Page 27 of Snowed in with the Billionaires

The voice catches me off guard. I’m sure I’m imagining things. It makes sense given the stress I’m under. But I’m not giving up; I will set my father free. I will.

Still for one minuscule second, I turn in the direction of where I thought the voice came from. My entire world comes to a grinding halt.

Am I seeing things?

Tristan leans against one side of a pillar, his legs crossed at the ankles, his arms folded. Kaiser leans on the other side, mirroring Tristan. Ren rests against a table in the foyer, his ankles crossed, his arms folded. How long have they been standing there watching me kick their bodyguards’ asses?

For all my tough girl act, my body melts, and my senses go into overdrive. This is dangerous. They can’t have that much of a hold on me. They make me feel too out of control, too reckless.

They can make my body do things; things so intimate no one on this planet should know about me. I let myself get caught up in my fantasies, my biggest mistake.

Still running on raw adrenaline, I’m not ready to give up. I’m furious now. How dare they keep me here against my will? I need to save my father, and I will not stop until I do, and no one is going to stand in my way.

I’m no match for them, but I’ll fight them until I have no breath left.

“Madisyn?”

I can’t be imagining this. I couldn’t possibly be this mean to myself. I shift my gaze in the voice's direction. But the longer I remain fixed on the man in the shadows, the harder my tears fall.

My father. He’s standing there, looking at me. Tears continue to drip down my face. My father. He’s thinner, his frame hunched over, but the expensive suit he’s wearing camouflages the hardship of the last ten years still prevalent in his eyes.

“Dad?” I whisper. My gaze swings from my father to Tristan, Ren, and Kaiser in complete disbelief.

Then it hits me. My father is here. I’m not hallucinating. He’s standing right there. I can see him. I close the distance between us and throw myself into his arms.

“Maddie girl,” my father murmurs and hugs me tighter. I sink into his embrace, and I’m taken back to being a little girl when my father’s hugs made everything better.

“Dad,” I say repeatedly. I can’t believe I’m holding him, talking to him, but without any iron bars separating us.

I don’t want to let go of my father, not even when Helda ushers us into a living room. We sit on a sofa and talk quietly, alone. My hand grips my father’s so tight I worry I’m going to break him, but I hold on to him, afraid he’ll disappear again.

“Dad, I don’t understand,” I say, although I think I do.“What does this mean?” Did they buy my father’s life from Ace? Will we now serve them? Did we exchange one prison for another? A more dangerous one?

“Well, it’s how they do things, Tristan, Ren, and Kaiser, don’t they? Yes, we’re on a first-name basis. They insisted. They just walked in, told Ace to release me, and that was it. Ace was shitting his pants, I tell you,” my father giggles, and it’s the best sound I ever heard.

“So they own us now?”

“They ownyou, now, my darling girl.”

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