Page 63 of Seductive Sadist

“So you offered up your daughter? Was it worth it to put her life in danger like that?”

I turn a surprised eye to Zak. Red spots creep into his cheeks, his eyes spewing hatred.

“I never thought things would turn out like this. Your mother is sick with worry. Kylian is lying in a hospital bed with pins holding his leg together. I can’t bear the thought of Skyla hurt. Please. Help her. I hate that it’s you, but what I detest so much about you is what can actually save her.”

“Wow, I’m not sure how to take that.” Zak rolls his eyes. “I mean, is it a compliment? An insult? A little bit of both? And how do I say no to such a glowing review of my skills?”

Dad turns to me. “I’m so sorry for everything, sweetie. You have to believe I never wanted any of this to happen. I will make it right. I swear to you.” He stands up, taking extra effort to hoist himself out of the chair. He pushes it against the table where he took it from and turns to me with a weak smile on his face. “I love you and will do everything I can to fix this.”

He pauses for a second, almost waiting for me to make a move.

A gaggle of tears catches in my throat.

It’s only when he walks away that I jump out of the booth and run toward him. “Daddy.”

He pulls me into his arms and I breathe in his aftershave, filling my lungs with his scent and my heart with memories.

“I love you, too,” I whisper. I stare after him for a long minute after he leaves the diner.

Zak puts a hand on my shoulder. “We should go.”

I blink fast to hold back the tears that threaten to fall. “Okay.”

I can’t even think about looking back at my food. Even though I was starving only a little while ago, my stomach is twisted like a lanyard right now.

We walk back into the Miami heat, my head spinning like a top. So many thoughts swirl between my ears I can barely hear anything going on around me. Voices are muted, cars silent. It’s just me, alone with my agony.

My heart thumps, pounding like a gong inside of my rib cage. I stop in front of a nearby nail salon, drawing in a deep breath. Tiny tingles shoot down my arm. I press a hand against my chest.

Too much. It’s all too much.

Zak realizes I’m no longer next to him and turns to see me panting against the building. His forehead creases, his pace quickening toward me. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you seriously asking me that right now?” I rasp. “What the fuck isright?”

His eyes cloud over. “Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing about this is right.”

I take a shaky step toward him, longing for the love and comfort that walked out the door of the diner a few minutes ago. But I don’t want it from my father. I want it from Zak.

A sob bubbles in my chest, but I choke it back. “This ismy life. And you’ve made it clear over and over that I mean nothing to you. So why the hell were you so angry about my dad giving me up to the Van Dynes?” I shiver under his heated gaze, my shoulders quaking in anticipation. “Why would you care what happens to me and then risk your own life to save me? Are you going to lie and tell me it really is all about revenge? Or are you going to finally tell me the truth?”

And why do I have to be so goddamn desperate to hear him say it?

Chapter27

Zak

The anguish in her tone makes my gut clench. She thinks she never mattered to me at all. She has no idea that she branded my soul forever.

I want to tell her the truth. She started out as a pawn and ended up owning my heart.

She wants to know why I care so much now?

I never fucking stopped.

The words are on the tip of my tongue, stinging my lips. But I can’t bring myself to say them. I ignore Skyla’s devastated expression, grab her hand, and wordlessly stalk back to the safe house.

She wrenches her hand in an attempt to pull away from me, but I hang on tight.

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