Page 116 of Pretty Little Threats

Dad tsks. “You can’t fool me. I’ve seen the way you look at him. But you need to hear this.” Dad pulls out a recording device and sets it on the desk. The play button clicks when he presses it, and a few seconds of silence roll before Dad’s voice carries through the speaker.

“How’s Rosalynn? Are you enjoying fucking her?”

“She sucks my dick well enough.” Dare’s voice crackles out of the speaker. “But you and I both know she’s just a means to an end.”

My eyebrows slam together.What the fuck?

“Is that so?” Dad asks on the recording.

“She’s disposable, like you.”

Breath frozen in my lungs, I bite the inside of my cheek to keep my features smooth. Dare sounds so...cruel.

Dad scoffs. “And is this you threatening me?”

“You’ll know when I’m threatening you. For now, I’m having too much fun fucking your pretty little flower. And I can’t wait to pluck her petals one by one until she’s as useless as your dead wife.”

Dare’s words slam into me, punching through my chest and obliterating the last of my hope that whatever was happening between us was real. I trusted him. I told him things I’ve never told anyone else, and I...I let myself fall in love with Dare, when all along, it was a game to him. A way to get back at my dad.

My stomach riots, clenching and revolting, and embarrassment colors my cheeks. A heavy breath rattles out of me. God, I’m so fucking dumb. I never should have trusted him. It was perfect, really. The way he made sure I questioned my dad. The carefully placed compliments. Dare played me good.

Dad stops the recording, pity shining in his gaze. “I told you to be careful. He’s a monster, Rosalynn.”

I knew that, but I let him in. I gave Dare everything he needed to break my heart on a silver platter. A dull ache starts in my middle and radiates through my body.

Did I really think I’d find love? I’m so stupid.

Tears burn in my eyes, but I force them back, refusing to show my dad how much I’ve messed up.

“There’s more,” Dad begins. “Irene is missing.”

My heart skips, and it takes a minute for me to process those words. “What?”

Dad grimaces. “From what we can tell from the security camera footage, the last day she was here, Dare spoke to her.”

Heartbreak forgotten for a moment, I scrunch my face. “And you think he has something to do with it?”

Dad presses his lips together and glances away. “You can’t trust him, Rosalynn.”

No. He wouldn’t hurt her too, would he? She’s innocent. She has nothing to do with anything.

“Why would Irene matter to Dare?”

Dad shakes his head. “Rosie, Irene matters toyou. For a man like Dare, that’s all the reason he needs. He probably took her to hurt you a little more. I told you to be careful.” Dad searches my face. “But your heart has always been soft.”

Ignoring the slight, I stand. “I want to see the video.”

I need to see the proof, just like I heard what Dare told my dad. I need to know, without a doubt, that he really is as terrible as my dad is saying.

Nodding, Dad leads me from the room and takes me to his office. I rub at my chest, trying to soothe my broken heart and pride, but it’s too overpowering.Focus on Irene, first.

Dad gestures for me to take a seat, so I do while he pulls up the security feed. The video is in black and white, and when Dare approaches Irene, she immediately straightens. Is she afraid? He leans in and says something to her, and she blanches, glancing at him and then to the cameras, and then all around, like she’s searching for help.

Dare tells her something again, and her eyes are wide as she watches him step onto the elevator. My heart sinks.

“What did he tell her?”

“There’s no sound on that feed, but I hired a lip reader, and it appears Dare said he’d find a way to take care of her.”

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