Chapter 2
“Where did you get it?” Lola asked, aghast as she glanced down at the pink frilly dress that made her look like a marshmallow. At sixteen, she was much more comfortable in jeans and a black t-shirt and this dress was just so un-cool. How could her dad have picked out something so gross? Of course, he hadn’t. They didn’t have money for an expensive dress; he had borrowed it. Her mouth opened, just about to suggest they ask her mum, but the words froze on her tongue. It would embarrass her father if they had to ask for more help.
Dean was looking at her as if she was a princess. His pride showed on his face even though he looked a little out of his depth. “Mrs. Kaplinsky lent it to me. It’s great, isn’t it? You look so regal.”
Lola swallowed the retort that threatened to cross her lips and kept her sigh to a minimum. She knew he meant well, and that it would crush him if she were rude. “I don’t have a date, Dad and I really don’t want to go.”
“It’s your prom and I promised your mum you would go. Do you want to get me in trouble?”
Lola bit her lip and tried desperately to think of an excuse. The thought of going out in front of her school and the boys who… well, it was too much she could not face it. “We could just tell her I went.”
Dean laughed, a sound that was rare in their house. “I get the feeling she would know.” At six foot two and ex-special forces, Dean was a mean looking man, his body a lean, muscled killing machine. He put on his most endearing smile and ended up looking like the proverbial crocodile. “Your mum is the one person I’m truly afraid of. Come on, kid, for your dad.”
Lola knew she was fighting a losing battle.
“You should go,” Drude said, her voice sounding ancient and decrepit in Lola's ears.
“All right,” Lola said, looking past her father. She nodded, and grinned a secret smile and then turned her focus back on Dean. “But not for long. Promise me you'll pick me up after an hour.”
“An hour?” Dean looked behind him, wanting to see what she had been staring at. As usual, there was nothing there. Perhaps he imagined it, or maybe she was just staring past him?
“Please, Dad. Since… well, you know… since the incident last year, I don’t feel safe with… well, with people.” Lola knew Drude wanted her to go but for the first time she disagreed with her friend. The thought of going to prom left her with a sick greasy feeling in her stomach and knees that would not stop knocking. Maybe she could let her dad see her dressed up and then nip out the back door. The last thing she needed was the ‘in crowd’ seeing her in this dress and calling her the 'well girl' again.
“You know what your doctor said,” Dean said in a voice as gentle as he could make it, yet still sounding like gravel scraped across a stainless pan.
Lola sighed again. “That I must face my fears,” she said, but inside she felt strange and different. I’d like to see him face his fears, have him face a bloody baseball bat around the ear, all the help he’s given me. “I don’t need to see him anymore.” She folded her arms and stared her dad down. “An hour or I’m not going.”
Dean hated to put his daughter in situations she was not comfortable with, and this was one of them. She needed to make friends and by staying home, she never would, but he would agree to this. At least this was a start. “Deal.”
***
Dean pulled his battered green Land Rover up to the curb and looked across at his daughter. His face softened; he was no longer the hardened killer, but a proud dad who was finding it hard to let go. Before she could get out, he pulled a pink corsage from the back seat. It was big and clumsy, yet it caused a glint of moisture in Lola’s eyes as he fastened it over her tiny wrist. She reached across and kissed his wiry face, a face that was always covered in stubble no matter how often he shaved.
She turned to get out. “One hour.”
Dean grabbed her hand. “You are my strength and my joy. I’m so proud of you.”
“Daaaad, enough. Don’t forget to pick me up here in an hour. You promise?”
“I promise.”
She jumped from the car and with her head forward and shoulders hunched, she walked towards the thumping music that heralded the party.
Dean stared after the little girl who he had nearly lost and was overpowered with love.
***
Across the car park, a silver grey Mercedes lurked beneath an old beech tree. It was enveloped in shadow, but the occupant could still see all the beautiful people as they strutted into the prom. Judy, the driver, was in perfect control. In a smart gray business suit and neat black court shoes, she relaxed in the leather seat. She knew when to be here and where to park, since she knew Dean more than he could ever fathom. She watched as two of the girls crowded together sniggering as Lola walked past and a spike of anger slammed into her chest. These girls would pay; she swore it. “Enjoy, my Lola,” she said to the empty car as Lola walked into the building.
Behind her car, a man melded into the shadows with a camera hung around his neck. The telescopic lens focused on a young boy as he shot a series of photos. The camera clicked in sequence while the boy talked and strutted in front of his friends. Gordon Marron checked the pictures in his viewfinder. He was a greasy, unpleasant man who knew the law to the letter, ensuring he was the mandatory one hundred meters from any child. The cops might talk to him, but as long as he stayed behind the chalk line he had drawn on the pavement, they could do little more.
Read more of Tears here http://bit.ly/1t8zDCR
More Books from Caroline Gebbie
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Daddy Won’t Kill You – A Novel of Terror - http://bit.ly/16Ycxsg
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Tears Chapter 1
Deadwood: A Vampire Series (The Darker Side of Deb Book 2) Page 9
