Page 11 of Make Her Bleed
"She's not a little girl anymore, Tom. She's a woman, and if she can't handle it that sounds like aherproblem, not a me or you problem."
I turn to walk back to my car when he grabs my arm.
"Don't make me do something you won't like," he threatens, which sends red hot anger through me.
"Don't threaten me," I growl as I turn back to him, standing to my full height, a good six inches taller than him. "Keep in mind. I'm here as a courtesy to you—-a friend—-so you're fully aware of what's about to happen. If you try to get in my way, Tom, I still have your blood oath and don’t tempt me to use it. Do. Not. Fuck. With. Me." I sneer at him and he cowers just a bit before taking a single step back.
He's seen me make good on my threats before. He knows better. "How can you be so fucking heartless, Malakai?"
"I was born this way. Enjoy this time with your daughter instead of squandering it with attempts to avoid the inevitable."
I turn and hurry to my car before climbing into it.
I drive to the school that is still deserted except for my guys standing on the football field.
"What's next, Coach?" Knox asks as I approach them.
" Step Two. Dax, Rowe, you're up next."
CHAPTERFIVE
ARIA
Ican tell something is wrong when Dad walks inside; he’s clearly stuck in his head. His eyes are glazed over and he seems terribly pale.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"I'm fine, kiddo," he says before hugging me, pulling me tight into his embrace. "I love you. I love you more than anything in this world."
"I love you, too, Dad.” What is going on? Why is he acting like this? Like I'm about to walk off to my death? He seems so freaked out.
"Are you sure you're fine? You seem shaken," I assess.
His Adam's apple rises and falls with tension through his muscles.
"You know what? Let's skip school today," he suddenly says.
"What?"Skip school?My dad has never offered for me to skip school.
"We can take a day and go to the whale watching station you wanted to visit on the coast. It's only a few days until Thanksgiving. Maybe we'll just take the rest of the week off and make a vacation out of it." He's talking so fast I can barely understand what he's saying as his arms tremble.
"Dad, is this about what happened to my truck? Are you freaked out about that?" I see the fear in his eyes as he looks down at me. "Dad, it's okay. Kai is right. We'll find out who's behind it and make sure they're punished. There's no need to get upset. If we run off, they'll win; that's not right. I'll be okay, Dad. I promise."
The fear doesn't leave his eyes but the shaking stops in his arms. "But, I will hold you to the idea of going to the coast. Raincheck?” I joke with him.
He lets out a small laugh before kissing my forehead.
Like that, the problem with my truck slips his mind and everything is back to normal.
We head out to school. The drive is slow but I realize it's because he is delaying our arrival.
This whole day is just weird. First the weird feeling I got, the feeling of being watched, my truck, Dad's sudden offer of skipping school, and now this whole delaying getting to school.
Men are strange creatures.
"Have a good day on the field, Dad," I say before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Be careful today, okay? Don't go anywhere alone and make sure no one is—"
