Page 2 of Royal Beast
Guy’s face falls and he opens his mouth to speak, but my phone rings, cutting him off. I escape into my office and shut the door.
By lunchtime, my stomach growls loudly, reminding me that all I had this morning was my cup of coffee. I pack up and head out to get a bite at the diner next door, but before I can enter, a shadow falls across my face. I glance up to see two tall men standing in front of me.
“Hello, Miss Flynn. I’m Niall,” the burly man greets, extending a thick hand.
“What do you want?” I cross my arms, bracing for the usual routine.
The other man smirks and says, “We’re here because of Max.”
I sigh and shake my head. Same story, different day. The familiar frustration simmers beneath the surface. He sworehe wouldn’t drag me into this mess again.
“How much this time?” I ask, already calculating what I can scrape together. If it’s no more than a few grand, I can handle it. I’ve done it before.
“Two hundred,” Niall says, flashing a self-satisfied, sleazy grin. It’s the kind of smile that makes my skin crawl, but I keep my face expressionless.
I pull out my wallet, already thinking about how I’ll juggle my bills this week. “How about I give you a hundred now and the rest tomorrow?” I ask, holding out the cash.
Their laughter is immediate, filling the small space between us.
Niall’s eyes glint with amusement as he shakes his head. “Two hundredthousand,” he says, correcting me.
My hand freezes, the money hanging in the air as my brain scrambles to process what he just said. “Two hundredthousand?” I repeat, disbelief creeping into my voice. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
The other man crosses his arms, his expression hardening. “Your father’s been digging a deeper hole than usual,” he explains, the playfulness gone from his tone. “Max went in for thirty-six grand about six months ago. Came to my buddy Niall ‘The Fixer’ Gallagher here to get out of it.”
Niall shrugs, his eyes narrowing. “I covered him, but the fool lost it all again. Sold the house to pay me back, then kept borrowing. This time, I’m done letting him off easy. I want my money, and I want it now.”
A cold knot forms in my stomach. “I can’t pay you two hundred thousand dollars,” I say, trying for strong but coming out smaller than I’d like. The reality of it hits me in waves. “That’s insane! You can’t just show up and demand that from me like it’s pocket change.”
Niall takes a step closer, and though I’ve been through this before, there’s something different in his eyes this time, something more dangerous. “You’ve got forty-eight hours,” he says softly, his hand reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind my ear.
I jerk away and turn my head to the side. I’ve dealt with these kinds of men before, but the stakes are so much higher this time. My body feels ice cold.
By the time I get home, a million thoughts are racing through my head as I walk in the door. How are we going to pay this? Did my dad really sell the house out from under us?
He and Rose are in the living room, watching a Mickey Mouse cartoon, when I enter.
They both look up, and Rose runs over to greet me. I ruffle her soft, brown curls and scoop her up for a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead.
“Love you, Petal,” I tell her. “Can you stay in here and watch your cartoons while I talk to Grandpa?”
I turn to my father. “Dad,” I say, my voice shaky, “can I talk to you in the kitchen?”
Max stares at me, his eyebrows drawn together, but he follows me into the kitchen anyway. I lean against the counter, trying to gather my strength. “Some of your friends came and talked to me today,” I explain, my body tense. “They told me an interesting story.”
“Darce,” my father starts, but I hold up my hand.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I snap. “Two hundred grand? What the hell were you thinking, Dad? You’ve pulled irresponsible stunts my whole damned life, but this takes the cake!”
“You weren’t supposed to find out about it!” Dad protests. “It wasn’t supposed to be your mess to deal with, for once!”
“Oh, please,” I say, hand on my hip. “Enlighten me. How in the world were you planning on keeping this from me?”
“I figured I’d be gone by the time they came to collect,” he reveals.
“And where were you planning to go, exactly?” I ask, crossing my arms. “Were you just gonna skip town and leave us holding the bag?”
He shakes his head. “No, I would never abandon you.”
