Never Been Ready (Ready #2)(76)

"You have some balls coming back here," I said in a steady voice even though my heart rate had just kicked it into high gear. I felt like I was going to collapse.

Remembering I needed to stay calm for Connor, who was my number one priority, I took his hand and pulled him behind me, sheltering him with my body.

"I've been hanging low in Florida the last few months. I rented an apartment there, a nice one, thanks to your boyfriend. Figured I'd go someplace warm since I had spent my entire life living in a shithole because of you," he spat.

"Why did you come back? You weren't supposed to come back."

"Was at the store, getting some essentials," he said. Essentials was his key word for alcohol. "And imagine my surprise when I saw my baby girl on the front of a magazine, holding hands with the man who had run me out of town."

"No one ran you out of town," I corrected. "And I'm not your baby girl. Declan offered you money, and you took it."

"Yes, but I didn't realize he was a famous movie star and all. I'd say I was a bit shortchanged, don't you think?"

"What do you want?" I asked, grasping Connor's scared hand behind my back.

He hadn't said a word, but I knew he had to be frightened. I suddenly remembered the last store we'd visited. We'd seen a flowery pink sofa, and I'd taken a picture. I'd sent it to Declan and joked that I'd found a perfect addition to our living room. I'd slid my phone into my back pocket, waiting for his snarky reply, and it was still there.

Loosening my grip on Connor's hand, I pinched my phone between my fingers. Connor must have caught on because he grabbed it and took over.

"I want more money —a lot more."

"We're not giving you any more. You need to leave," I said.

"See, for a few days now, I've been watching you and that little boy you have behind you. Well, I'm guessing he's important to that boyfriend of yours. Wouldn't want anything to happen to him, would ya?"

"You wouldn't," I seethed.

"The gun tucked under my coat says otherwise," he sneered.

Any belief I'd had that there could be an ounce of good hiding somewhere deep down in my father was completely shattered in that instant. I knew he'd never cared or given two shits about me. I'd had enough run-ins and blowouts with him over the years to make that abundantly clear, but I had hoped that somewhere in that ice-cold, whiskey-soaked heart of his, there was some humanity left.

As I watched him look down on us with those familiar hazy eyes, now filled with hateful determination, I knew...he would always be the villain. Nothing could ever redeem him. When someone threatened the life of a child, there was no coming back from that. My father was a shell. He was nothing but a soulless alcoholic, intent on finding his next bottle, and nothing would ever get in his way.

"I think it's time the three of us took a little trip," he said, patting his hip, with a wicked smile.

With that gun in his possession, I was backed into a corner. Every molecule in my body was screaming to turn, run, and yell for help. But I looked at the man in front of me, and I didn't trust him. I didn't know what he would and wouldn't do. Would he turn and run? Or would he shoot? One thing my father had proven today was that he was unpredictable.

I should have known better after reading those letters he'd saved from my mother. I'd always cast him aside as a lifeless drunk, but behind those vacant eyes lay something much more sinister. Feeling Connor's small body behind me, knowing I was his sole protector in that moment, I knew I couldn't risk doing anything bold.

I gave a slight nod, squeezing Connor's hand, as he quickly shoved my phone back into my pocket.

"All right, Dad. You win. We'll go with you."

~Declan~

"One second, she was crying over a commercial she'd seen, and the next, she was shoving me down onto the couch, begging me to take her. It's weird, man," Logan said as we continued to unload boxes from the moving truck into the house.

This was our house —the house I owned with Leah, the house we now shared with my son. Well, we would share it once all the court documents were filed. It was a surreal day.

"So, this is what I have to look forward to someday?" I asked with a grin.

"I think you have a few more steps to go through, dude, before you knock Leah up...unless you're planning on going the celebrity route and doing everything ass-backwards."

We set the boxes down in the formal living room, a room I didn't quite understand. Why did a house need two living rooms? It seemed redundant.

"No, I definitely plan on putting a ring on that woman before long. That way, she can't run," I said jokingly.

"Yeah? Good for you, man. Does Connor know?"

I nodded, remembering the conversation we'd had a week or so ago. Leah had been out, grabbing take-out, and I'd sat down with Connor to have a man-to-man chat. He had been excited as he'd asked how I was going to do it.

"You can't just ask her. You have to make it romantic, Dad."

I'd laughed and assured him I would do just that. It still tore me up every time he called me Dad.

"He's really happy," I said to Logan as we headed back outside to grab another box for the hundredth time. How much damn shit did we have? "But you can't tell Clare. Leah would know in five seconds flat. You know those two don't keep any secrets."