Page 20 of Hot Receiver

Rifles, hunting knives, bags of weed, and more empty whiskey bottles than full ones.

I could easily crush these skinny, strung-out, wasted motherfuckers.

But not until I find my father.

Wheeler waves his hand behind him. “You comin’ in or what, Harrison?”

“Where is my father?”

He grins, exposing a row of yellowed teeth. Meth head. Fucking fabulous.

“I hope you brought your checkbook.”

Thank fuck I have cash on me.

I carefully step onto the cracked tile floor like it’s quicksand ready to swallow me whole along with any hope of escaping alive.

Wheeler shoves me down a short hallway. I sidestep cracked glass and cigarette butts, taking shallow breaths because I don’t even know what the hell I’m breathing in. My heart clenches, shooting into my throat. Dad sits on a couch, his wrists bound by silver duct tape. A strip overs his mouth. Rage boils my blood when I take a few steps closer and see Summer cowering next to him, her blue eyes red and wet with tears. Her nose is running into the duct tape slapped over her mouth, sharp sniffles the only breath she can draw in.

With a loud roar, I twist around and hammer a fist into Wheeler’s jaw. He stumbles backward, crashing into a nearby wall because he’s so plastered. But he doesn’t flinch. Justlaughs and pulls a handgun out of the back of his stained, shabby jeans.

He waves the barrel around, points at a lamp past Summer’s head, and fires. The porcelain shatters and explodes, thick pieces flying through the air.

“You son of a bitch,” I yell, tackling him to the dirty, sticky floor. I swing my fist at his jaw over and over until a click makes my fists freeze in mid-air.

“If you think I won’t shoot you in the fucking head right here and now, you’re insane,” Rusty growls against my ear. He grabs me by my collar and yanks me backward.

I have no weapon. Only brute strength and a lot of fucking anger.

Unfortunately, neither will save me from a bullet to the skull.

I let him pull me away. Wheeler just cackles. He doesn’t seem to notice the blood drizzling from the corners of his mouth or his nose because he’s high as a goddamn kite.

“There’s only one reason why I’m letting you live right now.” Rusty thrusts me toward Dad and Summer. “I want you to take a real close look at your family here. I coulda taken them all, but as a warning, I just snatched Summer.” He takes a long look at her and licks his disgusting lips. Her tears fall faster, and she shudders against Dad.

I swallow past the bile rising in my throat.

My father and all of his horrible fucking choices coming back to bite us all in the ass.Again.

“What’s he owe?” I croak out.

“Two grand,” Rusty says. “I’m tired of hearing his bullshit excuses about not having the money to pay off his debts. Next time I call, you’d better answer right away, or else when you get here, you might find more than just Summer on that couch.” He leans closer and uses the barrel of the gun to tilt myface toward his. “And I can’t promise what else we might do to occupy ourselves if you keep us waiting again. You feel me, superstar?”

I pull the cash out of my pants pocket and thrust it to him. He nods toward one of the guys, and they grab Dad and Summer and force them at me. I hustle them out of the house and into my truck before pulling off the tape from their quivering lips.

Summer flings herself into my arms, her shuddering sobs making my heart clench.

“Where are Mom and Missy?” I hiss at my father once he’s settled in the backseat. Summer wraps her arms around her knees, trying to get as close to me as possible from the passenger’s seat after I belt her in.

“They went to your Aunt Peggy’s house for the weekend.” He scrubs a hand down the front of his face and sighs deeply. “They don’t know anything about this, and it’s gonna stay that way.”

I bite back the words on the tip of my tongue and drive home. By the time we get back to the house, Summer is asleep. I carry her into the room she shares with Missy and lay her onto her bed. I cover her with a blanket and watch her curl into a ball to comfort herself.

God only knows how many times she’s done that over the years since she can’t very well get comfort from a man who puts her life and the lives of her family members at risk every fucking day.

“I don’t know how Mom hasn’t left your sorry ass,” I mutter after closing the door to the girls’ bedroom. “You’ve done nothing but run each of us into the ground for years. When the hell are you gonna clean yourself up and do the right thing for your family?”

“Don’t you talk to me like that, you arrogant little bastard.Just because you’re a big shot football player doesn’t mean you’re above me.” He smacks me hard across the face. My skin stings from the sudden unexpected slap, heat flooding my face. “I’m your father. You talk to me with respect.”

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