Page 138 of Daddy Sees Snakes

I'm sitting in the bar when the phone rings.

"Hello," I hiss.

"Dad," Allegra says.

"Hey, Allegra. Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Yeah. No, I'm fine," she says, and the pain in her voice makes my heart skip a beat. "Look, I'm sorry. For everything."

"Me, too," I say.

"Can we talk? Face-to-face. Soon," Allegra asks, and the hope in her voice is almost enough to break me.

"Of course. What's going on?"

"I just want to talk. There's so much we haven't said," Allegra whispers.

"Yeah. There is," I nod, and the silence is deafening.

"Jaxon's leaving town. Going to work at a different club," Allegra says, and the words make my skin crawl.

"When?"

"A week. Two," Allegra says.

I don't want to say it, but this is good.

Right?

She can move on.

Be free.

She'll come home, and things can go back to the way they were.

"I can pick you up. We can talk," I say.

"No. I'll meet you at home. In the morning," Allegra says. "Okay."

"Yeah, okay. I'll be there," I nod.

"Okay," she says.

"Bye," I say, and when the call ends, the relief hits. I don't know what she has to say, but the fact that she's reaching out is a good thing.

Right?

"Everything okay?" Rosa asks, and the look on her face tells me she's not happy.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so," I nod.

Rosa rolls her eyes. "Good. Because, if you don't mind, I'm trying to run a business. This isn't a social club. You know the clients here don't want to see a whole bunch of people sitting around."

Desire House undeniably runs with more discretion, but…it's understandable why.

I didn't feel like heading over to Satin Dreams and watching women dance, strip, or flirt.

It would all remind me a bit too much of Iris.

---