Page 164 of Broken Dreams

He took his suit with him, which means he can join us all right away. Ugh, I miss him. I want him to help buffer some of the creepy men. Callum will glare, but he doesn’t see the looks people give me when they think he’s not paying attention.

I’m drinking a glass of water next to him, when someone tries to pull Callum away.

“I’m actually not comfortable leaving Quinn alone,” he begins to say. There’s a group of them as they talk over him, and my dad sidles over to stand next to me.

“Finally, I get to see my daughter,” he says. “Callum won’t be able to break away without punching someone, so listen closely. Your hours are numbered, Quinn. Whores don’t get to have a happy ending. They’re simply holes to be filled.”

“Fuck you,” I say simply, enjoying the widened eyes of shock and rage.

My words are rudimentary and simple, but my point stands.

“You little bitch,” he growls, gripping my arm tightly.

A gun appears at his temple as he starts to yank me toward him and water spills a bit from the motion. Taking advantage of the moment, I toss it in his face.

“I believe name calling is beneath you, Hudson,” Christian says smoothly. My body responds to his voice as he holds the gun at my father’s head without a care. “Let the girl go and move on with your night.”

“The girl is my daughter and property,” my father says.

“No,” I say, shaking my head as the water drips from his enraged face.

“Regardless, she’s a person and not chattel,” Christian says conversationally. “Move away or be prepared to wear your brains on the outside of your skull.”

Holy fuck, why is that so hot?

“Why do you care?” my father asks.

“That’s none of your concern. I’ll give you to the count of three. I’m sure there’s enough muscle here tonight to make quick work of burying your body so no one will ever find it,” Christian says. “One?—”

“I swear, I don’t understand how you’re so protected,” Dad mutters before pushing me away so hard I trip over my feet. “Your cunt must be magical.”

A hard chest and very warm arms catch me, and I breathe in the familiar scent of dark molasses and sweet tea. My father stalks away from me and Christian makes the gun disappear as if it never happened. No one glances in our direction, but Callum finally manages to wrestle away from the group with a yell.

That draws attention as my alpha stalks back to me, shaking his head in anger.

“I’m so fucking sorry,” he growls, his fingers moving over my skin to find the damage

“What happened?” Linus asks, though his eyes are on Christian.

The alpha winks at us and walks away, and I can feel Linus’ heart pounding through his chest.

“I was physically removed from Quinn’s presence,” Callum rumbles. “Fuck, I’m so glad Christian has zero fucks to give.”

I’m glad too, and my panties are completely destroyed, which is ridiculous after such an awful encounter.

“I’m glad I finally got here. It’s as if everything that could possibly happen to keep us from leaving the club did,” Linus sighs. “I haven’t seen Duncan yet.”

I thought I saw him across the room earlier, but as I search, I see that there’s too many people for me to be able to find him now.

“I’m about ready to throw everyone out,” Callum mutters.

I am too, but if my father is trying to drag me away from everyone, then there’s a reason. I need to know if Bret is here, and if he is, I want to end this all.

“Callum, I’m going to need you to pretend to be really busy,”I say through the bond. “I have a feeling that Bret is here, but the slimeball is a coward.”

“Quinn,” he says, his voice grumbly.

“Please,” I add with a pout.

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