Page 28 of Hunted for Halloween

“Dad, please!”

“Explain what?” slam “That I just saw you kissing my daughter against the wall of a fucking elevator? You disgusting bastard!” he lands another blow on my jaw, but when I roll over, grabbing his throat, I gain the upper hand.

“Listen to me!” I growl.

“She's my daughter!” he smacks me violently across the face.

I seize him by the collar, peering at him through his now-broken glasses, livid. “I'm telling you—calm the fuck down and let's talk about it.”

“Bastard!” he yells, headbutting me.

Heavy footsteps dart in our direction and I'm being hauled off my best friend whose lips are busted. His glasses hang off his face in ruins, his shirt rumpled. His hands are balled into fists at his sides, his body trembling with rage I have never seen him emit before. The last time I saw Jonathan this angry was when some guy tried to grope Meredith at a Halloween rave in college.

“I'm going to kill you with my bare hands!” he fires at me, visibly wanting to lunge for me again but he's held back by the security guards.

“Mr. Marshall, you have to calm down.” One of the guards tries to reason with him.

“Get your fucking hands off me!” he struggles to weasel his way out of their grip, his nostrils flaring as he breathes harshly. “How long have you been forcing yourself on her?!”

“I'm not forcing Aurora to do anything. She's an adult, Jonathan!” I yell back at him.

“She's my little girl!” My best friend's voice comes out coarse and a tad bit croaky.

“Stop!” Aurora's quivering voice echoes through the lobby, yanking us out of our haze. Our heads snap towards her tiny frame huddled in a corner, her eyes wide and puffy from crying. “Both of you, stop!” she yells again.

“What has he been telling you?” Jonathan directs those words at her, harsh and scathing.

“Dad, please…” she croaks.

My heart fucking twists and rips to shreds on the spot.

“Damnit, Aurora! Is he forcing himself on you? Is he manipulating you?” his voice breaks slightly, thick with raw fear and apprehension.

My body rocks with disgust and I grit my teeth. If he thinks that low of me, does he really think that low of his daughter?

“I'm going to bash your head against the fucking wall if you throw words like that in her face again, Jonathan.” I seethe, breathing heavily.

“Piss off!” he growls. “Aurora?”

“He's not forcing me to do anything and I'm not a little girl!” she throws her hands up in the air.

Jonathan staggers backwards like he's being punched in the face. I see the tears that build up in the eyes of my best friend, stabbing me in the chest repeatedly. Hurt. Betrayal. Disbelief. Anger. Those myriad of emotions flare in his glassy eyes.

He slowly turns to me. “You are going to stay away from her, Christian Carson.”

I shake my head. “You can't ask me to do that. I'm not going anywhere. I'm serious about her, Jonathan. You know me.”

“I don't give a shit.” He spits out venomously, finally clawing his way out of the grips of the guards holding him back. “You are going to stay the fuck away from me and my daughter, out of our lives or I swear to God, the next time I see you anywhere near us, I'll rip you apart with my bare hands.” His voice drips with hatred and fury.

“Dad—”

“Get out of here and head to the car. Now.” He orders his daughter venomously, without looking away from me.

“Don’t do this, Jonathan.” I plead hoarsely, wanting to sink to my knees before him right there and then.

“OUT!” he bellows harshly at his daughter. I don't need to look over my shoulder to know that she's leaving.

The clicking of her heels against the tiled floor notifies me of her existence and it feels like I'm losing a piece of me as she walks away. Out of Strix security. Out of my life.

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