Page 46 of Lust

I throw him a frown over my shoulder. “‘One thing at a time’? Yeah, that’s working so far,” I deadpan, then push into Pa’s room.

I’m pleased to see him sitting up, and he smiles when he sees me. But the smile falters as Roman and Blake come into view behind me. Something about his reaction irritates me and reminds me of what we are here for.

“Sydney,” he says as I take a seat in the only chair beside his bed. “Are you okay?”

I hold his gaze before finally answering. “No, Pa, I’m not.”

The spark from seeing me disappears from his eyes. “Sydn?—”

“No!” I cut him off. I don’t want his apology or excuses. I shore up my defence and think about all the women who have suffered because my pa kept quiet. “Someone set fire to my house and shot at us, Pa.” His eyes lift to Roman and Blake standing sentry behind me. “Don’t look at them. If it wasn’t for them, I’d be…” I shake the thought away. “You need to tell us who this guy is. You need to tell me everything.”

He pushes himself further up in the bed, trying to appear dominant from his submissive position. “You need to understand that I was trying to protect you.”

I’m shaking my head before he’s even finished his sentence. “Trying to protect me or yourself!” I fire back. “Warren Burns,” I add using his real name.

Shock splays across his face fleetingly before anger replaces it. “You told her?” he snaps at Roman.

“Yes, I told her,” Roman responds calmly. “You asked something of me that can only be achieved with honesty. Something you seem to have left behind with your old life.”

“This is not what we discussed,” Pa says, his tone furious.

I hear Roman step closer to me, and I watch as Pa’s eyes widen. With a quick glance over my shoulder, I see Blake’s hand on Roman’s arm, holding him, soothing his fury, whichever it is, Pa doesn’t like it. And I know why.

“We barely discussed anything, Kincaid. You asked me to protect you and your daughter with nothing more than your word and a useless fucking name in return. So you can shove your indignation and disapproval where the sun doesn’t shine.”

The beeping from the machine Pa is hooked up to increases, and I know if I don’t calm the situation we’ll be told to leave.

“How dare?—”

“Okay enough. Pa, you need to give us this man’s real name.”

Pa stares at me before lifting his gaze and taking in Blake then Roman. With a heavy sigh, he says, “His real name is John Charles Clark.”

“JC?” Roman questions.

Pa nods. “He was my best friend for years.”

“Your best friend who is supposed to be dead?” Blake asks, clearly not buying it.

“Yes. I thought he was dead too, for the first couple of years. Then a woman I had been seeing was murdered. Thankfully her daughter wasn’t there that night…” His sorrowful eyes meet mine, and my mind goes exactly where his words had intended. I’m shaking my head as he continues explaining. “I’m sorry, Sydney. I know I should have told you, but I?—”

“You saidher daughter, so are you even my real father?” I hold my breath as I wait for him to answer. Out of everything that’s happened to me, especially the last couple of days, nothing has me more terrified than waiting to discover if I’m not even me.

“Of course, I’m your real father. How could you think otherwise?”

He sounds so surprised, and I laugh at the ridiculousness. “Maybe because you’ve been lying to me my whole life. It’s all been a fucking lie!” Blake wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me against his chest, and Pa’s eyes narrow at the intimacy. “Oh wow!” I let out a disbelieving laugh. “Don’t you dare sit there and judge me. All these years of you lecturing me, the disapproval and disappointment, making me feel undeserving of God’s love or any kind of love. And all this time you’ve been running away from your own mistakes. Lying to me, to everyone, and yourself.” I push out of Blake’s arm and step closer to the bed. “And to think I was worried about you.” I push past Blake andRoman, neither of them stopping me, and exit into the corridor. I race through corridor after corridor, looking for the exit and needing some air. I crash into a woman as I burst through the automatic doors.

“I’m sorry,” I call to her as the doors close behind me and cold rain pelts me from above. I look up at the overcast sky and curse God for the rain and my messed-up life.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

ROMAN

“Sydney!” Kincaid calls after her, but she’s gone before he’s finished saying the first syllable.

I turn to Blake. “Go after her. I won’t be long.”

With a nod to me and a final scathing glare at Kincaid, Blake follows Sydney. As soon as the door closes, I focus all my attention on the bastard in front of me.

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