Page 68 of Bullet

“Calm down, kitten. You're working yourself up over nothing.”

I tried to wrench myself from his grasp. “Nothing? Nothing? My brother almost died because one of your men shot him!”

Pulling me against him, he wrapped his arms around me. “Shh, baby. It's okay. I'll find out what happened and make sure whoever did it is punished.”

My heart was pounding, my chest heaving with ragged breaths and sobs. I started to relax against him, my body drained from the events of the past few hours.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

The air left me, my body tensing in fear as I heard the click of a gun.

“What the hell are you doing here, Apache?” Ford growled, blocking me with his body.

I looked around Ford, my stomach dropping as I saw my dad with a gun pointed at him.

His eyes locked with mine. “I should be asking my traitor daughter the same thing.”

A lump formed in my throat as the guilt I'd been burying resurfaced. “Dad, I didn't mean for this to happen. It just did.”

My dad’s face was contorted with rage. “Shut up! I can't even stand to look at you right now! You're a whore just like your mother.”

His words were like a knife to the heart, and I bowed my head in shame.

“Don't fucking talk to her like that or I'll cut your tongue out,” Ford threatened, defending me.

“She's my daughter. I can talk to her any way I goddamn well please!” my dad countered.

“Not when I'm around. You will treat her with respect.”

My dad scoffed. “Respect is earned. And she lost all my respect by hooking up with the likes of you.” He spat on the ground. “Suicide scum.”

I saw Ford's hands bunch into fists. “I'd suggest you get off my property before I force you to.”

My dad chortled. “You're in no position to be making threats. I'm the one with the gun.”

“I don't need a gun to beat your ass, old man.”

Anger and sadness built up inside me as they continued to argue until I felt like I was going to explode. “Stop!” I screamed, causing them both to snap their heads toward me. “You're both acting like children!”

They both stared at me in stunned silence, and I just couldn't deal with either of them at that moment. “You know what? Fuck both of you.”

Brushing past Ford, I got in my car. Both of them were immature, controlling assholes, and I was done with their bullshit.

I just hoped they didn't kill each other after I left.

* * *

I ended up crashing at Nina's for the next few days. I went by my dad's when no one was home to get a bunch of my clothes and other belongings. I didn't want to talk to him or see him, and I was pretty sure he'd told my brothers I was a traitor.

Ford had called and texted me several times, but I ignored him. I was still trying to make sense of what had happened and decide whether I believed him or not.

Ford was a criminal and a jerk, but he wasn't a liar. He told the truth even when I didn't like it, so I wanted to believe him. However, it was hard to believe that his men would act without his authority.

When I got back to Nina's, I tossed my bag on the couch. “Hey,” she greeted as she came out of her bedroom.

“Hey.”

“Get everything you needed?”

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