Page 75 of Hers to Control

I hand him the phone without a word. It wasn’t like I really wanted to ask any of those questions. Surely, if they needed something from me, they’d let me know.

“Who is this?” Eric asks into my cell. A moment of silence follows as he listens to the answer, his hand on my shoulder tightening.

“We’ll get those signed for you,” he tells the person eventually, before dropping my phone onto the bed next to him.

“The Russians?” I ask, although I’m not sure why. Eric has been with me the entire time, so I doubt he would know more than I do. Maybe he can find out, though.

But do I want to know?

I remember Eric’s words from yesterday.I’m not your father. In fact, he’s out of the picture now.

Do I need to know?

Is this the start of the Russians hunting after me again? Is this some sort of convoluted message that this time they won’t stop short of killing me?

Or is this something else entirely?

My mind is racing. Focused on my own survival more than the grief I should probably feel at the loss of a parent. But then again, I lost my father a long time ago. Lost him when he left me to foster families and my own devices.

“Mia, look at me.”

I look over at him. Eric’s voice is sharp but steady, and some voice inside of me says I should pay attention.

“The Russians didn’t kill your father.”

I blink. Trying to make sense of his certainty.

And then I do. Because part of me already suspected.

It’s strange how fast someone can process something so fucked up.

Back at Gianna’s place, Eric had asked me if I’d want to see my father. I’d told him my father was dead to me.

And now he is dead.

“You had him killed.”

Eric nods. “He was putting you in danger. He didn’t mean to, I think, but he would have fucked up again if he stayed alive. I couldn’t risk that.”

I nod along with his words.

Eric ordered my father’s murder.

It makes sense. In the messed up world I grew up in, it makes sense. And even more fucked up is the strange acceptance I feel at his words. My father had me move the body of a man he killed. He chose money over me, time and time again.

My father wasn’t a good man, and Eric knows that. Unlike my father, Eric sees the evil in this world. He accepts it. Unlike my father, who always talked his way around things, Eric is honest about the world he operates in. He is honest about the things he does.

And he protects me.

It’s not the kind of love I ever thought I’d want, but now that I have it, it’s the kind of love I crave. Someone who doesn’t hide who he is behind the pretense of being normal. Someone who will fight for me, no matter what. Someone who doesn’t turn and walk away when something gets hard. Someone who will kill for me if that is what it takes.

“Okay.” My voice sounds flat, but sure.

“Are you sure?” Eric asks. He’s watching me like I’m about to break. Or strike. I’m not sure, but I give him a nod.

“Yes. I’m okay with it.”

“In that case, there is something you need to know.”

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