Page 48 of Revenge

“Did what?”

“I just said boy, by strutting around and flashing her tits and arse off.” I knew at that point that my father had twisted what had happened to make it OK in his warped mind.

The fuckerwasguilty. Ava was telling the truth.

Hold it together Kai, don’t fuck it up now.

“And what happened?” I questioned calmly.

“Nothing. The girl was a prick tease. All bark and no fucking bite. I remember the way she ground against me when she’d sit on my lap. The bint wanted a piece of daddy.”

Gerard then stalled, suddenly looking uncomfortable and I knew that if I didn’t leave, I would grab him by the throat and choke the whole story from him.

I glanced at Cillian, standing by the door. Cill’s expression was hard and I knew he was listening to every word. It was a rare sight to see, my hitman was trained to never show emotion and yet his mask had slipped.

“And that’s the way you remember it? Ava, a child at the time,comingonto you?”

The atmosphere in the room became suffocating.

Gerard went to grab his coffee but missed and the cup rattled on the nest of tables by his chair. My father also glanced towards Cillian, before his eyes shifted to Henry Smith, my father’s bodyguard. One I had fucking assigned him.

“Yes. Why, what lies is the little cow spouting?” The tension continued and I carefully watched Henry in my periphery, or should I say, his hands. “Hamish told me she’s a firecracker.” I found it interesting that Hamish didn’t appear to have told my father I had kidnapped Ava. He only seemed to have half the story, which meant I may let the fucker live.

I responded, flicking a piece of lint off my trouser leg. “It appears Hamish has been running his mouth off. Why is he reporting to you when you assigned him to me?”

“He’s just being loyal, telling me what’s going on. I get bored and lonely out here. Even Sally has started to bore me.”

“Hamish shouldn’t be gossiping. If he gossips, I can’t trust him.”

“I just wanted to be kept in the loop. Surely you can understand that.”

“And I am the one to do that, not one of my men,” I pointed out. Pushing to my feet.

Gerard leaned back into his seat, his frail hands resting in his lap. I wanted to feel sorry for him, I really did, but at that point, hatred for what he truly was pumped through my veins.

Fuck, I needed to leave before I did something bad, something which would stir up shit I had no way of containing.

Everything in my gut scrunched like a fist had punched its way through my stomach and was attempting to pull my insides out.

Your father touched your stepsister under your very nose and you did fuck all.

You failed her, and her mother!

My hands curled into fists and I felt the need to hit something. If my Da had been stronger, it would have been him.

Fuck and double fuck!

And Isnapped, I needed him to say it. Hear thoseuglyfucking words. Pushing to my feet, I slowly walked to where he sat. Cillian took a step forward, as did Henry, but I raised my hands; ordering them both to stand down.

Gerard looked up at me, his liver-marked hands clinging tightly to his knees. He looked panic-stricken and so he fucking should.

“Whatreallyhappened with Ava?” I said in a low voice, it sounded calmer than I felt. My hands were strategically formed into fists as I couldn’t trust myself not to lash out.

“What, when?” he suddenly looked confused and had paled by my nearness.

As I stared at him, I realised that I had spent the last few years not knowing this man, what he had become.

Placing my hands on either side of his chair, I caged him in, “Did you touch Ava when she lived with us?” Frustration and anger gnawed through my insides.

---