Page 4 of Her Protector Daddies

A thump in the back of the apartment made me jump and I stepped back from the table, but I was unable to tear my gaze away. The zipper of the holdall was broken, causing more money than I’d ever seen in my life to spill across the table. On top of the notes sat numerous pieces of expensive-looking jewelry, from necklaces to bracelets and earrings, that sparkled even in the dull light of the dingy kitchen.

“Dad!”

“Selena!” My father, Marcus Hartley, bolted out of the bedroom and skidded to a stop a foot away from the table with both his hands raised. “It’s not what it looks like, I swear!”

How often had I heard those words? How often had I caught my father in some terrible situation and his first words were it’s not what it looks like. Spoiler: it was always exactly what it looked like.

I lifted my eyes to him, and my pounding heart clenched painfully in my chest. My heart broke each time I saw him. Somehow, he was always thinner than he was before. With a shallower face and gaunt neck, he stood before me, itching one arm and repeatedly licking his dry lips while his eyes flooded with a plea.

A plea for me to believe him.

“Dad,” I said shakily, fighting to keep control of my voice. “What the fuck?”

“Listen, listen.” He darted forward, stopping a foot away. “Trust me, it— I know it looks bad but trust me?—.”

“Dad, I have just come from the LAPD because my car was involved in a hit-and-run and then destroyed in a crash. Did you steal my car to rob someone?!”

“Selena! No, no, listen to me. Please.” He surged forward and clasped my shoulders in his bony, claw-like hands, giving me a shake the moment he made contact. “It’s not as bad as it looks, and I didn’t steal your car, okay? I borrowed it. I borrowed it and I was going to bring it back, but it just wasn’t working right and I just?—.”

“Dad!” I shrugged him off, stepping away while my eyes landed back on the money. How much was there? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? All the 100 dollar bills that glared up at me told me it was more than I could even fathom.

“Dad, you hurt someone.”

“Please,” he scoffed, sniffing sharply. “That guy was an asshole.”

“That doesn’t matter. You ran someone over in my car! Do you know how much trouble I could be in?!”

“He was a bad man!” he barked, then he caught himself and curled both hands into fists. “Selena, just listen?—.”

“You’re a bad man,” I snapped and my stomach flipped while acid flooded up the back of my throat. What the fuck was I going to do? How long until they’d work out that my father was the one in the car, and they come knocking? “You’re stealing shit and running people over. That’s bad guy stuff.”

“It’s technically not stealing as much as taking what’s owed...”

“Not stealing?!” I could barely contain my anger, so I grabbed a handful of the dollar bills from the table and threw them at him as hard as he could. “This is stealing. This doesn’t belong to you! Do you have any inkling in that fucked up head of yours how much trouble you are in? How much trouble we’re both in now? Fuck, Dad. Why?!”

“Selena—.”

“Was it for a fix? Are you so fucking gone that you’re running people over just to get some drugs? Did you steal this from your dealer because if I have to get another call from the hospital because you’ve tried to screw over some scumbag I?—.”

Emotion swelled in my chest and clogged my throat, cutting off my words. Hot tears prickled behind my eyes, and I clasped a trembling hand over my mouth. This was bad, this was so fucking bad.

“Selena, no. You’re looking at this all wrong.” My dad surged forward and clasped my shoulders once more while giving me a shake. I couldn’t take my eyes off the money, though.

“Okay, maybe I didn’t earn it, but that doesn’t matter now, y’know? This— this will fix all of our problems. You don’t have to work two jobs anymore, don’t you see? We can go somewhere. Somewhere nice and rich and we can get a new apartment, a huge apartment. And I’ll— I’ll get clean! How does that sound?”

“Don’t,” I gasped, pushing him away sharply and ignoring how my stomach flipped at how bony his chest was under my fingertips. “Don’t you dare say that. How many times have you promised me you’ll get clean?”

“I mean it this time,” he insisted, dragging a hand through his thinning dark hair. “I’ll get clean and you— you can go back to school. You can finish all that, and we’ll get house insurance and…” My dad clapped his hands together and grinned suddenly, looking incredibly proud of himself. “I’ll even buy you a new car! A better car!”

My father was in a world of his own. He clearly didn’t see any issue with the money on the table or the fact that he hit someone with my car. He was utterly blind to the consequences, and that responsibility fell to me once again.

“Dad, you have to give it back.”

“What?” In an instant, his happy demeanor vanished. “Fuck no.”

“Dad, will you just think for a minute?” I snapped, pointing at him. “The cops have my car. It’s only a matter of time before they work out who you are and come looking. What are you going to do then? Never mind the people you stole from. I’m pretty sure they’re going to want it back.”

The amount was mind blowing. I couldn’t imagine that someone with this amount of cash would be happy about it going missing, never mind the jewelry.

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