Page 76 of Something Borrowed

I stand under the cold flow until the water runs clear and my thoughts are less chaotic.

With a towel wrapped around my waist I rummage through the kitchen cupboards looking for something to eat. Frozen meals in the freezer, a packet of chips in the cupboard.

I toss a lasagna into the microwave and turn it on while I go upstairs to get dressed.

I need to pull a list of every property her father owns. If I had access to my computers at work, it would be easy. But my brothers would have locked me out. I’ll have to get in contact with the hacker.

It’s amazing what you can do when you throw money at a problem.

Dressed, fed and almost human again, I climb into my car and head into town. This is not something I want to do over the phone. I don’t trust anyone. I’ll give him the job face to face.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Verity

“Ihate you.” I whisper towards the man in front of me.

My father turns in his seat and scowls at me. “Hate? After everything I’ve done for you?” he snaps angrily. “You ungrateful little bitch. I saved you fromyourself. You are a danger, a loose cannon. I can’t trust you to behave in any kind of decent manner.”

I shake my head, sitting in the backseat of his car with security guards on either side of me. My father is in the front seat. He huffs before looking forward again, but I can see his eyes on me in the rearview mirror.

“I’m ashamed of you.” He snarls.

“Ha.” I laugh. “How can you be ashamed of the person you created? I am the way I am because youmademe this way.” I hiss.

I see his fists clench in his lap. “If you were how I made you, you’d be obedient and placid.”

I stare past the security guard at my side, ignoring the rifle on his lap. I look out of the window at the scenery whipping pastthe car. We’ve been driving for hours. I’m tired. I’m scared. I’m worried about Rufino and all I want is to be back in his arms.

Obedient. I chuckle. If my father thought that overbearing control was going to create an obedient daughter he was mistaken.

“All of your rules, all of your attempts to stop me from living my life - they made me this defiant. I had no choice but to fight back against you so that I could find out whoIwas.”

“Who you are doesn’t matter.” He shouts. I see the guard next to me tense up. “You are nothing but what I say you are.” My father blurts out.

This conversation is getting me nowhere. It’s stealing my energy. Energy I need to save for when Rufino comes to rescue me.

My father has a deeply ingrained inability to understand anyone’s opinion or perspective other than his own.

I’ve tried so many times to reason with him throughout my life. To make him see things from my point of view. It’sneverworked. Not even once. I can’t imagine that changing now.

“What are you going to do with me?” I sigh, thinking of the convent in Europe. I’m delighted to be going that way since it would be simple to get away from there. They won’t be prepared for someone like me. I’m smarter than their systems and useless little locks. I’ll get out, I’ll contact Rufino and he can come and fetch me. We’ll run away again. This time we won’t be found, and we’ll never come back.

We can be together.

I close my eyes and lean my head against the backrest of the car.

My father hasn’t answered my question. He isn’t going to. He likes to keep his plans muted because it’s another form of control for him.

I’m too tired to push him. I’ve been pushing him since we drove away from the motel. I was so heartbroken I couldn’t turn my head to look back at Rufino. I couldn’t process the idea of leaving him behind.

Now I regret it.

But when I close my eyes, I can see his face. I can feel his touch against my skin. If I keep my eyes closed, I can pretend I’m with him.

I must have dozed off in the car because I wake up to a guard shoving me. “We’re here. Get out.” He snaps.

“Where?” I stammer, confused and annoyed.

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