Page 62 of Reluctant Surrender

He froze, then slowly he let my father go and stepped back. He wrapped his arm around my waist and hauled me up against him.

“Get out. And don’t come back unless you’ve been invited.”

“Dad.” I tried to say something, anything to make the moment less awkward, less hostile, but the icy glare my father shot at me as he walked out of the living room solidified the moment.

“Why did you have to do that?” I jerked away from Lukas. “He’s my father.”

“He hasn’t acted like it in a long time, Maggie,” Lukas pointed out.

“He’s not perfect.” I waved a hand in the air, hoping to conjure up some sort of excuse that would cover everything he’d done in my life. But nothing came to me. “But he’s my dad.”

“He treats you like crap, Maggie. I can’t stand it.”

“I didn’t ask you to stand it. I didn’t ask you to do anything other than not be an overbearing ass just one time. Is that really too much for you to do? Just let me handle one god damn thing?” I stormed out of the living room before he could give an answer.

“Where do you think you’re going after you talk to me like that?” He followed me to the foyer.

“I’m going out. I want a cup of coffee. Alone.” I grabbed my purse and coat from the front closet and dug out the keys to a sedan I’d started using as my own.

“Fine. I’ll get Andrezj to take you.”

“No, Lukas. I want to be alone. I don’t want a driver. I don’t want anyone hovering. I just want to drive down the street and get a coffee and scroll through meaningless social media posts on my phone. Can you handle that? Just once, let me be a normal person?”

I’m not sure how this all got turned into an argument between us. It was my father I wanted to scream at, but Lukas had taken that option away from me when he barged in and took over.

“When you get home, we’re going to have a long talk,” he called after me as I hurried down the hallway toward the garage.

“Whatever,” I muttered. He could talk all he wanted. I needed time. I needed quiet in a place that wasn’t his or my father’s. Just somewhere on neutral territory where I could think through everything and get a grasp on my new life.

It wasn’t that much to ask for.

Chapter 30

Lukas

Camille and Jared Carpenter sat in the chairs across from me. Camille squeezed her hands together in her lap, while her brother glared at me. I couldn’t blame him after what I’d ordered done to him. His left eye was still swollen, and the bruising had morphed into an ugly yellowish green. The split of his lip looked better than the last time I saw him.

“Why didn’t you come to me with the problem?” I asked, settling my stare on Camille. “We met every week for months, and you never said anything.”

“I thought I could get them to back off. With Piotr gone, I thought I had a chance to sever that tie, but I was wrong.”

“Bertonelli picked up on the fact that I didn’t know, and he increased the amount he wanted,” I filled in and she nodded along.

“I know I messed this all up,” she said softly, lowering her gaze to the desk.

“She should have gone to you instead of trying to take care of it on her own but…” Jared glanced at his younger sister then sighed. “She’s stubborn.”

It took some effort not to smile at his obvious exasperation. My wife suffered from the same ailment. But I had a cure for her, and as soon as she got home, she’d have her first treatment.

“Then when I my debts piled up, I added to the problem.” He squeezed her hand. “That’s my fault. I fucked that up.”

Guilt for having made his sister’s problem even worse hung heavy in his tone and posture. His shoulders rounded when he looked at her.

I cleared my throat, bringing both of their attentions back to me.

“Obviously you can’t work at the club anymore,” I continued with the meeting. “It’s not safe. Not after I deal with Bertonelli. I’m going to move both of you to Los Angeles. We have a safehouse outside the city limits where you can stay until everything here settles down. You’ll be safe there. Bertonelli can’t get to you.”

Christian would accuse me of getting soft, making such an offer after what Camille had done. She may not have been stealing from me for her own gain, but she held back vital information. She paid the Bertonelli family, making us look weak. Her sins should be punished. Safe harbor shouldn’t be given. But Maggie would probably have my balls on a platter if I did anything but protect Camille and set the situation right. Camille had been smart to get to Maggie before she came to me, but it was also another strike against her.

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