Page 30 of Creed's Honor

Seeing the security guards heading this way, I put my hand out, stopping them from entering.

Dad scoffed loudly. “So this is what it’s fucking like now?” He angrily ran a hand through his greying hair and shook his head furiously. “Can’t fucking have a conversation with you without guards at the door?”

I sighed, looking him in the eyes. “Dad, you are wearing club colours at a private hospital, and you look like you’re about to lose your temper. They think you are a stranger, and an upset one at that.”

He scoffed loudly again. “Well, they wouldn’t be far off it, would they!”

Guess I deserved that.

“What’s wrong? Why are you here?” I got straight to the point. I was busy. I watched his eyes harden on me.

“You don’t answer your phone.” His intense dark blue gaze was on me. He could easily read me, which was why I needed to keep my shields up. “You don’t fucking come home, either.”

“Dad, don’t you have better things to do than to monitor me?” I snapped, feeling my anger rising. After all, I was his daughter. “I have a life, Dad. I have a career. What do you expect?”

“To be in your life!” He looked at me as if that was obvious. “Holly, what is going on with you?” He shook his head like I was a stranger. “You didn’t come to Kobra’s birthday. Ollie and Connor are looking for you. Yer Mum is cut up thinking she’s done something.”

I remained quiet.

“Come on, little one, just tell me what’s wrong.” He took a step towards me, and I stepped back, my eyes going to him from the carpet. His expression dropped, seeing me stepping back. He made a noise of disbelief. “You know, Holly, I’m starting to think yer ashamed of us. Like yer leaving this family.”

“Well, Dad, you are the one who made sure that the brotherhood was linked into our family.” I looked at him, dead in the eyes. “And that’s fucked up.”

What had gotten into me? What had taken me from always believing the Kincaid motto that the club was family to this? Well, Dad patched Creed back to his table, proving to me, again, that the club came before family. The club came before me.

That hurt.

Sort of like how it hurt when I realised my dad would accept the man who broke me back with welcoming arms. Even gave him a promotion. Creed was VP now to the Mother Chapter.

“I’m not answering your calls. I’m not answering your messages and seeing as you aren’t picking up the hints, I’ll tell you straight. I am done with the club. And I know what that means.”

He stared at me. Emotionless. He was looking like the ruthless president he was meant to be.

“I will not spend the rest of my life acting like what you taught me and how I was brought up is normal. It’s not.” I shook my head, feeling the rage creeping over me. “I spent my childhood drawing criminal tattoos instead of unicorns and rainbows!” I balled my hands into fists at my side. “You wanted to know if I’m ashamed of my family? The answer is yes! I’m reminded every time someone asks me about my family! When someone asks me, what do your parents do?” I felt hot, angry tears coming. “And I can’t say that my dad is a doctor or lawyer or, fuck, anything. Because what do you do, Dad?”

I knew I was hurting him. But I couldn’t stop the words.

“You run a criminal organisation, and while I’m doing good in that emergency room, I have to pretend that half the injuries that come from the streets aren’t caused by you.”

The anger that had been on Dad’s face when he arrived was gone. Instead, he just stared at me, and I was waiting for him to drag me back to the house, maybe even lock me down till I changed my mind. But instead, I watched his lips twitch up dimly, an expression on his face that I could only put down to heartbreak as he looked at me.

“When I held you for the first time, I knew you deserved better than me as a father.” He swallowed sharply. “I’m sorry, Holly.” And with those words said, he brushed past me, leaving, but I saw the tears in his eyes.

I didn’t know what was worse—that I made Hades Kincaid cry, or that I didn’t go after him.

* * *

Beingan adult meant you needed to take responsibility for your actions. It meant, when you fucked up, you had to own it—face it. But I knew as I walked into my family house for the first time in a month, it wasn’t going to be easy. I had ripped my father to shreds. I ripped apart everything that made him who he was. I had never been so ashamed of myself. After Dad left, I had to fight with myself to get through my shift. I realised that I was that girl. The one that spat in her family’s face after they were the ones to get me where I was.

I would not be a doctor today if it weren’t for my parents paying for my degree, and I would have huge debt against me. No, Dad paid for my degree upfront. I was only able to dedicate so much time to my studies because my father made sure I didn’t have to work part-time. He converted a room into a study for me.

And how did I repay him? I ripped him apart. I made him doubt the fact he was a good father. But worse than that, I made him think he wasn’t a good person. Everything I accused Dad of being today was all the things I loved about him, and that made him who he was.

Walking into the foyer, I saw his study lights on. Well, our study’s lights on. I felt the guilt of what happened overcome me.

“Holly, sweetie, you’re home!”

I spun around and saw Mum.

---