Page 1 of Daddy Sees Snakes

PROLOGUE

Viper

6 months ago…

My life was never a bed of roses.

It was a life built on the blood and bones of others. I was born in the slums, and I'd never known a home.

My mother was an addict who sold her body for cash. She was always so high that she never even bothered to get to know me. When I was nine, she overdosed and died right in front of me.

The only person who took care of me after that was my best friend. We grew up together. At the time, she was the daughter of the only good guy I ever met.

When her father got caught up in a gang, I had no choice but to join them. I was young, angry, and had no hope.

He was my father, too, and I was a fool for trusting him. After his only daughter died in a shootout, the bastard had it pinned on me.

I was a good guy, but I was framed, and it ruined my life.

I had a daughter and a wife, and because I was a wanted man, I could never go home.

That's what broke me.

That's what made me the monster I am.

But now, I'm a free man. Fifteen years behind bars, and I came back home to a daughter I'd never even met. Allegra hates my guts, I can tell.

I'm trying my best to win her over, but she's her mother's daughter.

Iris, though, she's another story.

Allegra's best friend, and the girl who makes me question all the vows I've ever taken.

I can't have her, but God knows how badly I want her.

I stare at Iris across the dining table, barely holding back my anger as she speaks.

"Can't you even pretend to care?" Allegra asks, crossing her arms.

"About what?"

"My future."

I roll my eyes. "You're eighteen, Allegra. You've got a whole life ahead of you. You got accepted into college, and you're going. You don't need my permission."

"Yes, but..."

"No, no 'buts,'" I say. "Your grandfather paid for college, and you're going."

"Iris isn't," she says, glancing at her best friend. "Why is it that she can stay with you, and I can't?"

I glance at Iris, showing her how displeased I am that she's here.

My daughter is eighteen, and her friend is a few years older.

She's got the kind of body I want to sink my teeth into.

Her curvy thighs are thick, and her waist is impossibly small.

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