Page 12 of Revenge On Her Dad's Best Friends

“We have loads in common, actually. Bradford, you don’t eat mushrooms. Neither do I. You loathe it when people are late. Me too, well, except when I’m late myself. Traffic drives you nuts. Guess what? Me too. You don’t like snakes, spiders, and frogs. Oh my gosh. Hate them. Your favorite book is Crime and Punishment. I bought a copy of Crime and Punishment... once.” She smiled at him before turning her attention to Reece.

“Reece, you would rather cook a five-course meal than clean the kitchen. I would rather eat a five-course meal than clean the kitchen. We could be twins, almost. You have a lucky pair of socks that you only wear when you absolutely need them. I have a pair of lucky underwear that I had to destroy—long story—but I know what it’s like to have a favorite item of clothing that brings good luck. Your favorite movie is The Godfather. I tried to watch The Godfather. You listen to Mozart when you drive and heavy metal rock when you’re in the shower. I listen to pop music when I drive and shower. You read books about beekeeping. I have nothing against bees if they don’t sting me.” She nodded her head enthusiastically, daring him to find fault in her reasoning.

“Zachariah, your favorite color is black. Mine too. Your favorite car is a Ferrari. Mine too. You have an IQ of 140 and do solo mountain climbing. I have an IQ, and I love watching solo mountain climbing. You once rescued a raccoon stuck in a drainpipe. Who knows, if I ever found myself in that position, I might do the same... I mean, probably not, but still... see, we can be friends.”

“Still no,” Bradford said.

“Why not?” She cried, stamping her heel, but the carpet was so thick, the sound remained muffled. “My dad was your best friend. Arg. He thought the world of you three, and I’m just asking for a little time with you. Okay. We can negotiate. Only birthdays. Four times a year.”

“No.” The three of them said in unison.

She inhaled a deep breath of air, fighting down her frustration that made her just want to scream. She calmed herself down. Going into hysterics was not going to win her any points.

“Do you want me to carry you out, Calista?” Bradford asked, his tone giving no room for argument, his gaze telling her he would toss her over his shoulder and dump her outside in a heartbeat.

“No,” she said, defeated. “I’ll go. But I need to get my clothes, or what’s left of them, from the bathroom. Excuse me.” It wrecked her so much that they actually sighed in relief that she agreed to go without making any more of a scene. Their shoulders loosened visibly, and they wiped their hands across their faces as if they’d come from a battle they didn’t like. Her. She was their battle.

And now she was going to their war.

She strolled slowly toward the bathroom. They’d already turned from her, discarding her before she had even left their penthouse. They were not paying any attention to her at all.

She had no idea she was capable of that much speed or quick thinking. She’d subconsciously already taken stock of the thin chromeunmovablefloor-to-ceiling pillars, with a beautiful vintage desk conveniently positioned between the pillars. She grabbed a set of handcuffs, hopped onto the desk with just a little difficulty since it was high enough that her legs would dangle over, and immediately cuffed one part of the metal restraint to the pillar.

She slipped her wrist into the other cuff and locked it, moving so fast she thought she was in an action movie and she was a secret agent. With her free hand, she removed the key from the pocket of the shirt. She had maybe seconds before they turned around and saw what she was doing.

She brought the key to her lips, her intent to swallow it, but gosh, she couldn’t do it and nearly gagged just at the thought of it. This would all be for nothing if they could easily get to the key to uncuff her.

When the logical part of her brain told her they could just as easily pick the lock as they did theirs to get her unattached from a part of their home, she shut that voice up quickly. It wasn’t about them being able to free her from the cuffs; it was about her making a statement. One, they would have to pay attention, whether they liked it or not.

They turned around to face her.

So she did the only thing she could think of.

She parted her legs and slipped the key between the apex of her thighs, the metal cool against the heat of her body before it matched her own rather high body temperature.

I’m making a statement, dammit

Chapter Twelve

She was going to be the death of them. There was no other way to put it, Bradford Evans thought.

Five years they’d successfully kept her at bay, and now everything had turned into a fucking shitshow, their bodies suffering the most.

Seeing her in their space had been one thing. Allowing her to go through whatever revenge plans she had concocted for them was quite another. Still, her presence, the way she moved, and the sound of her voice destroyed them piece by piece.

She was Hank’s daughter, for fuck’s sake. His little girl. How many times had they repeated those phrases as a way to remind them of who they were and who she was?

They vowed they would never touch her. Fuck no. Never. Hank would never forgive them. And they weren’t in the business of tainting his innocent daughter with their touch. Because fuck, that’s all they wanted to do. Touch her. Hold her. Fuck her until all she saw was them and no one else.

Fuck.

They had no idea this would be their lives for the last five years. They had no idea they would become virtual fucking monksbecause the only thing their dicks wanted was what they couldn’t have.

It wasn’t as if they’d set out to be this way with her. They always knew they would kill anyone who harmed Hank, and the same applied to his family. They may not have been very active in Calista’s life, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t taken her under their protection.

Until that day, when everything changed.

The day they had laid their eyes on her when Hank had his car accident, and she’d been two days from her nineteenth birthday. So fucking young. But seeing her at the hospital, her face drowning in tears, something had changed inside them. She’d unlocked a part of them they didn’t think they possessed. She disrupted them, and they didn’t know what to do with it at the time, so they brushed it aside.

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