Page 46 of Pay the Price

To hurt me.

Control me.

The Beasts stood and started back for the house. I didn’t know what they’d talked about, what they’d decided, but sometime over the past few hours, my sadness and disbelief had hardened into resolve.

I wasn’t going to be a paper doll for my dad to manipulate, and I wasn’t going to be a princess in a tower while the Beasts slayed my dragon either.

I stood and headed for the hall. By the time I reached the kitchen, the Beasts were opening the door from the terrace and stepping into the house.

Their conversation stopped short when they saw me, standing in shorts and a tank top. Their heated gazes raked my bare legs and braless tits, but I was beyond feeling self-conscious. It was time to bury the Daisy Hammond who was afraid of what she wanted, who was ashamed of what she wanted.

Who let everyone shield her from the truth.

I stared at them. “Whatever you’re doing, I want in.”

Chapter 28

Daisy

The building site was crowded with well-heeled people — my dad included. I watched as he glad-handed Piers and Gray Cantwell, then turned to smile as a young dark-haired reporter from theBlackwell Bulletintook their picture.

What a psycho. My dad, not the reporter.

He was in his element here, dressed in a suit even though it was Saturday and nearly eighty degrees in July. He didn’t even look hot, and I realized the only time I’d ever seen my dad sweat was when he played tennis.

Then I thought about the Beasts, the tang of man-sweat that lingered when Otis was working on one of the cars or Wolf and Jace were doing demo in the house, and I got wet and sweaty myself.

I pulled my sleeveless blouse away from my skin and flapped it back and forth, trying to cool off while I watched VIPs trickle onto the site for the ground-breaking of the Cantwell resort. At least I’d been smart enough to pull my hair into a sleek ponytail and keep my makeup minimal (other than the heavy concealer I’d had to use to hide the hickey Jace had given me in the hall) soit didn’t slide off my face, although the heels had been a mistake since they kept sinking into the dirt at the building site.

“It’s hotter than fuck out here,” Ruth said, lifting her long hair off her neck as she joined me. She looked pretty and fresh in a drapey summer halter, dressy shorts, and a pair of platform sandals that looked very familiar (because they were mine).

“Shhh. Stop swearing. These people are…”

“Stuck-up assholes?” Ruth finished.

“Yeah.” I was trying to spend more time with her, because when the shit hit the fan with our dad, she was going to need me, whether she realized it or not.

I hadn’t told her about our dad being a predatory trafficker. While I was at the ground-breaking ceremony, the Beasts were talking to Aloha to see if he could find the proof we’d need to take to the police, or at least a clue to get us started.

In the meantime it was better not to sound the alarm and give my dad and Calvin a chance to wipe the trail clean.

“So are we,” Ruth said, “in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Speak for yourself.” I dropped my eyes to the glass of champagne in her hand. “The bartender served you?”

She shrugged. “I guess I look twenty-one.”

She hadn’t even been interested in the ground-breaking ceremony until I’d told her there would be free food and drinks, but when I’d said drinks I’d meant soda, and she’d apparently had something else in mind.

“But you’re not,” I said. “We could get in trouble for serving someone underage.”

She rolled her eyes. “Geez, Mom, would it make you feel better if I threw it out?”

I was doing it again. Being a priss. A good girl.

What could I say? Old habits die hard.

“You know what? No,” I said. “Have fun. It doesn’t matter.”

---