Page 70 of Gene

“Do you understand?” Daddy asked.

“You can’t do this,” he spat out.

“The fuck I can. I’m doing it right now. Do you understand?” Daddy asked once again.

“Yes,” her brother gritted out through his clenched jaw.

He took several steps to the side, looking directly at her, seething at her, anger was written all over his face.

“You can’t be mad at me when I didn’t tell him a thing. He wouldn’t have known until you said something,” Sammi pointed out. “I actually kept it a secret.”

Daddy walked back around to her side, gripping her hand and giving it a little squeeze. It brought her a little comfort as her brother sent daggers towards her.

“How much more do you owe him?” Daddy finally asked. “Deccan refused to tell me. Probably wanted to see this all play out. That sadistic fucker,” he mumbled.

Sammi sucked in a little breath, her lungs loosening up a little. Daddy asking questions didn’t mean he was going to stay. He could hear how much they had left to repay and decide to leave.

Her brother shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t paid him in a while.”

She already knew that. “Over twenty thousand,” she whispered.

All eyes in the room turned on her, and she shrunk into her bed. Her brother’s face was bright red, and she didn’t know why. Well, he wouldn’t tell her how much they had left, so she had gone straight to the source.

“Why is your sister involved if it’syourdebt?” Daddy asked, his voice cold.

“Collateral damage? I knew I was going to have to work at one of his clubs if we didn’t pay it on time,” she explained before her brother could say anything.

Which wasn’t the wisest idea because his face started to turn the same color as her brother’s. Before she knew it, his face would have steam coming out of his ears with his rage. But that only happened in cartoons.

“I want to hear from your brother,” Daddy gently said, giving her a smile when she looked at her.

They both turned toward her brother. He was glaring at her, making her squeeze Daddy’s hand.

“I knew she had money. The debt was too big, and I knew I was going to have to work for Deccan if she didn’t help me. I knew the fear of her maybe working in one of his strip clubs would make her give me the money—or, well, Deccan the money, and it worked out perfectly,” he said, giving a shrug without a care in the world.

Her whole world was falling apart. He had lied to her. Did Deccan even know who she was before her brother got her involved? Could she have been saved from a lot of anxiety and stress?

“So you wanted to be lazy,” Daddy stated.

“No! I just knew without her that I wouldn’t have been able to pay off the debt. We are so close, It would have happened when she sold her house. But then she had to land herself in the hospital.” Her brother sneered at her.

It wasn’t herfault. She had tried to manage her diabetes while Daddy was gone, and she was obviously failing miserably. But she hadn’t meant for this to happen.

“Your sister will no longer be helping you.” Daddy gave her hand a little squeeze. “I’m going to have a talk with Deccan and let him know. If I find out that you contacted Sammi about repayingyourdebt, there will be consequences. Be glad I’m giving you a warning.”

As much as she didn’t want Daddy to do that, it was lifting the weight off her shoulders. She felt guilty about not helping with the rest of the debt, but she couldn’t help feeling relieved at the same time. She would have never been able to tell her brother that on her own, and now she didn’t have to. Daddy was here to help her in every way she needed, and he knew this.

“But—” her brother stuttered.

“No buts. I am being very gracious right now, but if you contact her about the debt, I won’t be so nice about it.” Daddy spoke calmly but coldly. “The only time you’ll contact her right now is when you’ll be sending money to her.”

Her brother glared at her before he stalked out of the room. She watched his retreating figure, feeling several different emotions. Was she going to have a relationship with her brother moving forward? Was he going to contact her?

Sammi slowly moved to look at Daddy, not wanting to see what his expression. Was he mad at her? Was he disappointed? Though as she looked over at him, she couldn’t see of those across his face.

“I wanted to tell you. Ireallywanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. Not without breaking the pinky promise I made, and I couldn’t do that. They’re sacred,” she whispered. “I know I broke one of the rules about telling you if something was bothering me. I’ll take the punishment.”

Sammi didn’t really want to face the consequences but she Daddy was going to give her a punishment, and she was going to take it.

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