Page 24 of This Wild Heart

Was.

I fucking hated answering those questions in the past tense. I couldn’t sayhe is a good man.He is a good father.

Hewasone. But he wasn’t anymore.

“Grief can make people do crazy things. And we grieve all sorts of things, don’t we? Jobs. Our health. Relationships,” she said pointedly. “We grieve people most of all. That comes out in strange ways. I’ve seen it firsthand.”

Anya had been such a good distraction, but the emptiness crawled back into my chest as she spoke, and I wanted to clap my hands over my ears to tune her out. “I’ve heard that,” I said evenly, only the slightest edge to my voice.

Her eyes sharpened, and I cursed myself for allowing that to slip.

Anya entered the living room first, her dad following her. Above his daughter’s head, he gave me a long, steady,terrifyinglook. Anya rolled her eyes and smacked him on the arm. “Stop it. You promised.”

Aiden let out a slow breath and relaxed the clear tension in his jaw. “I can’t say I understand any of this,” he managed in a deep voice. “But I’ve seen my daughter hurt enough recently. If you’re added to that list, you and I will have a problem. I don’t care who you’re related to or how much Emmett vouches for you, do you understand?”

I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

It wasn’t much, but based on the look in his eyes, it was enough.

For now.

Anya glanced in my direction and didn’t smile, but she looked determined.

That was enough for now, too.

Aiden looked at his daughter, resignation stamped on his features. “You’re taking the fucking cat, right?”

Chapter 6

Anya

“I’m having a hard time trying to decide who’s scarier,” Parker said. “Your dad or Willa.”

“Willa,” I answered immediately.

In the back seat, Spike let out an angry growl that had me laughing.

“She offered to teach me how to punch in case your dad was going to beat me up.”

“She did not,” I said with a laugh.

“Then she informed me that she punched a kid the last week of school and gave him a bloody nose.”

“That is true, unfortunately.” I looked over my blind spot and changed lanes, easing around a Honda Civic going too slow. “My darling little angel of a sister has set the school record for single-day suspensions because she’s single-handedly taking on every bully she comes across.”

He laughed, and the hairs on the back of my neck lifted.

Oh, you calm down, you little whores, I thought. No reason to get too excited. He was just laughing, for fuck’s sake.

“Despite how he became famous, my dad isn’t a scary guy.” Parker cut me an incredulous look, and I grinned. “He’s not. He’s very levelheaded, very thoughtful. He’s not impulsive atall.”

“So this whole Vegas thing…?”

“Straight out of his worst nightmare,” I finished. “After what happened with … you know, it’s not like he doesn’t understand why.”

I’d rather choke than say that man’s name voluntarily ever again.

“Why you married a very impulsive, not levelheaded, asshole football player.”

---