Brawn: Lethal Darkness MC Read Online Free Page B

phone without waiting to hear the response. Dropping it on his desk with a thunk , he ran a hand through his flowing silver hair and looked back up at me. As he readjusted the glasses to sit properly on his face, he said, “I’m sorry about that, Paris. What were you saying?”
     
    “Is everything, um, okay?” I asked.
     
    He waved a hand in the air. “Fine, fine, don’t worry about it. Just a…disruption at one of our warehouses. Nothing for you to be concerned about. Now, please, finish what you were saying. I didn’t mean to cut you off.”
     
    I faltered, the nice flow of words I’d built up in my head completely gone now, vanished without a trace. “I was at the park, and was, uh, wondering, you know, because this guy asked me if I wanted to, like, you know, go to, like, eat a, what do you call it, a, um, dinner, sometime?” My voice rose to a pipsqueak at the end, but before I had even finished, I knew it was no use at all. Every word had only added to the angry wrinkles on my father’s tanned face, and by the time I was done, he didn’t even need to say a thing. I knew what the answer would be already.
     
    “Paris,” he said, a hint of irritation on the edge of his voice, “you know my rules.”
     
    “I know,” I whispered.
     
    “I’m sick of repeating myself, too. I’m going to say this one last time, and then I don’t ever want you to bring this topic up again. Ever. You are not allowed to go out with any boy, do you hear me? Not now, not ever.”
     
    “It’s just that I was hoping—”
     
    “You shouldn’t have been. With your mother gone, you’re all I have left. I have to keep you safe, and that means keeping you out of situations where I can’t protect you. Who knows who this boy may be working for?”
     
    “Daddy, he’s not working for—”
     
    “Enough. I have lots of enemies. They’ll do anything they can to hurt me and the people I love. I’m not willing to let you expose yourself to that kind of danger.” He stood up and planted his fists on his desk as he looked me down. “That’s a no, Paris. You are not to leave this house tonight. Am I understood?”
     
    I looked down at my feet as I answered, “Yes, Daddy.”
     
    “Good,” he said, straightening up. He walked up to me and put his hands on my shoulders. I didn’t meet his eyes.
     
    “Look at me, Paris.”
     
    Still, I kept my eyes trained on the ground. He repeated himself. “Paris, look at me.” He tucked two fingers under my chin and gently raised my gaze to his. I was trembling with an exhausting mixture of anger and disappointment. My body felt thin and achy. All I wanted was to lie in bed and cry for a long, long time. That was the only outlet I had left. “You’re precious to me,” he said softly. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
     
    He kissed me on the forehead. “I’m not sure when I’ll be back tonight. Don’t stay up too late; I know you’ve got those exams coming up soon.”
     
    He let me go, then turned and walked out the door without another word. I stood there for a long time, hot tears burning my eyes. I felt so stupid for crying, since it didn’t solve a single one of my problems, but I didn’t know what else to do. So I just stood there in his empty office and cried.
     
    After a while, my phone vibrated twice in my pocket. I had two texts. The first was from Craig.
     
    Football practice got cancelled. Are you free tonight?
     
    I deleted it right away.
     
    The second text message was from Katy.
     
    How’d the talk with Papa T go????
     
    I typed out my response slowly with shaking fingers. Terrible.
     
    She shot back, I’m coming over.
     
    I tucked my phone back into my pocket and walked downstairs. Without bothering to turn on any of the lights in the living room, I slumped onto a couch and closed my eyes while resting my head back against the armrest. I focused on breathing deeply and evenly. In through my nose, out through my mouth, then repeat