Page 49 of Mistletoe Missus
I waited another two minutes before calling my father and he answered on the first ring. “Jesus Christ, Mitt! Fuck, Son! Youneedto get your wife under control!”
My dad was livid, and I could imagine his face as red as a fucking tomato. I pictured his hands raking through his messy hair. His reading glasses had probably slipped down because of the sweat on the bridge of his nose from some sort of chaos Tinsley had caused.
Fuck. Angel. What have you done now?
“I have her under control, Dad,” I explained as I tried to calm him down and take the heat off my wife’s back. “She’s been fine the last—”
“Fine? Nothing is okay about her taking thirty million dollars from my company and spending it on a goddamn car!” he yelled at me through the phone line, and I heard him take a puff of his cigarette.
“Our company,” I added and ran a hand down my face. “The company is as much hers now as it is ours.”
Sometimes reasoning with my father worked, while other times it didn’t. It was a risk I’d take in order to keep Tinsley safe. She was up against the devil, and he was ready to throw her into the fiery depths of hell.
Goddamn it! Why does she have to go fuck shit up?
“Well, this spending problem of hers will end. I’m on my way to pay her a brief visit and—”
“No, Dad. I’ll handle her,” I interrupted as I flew up out of my seat and panic coursed through me. “Like you said, she’s my wife, and I’ll be the one to control her.”
A moment of silence passed.
“Are you catching feelings, Son?” Cyprus asked.
I froze.
An icy chill ran down my spine as if my father was in the room, breathing down my neck. His powerful influence took hold of the situation as he sought the truth, and I gave him pushback. There was no way I’d have any affection for Tinsley Morgan while my father was around. He’d place a target on her and would shoot to kill. I couldn’t have that since I was the one who brought a monster into her life, and I’d do anything to keep her safe. Even deny anything I’ve felt for Tinsley all this damn time. From hate to lust to whatever this damn fluttering was in my chest. I couldn’t let anyone know. I’d bury my feelings in the depths of my soul. I was a selfish man for bringing her into myworld, and I’d do whatever it took to keep her out of harm’s way. I owed her my life, and I was furious with her all at the same time.
“Not a chance in hell. I’d watch my wife burn at the stake before Ieverlet her near my heart. Love is for the weak,” I breathed out a bald-faced lie.
“Good. Because if you did, I’d burn you right along with her,” Cyprus threatened with the message loud and clear.
My blood boiled at the idea of my father even laying a hand on Tinsley. I quaked with anger not only at him, but at her for being fucking stubborn. She couldn’t let this divorce go and wanted out so damn bad. Well, she wouldn’t get it. My wife was in too deep, and there was no way out. This childish attitude had to stop, or my dad would come after her. I’d have to make her see that enough was enough.
I said with a clenched fist, “It won’t come to that. I’ll handle her.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Cyprus voiced and coughed on his cigarette smoke.
“She’ll be kneeling at my feet in the next thirty minutes,” I promised as I peered at my wedding band and swirled it around my finger. “While I prove to her, I’m in complete control.”
“God, I’d love to see her on her knees,” Cyprus sighed.
Fuck you, Dad.
The words echoed on repeat in my head.
She’s mine. My father wouldn’t have my wife. I’d kill him with my bare hands.
I almost growled through the phone line.
I kept it at bay and asked, “What kind of car did Tinsley buy?”
“A Rolls-Royce,” Cyprus answered and heaved a frustrated sigh. “It’s more fucking expensive than mine, and I won’t even get to drive it.”
“I’ll make sure I do and drive her crazy while doing it,” I pledged and hung up the phone just as my wife barged through my office door.
TWENTY-SIX
Dominate
