Page 252 of Hate Mates

Several sets of eyes scan me as I approach the bar, but the massive, tattooed man sitting at the bar, staring at me intently, makes my steps falter.

Jesus, Grace…

Would have been nice if you let me know my dad was here…

Everyone around him at the bar gives him a wide berth.

I don’t blame them, given his size and the look on his face.

His jaw tightens, a muscle there ticcing as I move toward him and Mom, who appears beside him, initially hidden by the thirsty crowd.

Shit, they’re both here…

She arches a dark brow, glancing between Will and me.

I weave through a dozen people before I finally reach them. “Hi…”

She pulls me into an embrace, and her arms tighten around me protectively. “Is everything all right,mija?”

Her eyes that match my own dart to Will on the other side of the bar.

I pull out of her hold slightly and nod. “Everything’s perfect.”

Dad grumbles low under his breath. “Really? Because the last time you talked to me about him, you told me you wanted me to drive him to the middle of the lake and dump him there.”

Shit.

Biting back a laugh, I chew on my bottom lip. “Ididsay that, but…” I release a long, heavy sigh because I can’t tell them anything. At least, not until things have resolved. “We talked.”

Mom’s lips twist with a suspicious look. “And talking was enough?”

Well, I’m definitely not mentioning the sex…

If there wereanydoubt about where I stand with William Pike, it was instantly washed away by the way he just so beautifully destroyed me and put me back together again.

“He explained something to me that I didn’t know before. It was all a giant misunderstanding.”

Dad snorts, fisting his tattooed hand next to his club soda. “The last year and a half?”

“Please,Papi,just cut me—andhim—some slack.”

He issues a low growl, the same one he’s been giving Will ever since we broke up, and he glares at him across the small space between us.

War approaches from the left, where he just handed someone two bottles of beer, and sets his palms flat on the bar top, leaning toward his best friend. “Did I hear you threaten to throw my son into the middle of Lake Michigan?”

Dad grins. “If he deserves it, I sure as hell will.”

War looks up at me with a raised brow, and I shake my head to let him know I am definitelynotasking Rion Gates to do that.

The man who once led the inland seas pirates offers me a knowing nod. “Fine, but only ifshesays he deserves it.”

A smug grin pulls at Dad’s lips, and he holds out his hand.

War takes it, gripping it tightly.

They speak in unison. “Deal.”

Will glances over his shoulder at us and smirks, almost as if he can tell we’ve been discussing him.

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