Triple Beat-nook(44)

He’d never said, “I love you.” That regret would burn in his gut forever if anything happened to her before they could get to her.

***

The first thing Dani noticed when her father opened the door to his apartment was the stench. She saw a rat scurry across the floor when he turned on the light and she had to swallow down bile. Then she wondered if vomiting all over the floor would disgust him enough to keep him away from her.

Given his willingness to live in this filthy apartment, she ventured to guess it wouldn’t bother him at all. In her mind, she tried to decide how long it would be until someone missed her. If Bryson and Aiden had woken up, they’d probably tried to call. But she was notoriously bad about charging her phone, so they wouldn’t immediately worry if she didn’t answer. They also didn’t have any phone contacts for Jett or any of the Lewises.

She had promised to call Jett later, but he was expecting her to have a long chat with the guys. And if she didn’t phone, he’d most likely assume they were having sex. Chances were good he wouldn’t try to contact her until tomorrow at the earliest.

Which meant she could be on her own for quite a while.

Her father took off his jacket and tossed it on a chair, well away from her. He’d put the gun in the pocket of it when he’d gotten out of the cab. She felt a weird sense of relief now that it was out of reach.

“Take a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”

Now that he had her where he wanted, her father was smug, looming in front of her looking far too pleased with himself.

She looked at the shabby, stained couch. “I’m fine standing.” She didn’t pretend for a moment this was a social visit as she glanced toward the door, searching for some way to escape.

“Sit down, Dani. Now.”

In the past, she’d responded to his demands instantly because that was the path of least resistance, the best way to avoid getting slapped.

However, pain was a given. She wasn’t going to get out of here unscathed no matter what she did. The child she’d been—the one who always cowered—had grown up and developed a backbone. Maybe it was the height of foolishness, but she refused to tremble before him ever again. Even if it did mean he’d hurt her.

“No.”

He didn’t move for a moment and it looked as if he was trying to decide if he’d heard what he thought he had.

“Did you tell me no?” His deep voice promised retribution.

She decided for diversion. “What do you want from me?”

The abrupt change of subject worked. Briefly. “You’ve changed, baby girl. I don’t like it. Go sit down.”

Again, she refused to acknowledge his demand. “Money? Is that what you’re after?” She threw the offer out, hoping he’d take the bone. It was obvious from his living conditions he needed cash. Maybe she could buy her way out of this place.

“You know what I want, Dani.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “Seriously? After all this time. What’s the matter, Russell? Run out of women in New Orleans to rough up?”

She’d gone too far. The second she called him by his real name rather than Dad, she knew it was over the line. It just felt too good to face down the bully, to call him out for his cruelty rather than hide in the corner.

His hand connected with her right cheek before she even realized he’d raised his arm. The f*cker still packed a wallop. Her vision went black for several seconds as her head twisted sharply with the impact.

The pain wasn’t new. It had been years since she’d been slapped like this, yet the sensation was as familiar to her as if it had only been yesterday.

But the blow didn’t have the same effect it used to, didn’t do what her father expected. If he’d thought the slap would snap her out of it, make her the properly fearful girl she’d been in her teens, he was destined for disappointment. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

Once she found a way to shake off the pain, to beat down the flames erupting along the side of her face, she straightened up and looked him in the eye again.

He didn’t like her lack of tears or pleas. And he sure as f*ck did not like that she wasn’t afraid. “Think you’re tough, don’t you, Dani?”

She snorted, the sound catching him unaware. “You made sure of that, didn’t you, Russell?”

He reached up, his hand gripping her tightly around the neck. “Call me by my name again and I’ll break your f*cking neck.”