was livid. Fire sparked from her eyes, and her fists were tight balls next to her sides. When was the last time she’d been really pissed at him? He couldn’t honestly remember. “I got no respect for someone who hasn’t earned it. He may be the second, but he’s not my second.”
“I get it, Daddy. He isn’t like you, doesn’t cow-tow to you like all the others do, so that makes him less worthy of your respect. That’s pretty damn shallow. I don’t agree with you right now either, how’s my respect holding up?” She turned and walked away, slamming the door behind her, tears threatening for the second time in one day.
CHAPTER FIVE
“What the hell did you do?” Atticus hissed into the phone he should have gotten rid of but hadn’t. Good thing too, now that this mess had come up. “I told you to scare the little shit, not try and kill him.”
The man on the other end cleared his throat once, then again. “I did exactly what you asked.”
“You stupid son of a bitch. He’s going to talk to the cops and we’ll both end up in jail!”
“Ain’t nobody going to find out anything. The kid didn’t see nothing, and the car is long gone. Maybe you’re just worried that your precious little girl is going to find out what you did.” Nick said the words caustically, not liking where this conversation was going at all.
“If any of this gets back to Sandy—” He let his words die off, but the threat was there in his silence.
“Don’t worry, Atticus. You’re secret is safe with me. You paid me well for it.”
“You’re damn right I did.” Atticus shut the phone off and threw it back in the drawer. Anger was singing in his veins. His plan had gone all wrong. If anything, he’d just pushed his daughter closer to Christian—and away from him.
*****
Mariah stood outside of the club, tears streaming down her face. They were tears of anger and disgust and hurt. All the years she’d spent with Atticus, thinking he’d changed, that he’d softened, and instead he’d just gotten better at hiding his activities.
When Sandy had come to her, so upset and angry with Atticus and worried about Christian, she’d gone up to his office to talk to him. The conversation she’d overheard had turned her blood to ice.
Atticus had been behind Christian’s accident.
*****
Mariah hadn’t known anything much more than Atticus about Christian’s family, so Sandy had gone home to shower and calm down after her fight with her Daddy. Upset, she’d done her crying under the spray of hot water and then let it all go down the drain. No point dwelling on it. Things were going to have to change, and she was the only one who could change them. Until she got out and proved she could make it on her own, these control issues with her Daddy weren’t going to get any better. Right now, she needed to focus on Christian.
The smell of antiseptic and other less pleasant odors hit her the minute she walked through the doors. Hospitals didn’t bother her, except for the way they smelled—they reminded her of all the hurt and death that lingered on somehow.
Christian was talking to a man in a bad sport coat when she got to his room. She was about to quietly back away when the man spotted her and drew Christian’s attention to the door. “Hi. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I can come back—”
Christian sat up a little, jaw tight against the pain and dizziness the motion caused. “Get in here, Sandy.” He waited until she was by his bed before gesturing at the man. “This is Detective Mann. He came to ask me about the accident.”
Sandy held out her hand for him to shake. She smiled at him, trying to diffuse the sudden tension in the room. “Great name, Detective.”
“Thank you. I would assume you to be Sandy Rivers? The one who led the officer to Mr. Belz?” He flipped back a page on his little notebook. “I’d like to
“I get it, Daddy. He isn’t like you, doesn’t cow-tow to you like all the others do, so that makes him less worthy of your respect. That’s pretty damn shallow. I don’t agree with you right now either, how’s my respect holding up?” She turned and walked away, slamming the door behind her, tears threatening for the second time in one day.
CHAPTER FIVE
“What the hell did you do?” Atticus hissed into the phone he should have gotten rid of but hadn’t. Good thing too, now that this mess had come up. “I told you to scare the little shit, not try and kill him.”
The man on the other end cleared his throat once, then again. “I did exactly what you asked.”
“You stupid son of a bitch. He’s going to talk to the cops and we’ll both end up in jail!”
“Ain’t nobody going to find out anything. The kid didn’t see nothing, and the car is long gone. Maybe you’re just worried that your precious little girl is going to find out what you did.” Nick said the words caustically, not liking where this conversation was going at all.
“If any of this gets back to Sandy—” He let his words die off, but the threat was there in his silence.
“Don’t worry, Atticus. You’re secret is safe with me. You paid me well for it.”
“You’re damn right I did.” Atticus shut the phone off and threw it back in the drawer. Anger was singing in his veins. His plan had gone all wrong. If anything, he’d just pushed his daughter closer to Christian—and away from him.
*****
Mariah stood outside of the club, tears streaming down her face. They were tears of anger and disgust and hurt. All the years she’d spent with Atticus, thinking he’d changed, that he’d softened, and instead he’d just gotten better at hiding his activities.
When Sandy had come to her, so upset and angry with Atticus and worried about Christian, she’d gone up to his office to talk to him. The conversation she’d overheard had turned her blood to ice.
Atticus had been behind Christian’s accident.
*****
Mariah hadn’t known anything much more than Atticus about Christian’s family, so Sandy had gone home to shower and calm down after her fight with her Daddy. Upset, she’d done her crying under the spray of hot water and then let it all go down the drain. No point dwelling on it. Things were going to have to change, and she was the only one who could change them. Until she got out and proved she could make it on her own, these control issues with her Daddy weren’t going to get any better. Right now, she needed to focus on Christian.
The smell of antiseptic and other less pleasant odors hit her the minute she walked through the doors. Hospitals didn’t bother her, except for the way they smelled—they reminded her of all the hurt and death that lingered on somehow.
Christian was talking to a man in a bad sport coat when she got to his room. She was about to quietly back away when the man spotted her and drew Christian’s attention to the door. “Hi. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I can come back—”
Christian sat up a little, jaw tight against the pain and dizziness the motion caused. “Get in here, Sandy.” He waited until she was by his bed before gesturing at the man. “This is Detective Mann. He came to ask me about the accident.”
Sandy held out her hand for him to shake. She smiled at him, trying to diffuse the sudden tension in the room. “Great name, Detective.”
“Thank you. I would assume you to be Sandy Rivers? The one who led the officer to Mr. Belz?” He flipped back a page on his little notebook. “I’d like to
Similar Books
A Different Sky
Meira Chand
The Moon by Night
Gilbert Morris, Lynn Morris
Bilingual Being
Kathleen Saint-Onge
All of You
Jenni Wilder
The Confessions of X
Suzanne M. Wolfe
Take Another Look
Rosalind Noonan
Blue Lightning
Ann Cleeves
Charmed
Barbara Bretton