benji’s incessant need to get in good with people, he’ll never be able to fight the temptation to take me out in order to show Dad what he’s made of. And once we’ve got him right where we want him? We get him to admit who he’s working for.”
John nodded. “And why.”
I nodded. “Exactly. Who, when, where, and why.”
“Which will hopefully get Rupert off the hook for these bogus-ass charges.”
“And put Dad away for good.”
22
Dani
The first thing I smelled was a lack of him. His cologne was fading away. And the cool sheets on his side of the bed startled me awake. I quickly rose up, whipping my head around to see if I could find him. But when Max was nowhere to be found, I threw the covers off me.
“Max?”
My feet hit the floor and I hissed at the cold. I stumbled around, trying to get my bearings. It was morning. The sun was trying so hard to peek through the blackout curtains in his bedroom. I made my way over to the bathroom and flipped on the light, straining to see if he was in there.
“Max, where are you?”
I turned around and read the room. At least, I tried to. I rubbed my eyes, clearing them of their crusted sleep, and that’s when relief washed over me. The drawers on the dresser hung open. A shirt had been cast to the floor. A pair of socks lay in the corner, as if they had been tried on before someone said ‘nope, no thanks.’
Max is up for the day.
The room didn’t look disheveled. It didn’t look as if someone had a fight or was hurt, in any way. I drew in a deep breath, trying to get the trembling in my hands to go away as my legs found their strength. I was still on edge. Even after falling asleep next to Max last night, I still felt worked up. I had to find a way to calm myself down, to ground myself again.
Max is fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.
Except for his father still being alive.
Something lit up in the corner, though, and it caught my eye. I wandered back over toward the light, only to find my phone flashing on the bedside table. I saw my father calling, and I picked up the phone. I ignored the phone call to check and see if Max had sent me anything. Or called of his own volition. But the numbers that reflected back at me raised my eyebrows.
“Thirty-seven missed calls?” I murmured.
My phone started flashing again with my father’s name popping up. I sat myself on the edge of the bed. At some point in time, I’d have to talk to them. I couldn’t simply cast them out, like I had Hannah. They were my parents. And I knew they’d pester me until kingdom come if I didn’t answer the phone.
I braced myself for the inevitable.
“Morning, Dad.”
I heard him sigh with relief. “My word, thank heavens. Dani, where are you? Are you all right?”
I resisted the urge to hang up. “I’m fine, Dad.”
“Okay. Then tell me where you are. I’m coming to get you.”
“I said I’m okay.”
“I get that. Now I’m coming to get you.”
“No, you’re not.”
He sighed. “Danika, don’t make me fight with you in front of your mother. She’s already worried sick enough as it is.”
I shrugged. “Then don’t fight me. I’m fine. I’m safe. That’s all that’s pertinent to this situ--”
“Where are you? You tell me right now. Or I’m having someone ping your phone.”
“Dad, if I tell you where I am, you’ll send the cops to come get me or something. I’m fine.”
“Now’s not the time for jokes.”
I snickered. “Who in the world said I was joking?”
A long pause settled over our conversation before I heard my father clear his throat.
“Then when are we going to talk about this?”
I shrugged. “Well, I’m kind of in the middle of something. So I guess we can talk about things once I can get my head above water.”
“Not funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be. I just woke up and haven’t had my coffee. Spare me the irony of my statements, please.”
“Drop the attitude and maybe we’ll talk.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll find room in my schedule to pencil you and Mom in so I can give you a play by play of my personal life.”
His voice grew stronger. “That’s it. I’ve had enough of this attitude of yours, Danika. I swear, you didn’t even give us this much trouble as a teenager!”
“Don’t make the joke that this is me making up for it now. Because it’s not.”
“Well, what else are we supposed to think?”
“That I’m finally coming into my own and proud of the person I’m becoming.”
“You can’t possibly be serious.”
I nodded. “As a heart attack.”
The phone call went silent again and I had an idea of what was going on. Dad was either muting his side of the phone and relaying information to Mom, or I was on speakerphone and he kept muting his side of things every time Mom kicked up. I pinched the bridge of my nose. As I sat there on the edge of the bed, I suddenly felt wide awake. Not the kind of wake-up call I wanted to make a regular thing in my life. But at least my focus was coming back.
Which would make this conversation with my father much more productive.
“Dad?”
I heard something click on his end. “I’m here, princess.”
“I know you’re muting the phone and talking to Mom.”
He paused. “Well, you’ve practically got her in bed with grief. It’s about the only way I can communicate with her right now.”
“Tell her I’m fine. I’m okay. I’m with people who have my best interests in mind, and--”
“Please let me come get you. Let me see you, Danika.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“And why not?”
“Because I don’t want to see you. And that is just as important as your wanting to see me. You don’t get to demand my time, nor my presence. If I don’t want to see you, that is within my right as a human being. You don’t own me, Dad. And for the longest time, you’ve assumed you do.”
“This is insane. We can talk about this when I come--”
I stood to my feet. “You’re coming nowhere. I’m not telling you where I am because I don’t want to see you. I’ll get in touch with you when I want to. But until that point, there’s nothing you can do about it. You have no control over this situation, so get used to it.”
“You listen here and you listen good. I’m not going t--”
“No. You listen to me for once. I’m tired of everyone in my life thinking they know what’s best for me. That they know better than I do for my own life. And I get it. I get that I scared you. Even if you don’t think I get it, I do. And I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry, Dad, that I frightened you so badly. But I’m done with letting other people make decisions for me. Even if those people think they have my best interests in mind, I’m done with it. I make the calls in my life, and if that means making some serious mistakes along the way? Then so be it. I should have the right to make those mistakes, whether you approve of that idea or not.”
He chuckled bitterly. “Danika. This is madness. Your mother and I are staying at the Hilton in town. Please come stay with us. You’ll be safe here. We won’t even extend our stay. Just come stay with us until--”
“Daddy. Listen to me.”
&nb
sp; “Stop interrupting me!”
“No, you stop attempting to override my decision! I’m safe. S-A-F-E. Now that I know where you and Mom are staying, of course I’ll come see you. But I can’t do that right now. I have things I need to do first.”
“Are you even going to tell me what things you’re talking about?”
I bit my bottom lip. “I’ll tell you later. I promise, Dad. But right now, all I’m asking you to do is trust me and give me some space. I know it’s hard. And it’s unfair. I get that, too. But it’s also unfair what you did to Max at the hospital. And to me.”
“Danika, I made the best decision I could have as a father.”
“I needed him, Daddy. Not you. Not Mom. Him. The man who saved my life. And you took him from me and you sent him off to jail without knowing the full story of what happened. You did that even though I told you, repeatedly, that he was responsible for me being alive in that hospital instead of dead at the bottom of a pool.”
“I--Danika, it--you just--can’t you just try to see things my way for a second? My little girl--my only child--was in a hospital bed. With bruises on her skin. And this massive man comes in with this gruff voice who looks like he just got hit by a train and dragged for miles, and I’m not supposed to think he had a hand in what happened to you?”
I shook my head. “Not when I’m looking you dead in your eyes and telling you he saved my life.”
“Cut me a bit of slack here.”
I shook my head. “No. And I’ll tell you why I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to cut you any slack because my entire life has been centered around what you and Mom have wanted for me. When I first declared my major? It was because you wanted me to declare that specific major. When I switched majors? Mom ended up directing me to some HR degree because she thought I’d be good at it. And it’s always been that way with us, even during school. I did afterschool activities and sports you guys wanted me in. I decorated my room the way you guys wanted it. I displayed things about my life the way you guys wanted them displayed. And through all of it, you never asked me what I wanted.”
He paused. “Did you not like swimming? Did you not like theater?”
“Liking it or not liking it isn’t the point. The point is that you never asked, Dad. Neither you nor Mom did. No one gave me a choice. It was suggested, and it was my responsibility to accept.”
