Page 190 of Vegas Heat

I let out a snort I meant to keep quiet, and her mom raises a brow at me as if to ask what that’s all about.

I decide to go for honesty. I’m not a fan of this woman after everything Gabby has told me. “You’re here to fuck with Troy. You don’t give a shit about your daughter.”

Her hand flies to her chest in total defensiveness. “Excuse me, sir, but I’ll have you know Troy is a very bad man. He tried to do dirty things to me on more than one occasion!”

I blow out a breath as I scramble to come up with how to protect Gabby from all this. She’s already semi-aware of the club her father owns, and while I’ve never witnessed anythingfirsthand, I had my suspicions he and Joanie might be into the BDSM lifestyle.

I don’t know Troy’s exact sexual proclivities, but I do know he’d never beat a woman. But if this was over twenty years ago and he was exploring the idea of a dominant-submissive relationship, he very well may have been experimenting. Still, he’s not the kind of guy who would have done any of that without total consent.

“Maybe we ought to let Troy give his side of the story,” I suggest dryly.

Gabby’s eyes are hooded out here on the dark porch as she studies her mother. “Go ahead, Mom. Tell us your side of the story.”

“It’s…it’s so embarrassing,” she says, shielding her eyes a little. “He was young, playing in the minors and thought he was hot stuff. We met at a bar, and we had one night together. And then another and another. Eventually we sort of became an item, or at least Ithoughtwe were an item, and one night he asked if he could…spankme. It felt wrong but I agreed to do it since he was who he was. The next night he wanted to use a whip.” She closes her eyes as if the memory is too painful to bring up. “I found out I was pregnant, and the night I was going to tell him, I learned he was cheating on me. I knew I couldn’t allow someone like him—a lying, cheating, violent man—around a baby. I ran off, wouldn’t talk to him, wouldn’t see him. He saw a photograph of me when I was around six months pregnant, and I lied and said it wasn’t his.”

Sheagreedto it. That’s consent. Just because she didn’t like it doesn’t mean Troy is violent. It means he likes certain things in the bedroom, and that’s his business. And beyond that, if what she’s implying is true…why would she show up at his house over twenty years later?

A narcissist will twist and turn things to make anyone believe her narrative. I can’t let her turn Gabby against her father, not when I know how close they’ve become.

Gabby looks like she’s going to be sick. She doesn’t say anything, so I jump in.

“I gotta tell you, it sounds consensual to me.” I lift a shoulder. “And he doesn’t strike me as a cheater.”

Christine turns a glare on me. “You obviously misheard what I said.”

“In what way? You said you agreed to the spanking.” I shrug. “That’s consent.”

“But it felt wrong to me,” she insists. “I agreed to it because I thought I was in love.”

“Should we let him tell his side of the story?” I ask, setting a hand on the door handle to let myself in.

“No—uh, just wait a second,” Christine says.

I turn around to face her. “For what?”

“Can I just have a moment with my daughter?” she asks.

I glance at Gabby first, and she’s got a look of determination on her face. It’s in that moment I know she isn’t going to let Christine get to her. I sigh. “Go for it. I’m heading in.”

I’m curious what she wants to say to her daughter, but it’s between them. “Troy?” I yell, and he walks into the kitchen a beat later.

“Hey, man. I’ve got some film loaded up on the big screen in the game room if you want to join me in there.” He turns to head back that way.

“Hang on a second,” I say, and he freezes as he turns back around. “You have an unexpected visitor.”

“I do?”

I nod toward the front door. “Gabby’s mother was out there when I ran up.”

His face blanches a little. “Gabby’s…mother?”

“Christine,” I confirm.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “What does she want?”

“She claims she wants to see her daughter, and she just unloaded the entire story of why she never told you she was pregnant on both Gabby and myself.”

“I’m certain it was her version of events,” he says dryly.

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