Page 43 of All of Me

Stunned, I just stared at him, but then his phone rang, and Jay was back on. “You have a visitor. I ran the plates, and it’s registered to John Turner.”

I closed my eyes in despair. Now what?

“He’s just pulling up, and yeah, getting out of the car.” There was silence. “Can confirm it’s him based on the pic Danny sent us.”

“I’m about to pull into the lane,” Drake said. “Stay out of sight.”

Jay agreed and hung up.

“What do you think he wants?” I asked.

“He could be sniffing for information,” Drake warned, then hesitated. “Don’t let him goad you, but there’s also the possibility he’s here to see Tammy.”

Something red and hot curled in my belly. There was no way I’d ever let John Turner get his filthy hands on her.

“Don’t worry,” Drake said grimly as we pulled into the yard to see Turner knocking on the door. “That’s as far as he’s gonna get.”

But I didn’t trust my father further than Drake could throw him.

Chapter Sixteen

Shae

I stared at him as Drake got Tammy unfastened from her car seat and grabbed Maxie. He didn’t speak for a moment, just took everything in. He didn’t look shocked at seeing Tammy, so I knew damn well he knew exactly who she was.

Drake glanced at me questioningly and I nodded to the house, so he went in with Tammy and the puppy. I stood my ground.

For probably the first time.

You could see the abuse John Turner had wreaked on his body. Viewing him with new eyes, he wasn’t very tall. Maybe five foot eight, and I was taller. He wasn’t anywhere near Drake’s six-plus feet, and that made me happy. It was pathetic, but yeah.

He was lanky, I guessed the term was. His skin—the bit I could see under worn and tattered denim—was yellowing. Probably his liver. His eyes were dull and he was squinting. Kids would have called that look “mean,” and they had the right of it.

His clothes were the same as I was used to. Tatty, unwashed jeans, and whatever flannel he could pull on. I gazed at himin confusion, wondering what Aisha had seen in him. But then, Aisha had been drunk when she had sex with him.

Fuck, she would have to be.

“That my kid?” He nodded in the direction of the door Drake had gone through.

“You would have to ask your lawyer,” I replied and sidestepped him to the door. His hand shot out, but I had been expecting it. John Turner was all about intimidation. I put on some speed and side-stepped him.

He frowned. “Cut that out, you little shit.”

I almost smiled. He’d seen me move fast, but he had no idea of the speeds I was capable of.

Look,” he heaved a sigh. “I want you both home. I’m your dad.” I scoffed and he scowled again. “I’m her father.”

“You really think any court is going to place her with you? With your record?” I asked incredulously.

He smirked. “What about yours?”

“I don’t have one,” I said as calmly as I could.

“We’ll see,” he taunted. “Plenty of jobs you helped me on that they don’t know about. Might not get you locked up, but they would yank that kid from you faster than you could fuck pretty boy in there.”

I didn’t react. How did he know about Drake and me? But I knew he was right about the jobs. He had used me for a year before I’d even met the team.

“There isn’t anything you could say that doesn’t incriminate you,” I said confidently.

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