Page 84 of Because of the Dar

Inhaling through my nose, I close my eyes. Just get it over with. Worst case, I will deliver this baby in jail, and hopefully, her daddy will take care of her.

I release the locks and hesitantly turn the knob.I can still pretend that I'm not here.The small gap reveals the last person I ever expected to meet, let alone see knock on my bottom of the barrel, shitty studio door in the middle of the butt fuck, hot as hell Grand Canyon State.

"Hi, King."She smiles softly. Her gentle face stands in complete contrast to her all-black attire of skinny jeans, John Fluevog boots, and shirt. The leather jacket probably costs more than my entire wardrobe.

"Lilly."

No point in pretending I don't know who she is. I open the door wider and step aside.

She doesn't move. "May we come in?" Authority radiates off her, the same way I saw in the videos of the press conference. I glance behind her and notice the two men towering over her. I recognize both.

I nod my head and wave in an awkwardly jerky gesture for the trio to come inside.

Lilly slips past me, followed by her security detail: George Weiler and Marcus Baxter.

Jesus fucking Christ. The Ghost and The Shadow, as Wes called him once.

Wes.

My lips quiver for the second time tonight. The slightest reminder of him, and the hurricane of love, loss, and guilt threatens to overpower me. It's always there, simmering under the surface, and after my earlier breakdown, my emotional state has not yet recovered. Inhaling steadily through my nose, I focus on Nugget. She is my anchor to sanity. I'm doing this all for her. Calmer, and with my back to my visitors, I close the door, not bothering with the locks.

The arsenal onthemis clearly visible. I don't know where I am safer: within my four walls with three armed-to-the-teeth individuals who essentially are my enemies, or outside in the courtyard with my drug-selling neighbors waiting for their next customer.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I straighten my spine and turn.

"I don't know where he is."

Lilly arches an eyebrow. "Who?"

I prop my hands on my hips. "My father."

She nods in understanding. "I'm not here for him."

Huh?"Oh."

"We will find him, though," Marcus barks out, which gets him a disapproving look from Lilly and George equally.

Somehow, this one sentence has broken me out of my stupor, and part of the old King rises to the surface. I draw my shoulders back. "What do you want, then?"

Lilly addresses George. "Would you mind waiting outside?"

Her head of security narrows his eyes.

"I'm fine, George. King won't hurt me."

Not that I could do much with my curved blade against the Glock 19 tucked in the back of her jeans.

"Lilly, I—" Marcus tries his luck as well.

"Get out," she orders, rolling her eyes. Her tone is easy, but it's an order, nonetheless.

Both men sigh heavily, but understand that this is not a negotiation.

"We'll be in the hallway," Marcus declares, scowling at me. George still has not said a word, but holds Lilly's gaze as he follows the younger man out.

I eye the girl in my living room, and she waves at the pull-out couch.

"May I?"

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