14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Asher

W hen we get back to the house, we order some takeout for lunch when my phone rings. I grimace when I see who is calling, but I know I have no choice but to answer.

“Hello, Father.”

“Son, you and your wife will be coming over to my home for dinner this evening.”

My eyes move to Skyla, flashes of the last time he had us both come to the house still fresh in my mind. Like the sharp burn of each lash, it’s practically imprinted in my head forever.

“We would love to, but we already have dinner plans—”

“Cancel them,” he cuts in. “Be here at six PM, sharp. Oh, and I heard little Stephanie Thompson was back in the States. Bring her as well.”

With that, he hangs up the phone.

Fuck.

My eyes swing to Skyla, a foreboding feeling settling in. I don’t like her around him. I don’t like the way he looks at her, the way he talks to her, and I don’t like that I never have any idea what he’s up to. It’s like playing chess with only half a board. How are you supposed to play the game if you can’t see the moves your opponent is making?

“What’s wrong?” Skyla asks as she looks over to me.

“My dad called. We’re going to dinner, and he wants us to bring Stephanie.”

She frowns at that. “Stephanie won’t agree. You’re kidding, right? She’s terrified of him.”

Stephanie isn’t the only one who is terrified of him. I see the fear in Skyla’s eyes, the memories of the last time she was in his house, in his presence. I won’t let him hurt her, though. Not again.

I nod. “It’s not like we have a choice, princess.”

She opens her mouth before closing it.

“I know.”

The drive to pick up Stephanie is quiet. Skyla called her and asked if she wanted to go to dinner with us. She wasn’t overly excited about me coming, but she agreed, nonetheless. We did leave out the location and extra company that would be there, but that’s only because we knew she wouldn’t come if we did. I also knew it wouldn’t be good for either of us if we showed up without her.

Skyla is texting on her phone, wearing a pinched look of concern as she taps on the screen.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

She jerks like she forgot I was here for a moment before she looks up at me.

“Vincent. I haven’t been able to get a hold of him since he left yesterday. I’m worried. He was really upset with me.”

“Why?” I ask.

Her teeth chew on the inside of her lip for a moment before she releases it.

“Because he was vulnerable with me, he told me that you killed Nathaniel and I…didn’t believe him.”

Warmth fills my chest at that. I know that for Skyla’s sake, I should at least tolerate Griggs, but it feels good to know that if it came down to the two of us, she’d take my side.

“It’s not that I didn’t believe him, I do, or I could, I guess,” she continues, diminishing my happiness by the second. “I just didn’t respond the right way, and he was so angry. He doesn’t open up, ever, not even with me…I blew it.”

I reach over and rest my hand on her knee, squeezing it gently.

“You didn’t blow anything. That guy doesn’t just love you; he lives you. You’re the air in his lungs, the earth beneath him. You’re not just his whole world; you’re all of the worlds. You’re his entire universe, princess. One disagreement will not tear you two apart. Trust me, if that’s all it took, I would have instigated something between you two months ago.”

She doesn’t laugh like I hoped she would. Then again, tension breaking humor is more Liam’s specialty than mine.

“I just hate that I hurt him. I want to apologize.”

“Don’t worry about it, really. I’m sure he’s following us like the fucking creeper he is just to keep an eye on you. He’s not far.”

She looks out the window longingly, and it actually hurts something inside me. Not because she’s longing for another, but because she’s unhappy because he isn’t here. I’m tempted to hunt the motherfucker down and drag him by his toes all the way to our house just so I can throw him at her feet like some sort of offering.

We pull up to Stephanie’s place, a new flash of guilt passing across Skyla’s face as she slides in the car.

“Hi, sweetheart,” she smiles at Skyla. “Asher,” she greets me curtly.

“Stephanie,” I respond.

“Frigid in here,” Skyla drawls sarcastically.

That forces a smirk to spread across Stephanie’s face.

“Sorry, I’ll get used to the little shit. One day.”

“Looking forward to it,” I scoff as I begin driving.

“As you should,” she sasses.

I see where Skyla gets some of her fire from.

Skyla and Stephanie talk about her job and her boyfriend back in London. She tells Skyla how she needs to get back home soon, and as much as Skyla’s disappointed, she understands. It’s not until we make it through the other side of town and are less than a quarter mile from Putnam Manor that Stephanie begins to put it together.

“Wait, where are we going to dinner again?” she asks, her body language suddenly rigid, her tone brisk.

Skyla winces slightly before turning around to face her. She doesn’t speak, but apparently, she doesn’t need to. Stephanie takes one look at her face and panics. Leaping for the door, she tries the handle, but I’ve already engaged the child locks miles ago.

“No, no, no, no! How could you? Sky! Why are you doing this to me? I can’t see him! I can’t be in a room with him…them…any of them!” she screams in outrage.

“I’m sorry, Steph. We don’t have a choice—”

“The fuck you don’t! Let me out of this fucking car right now!” she screams.

“We don’t!” I snap, not liking the tone she’s taking with Skyla.

I make our final turn as the gate to the Manor opens, and we begin moving down the driveway. I stare at Stephanie through the rearview mirror, doing my best to keep my temper in check.

“My father requested you, by name. He knew you were in town and said we had to bring you. The last time Skyla and I were here, we both earned so many lashes we could hardly walk. What do you think would have happened to us, to her, if we showed up without you?”

I can see Stephanie’s pulse racing in her neck from here, her face white as a ghost as we pull up to the roundabout driveway and park. She swallows roughly, closing her eyes before a mask of composure falls over her. It’s actually quite remarkable to witness.

She looks between us with a steady gaze as she speaks.

“I’m very upset with you both, but you’re right, and now isn’t the time or place. Let’s just pray to fucking God we can make it out of here in one piece.”

With that, she pushes her door open and slides out of the car. Skyla shares a nervous look with me, and I bring her hand up to my mouth, pressing a kiss to it before I nod.

“I won’t let him hurt you, I promise.”

Normally, I don’t make promises. There is always a risk of breaking them. This one I can be absolutely sure of, though. Mainly because if he even lifts a finger towards her, I’m grabbing the 9mm I have hidden on me and emptying the clip between his eyes.