Page 96 of Reaper's Rival

I caught up to her just before the clubhouse door shut.

“YOU!” Roach roared from across the bar, pointing a finger at her.

She froze in front of me.

“Roach, she has had a rough couple of days. Do you really need to yell at her right now?” I stepped in his path before he reached her.

“Not yelling. I need to talk to my daughter. So move!” Roach pushed me firmly out of the way.

I was expecting him to start lashing out at her. I think that’s what she expected as well, but Roach calmly took her hand.

“Need to talk, sweetheart. Come with me.” He pulled on her hand.

It reminded me of when he had spoken to her after she dyed Kim’s hair red. Gentle. Kind. Nothing like how he had been treating her.

Abby looked at me with wide eyes, as if she was so stunned she didn’t know what to do but follow his lead. I gave her a reassuring smile before she disappeared behind Roach’s study door.

Chapter 21

Abby

Ok, did I miss the part where my dad was kidnapped by an alien? Maybe I was too busy with my own life to have realized. But Dad was not acting like the dad that I had known for over the last month. He calmly listened to everything I said. Nodded his head and when I stopped, he prompted me to keep going.

I explained everything, starting with when Daniels visited me at the hospital and Blake had sent me those red roses.

I didn’t leave any details out. I highlighted the kills, even told him about what happened with the young boy. I told him everything right up to last night and what I threatened Blake with.

“So there, you know everything.” I leaned back in one of his leather chairs. “You can start yelling at me about how stupid I was to do it on my own. Hell, yell at me for killing those people. I deserve it.”

He looked at me with a calm expression. Why was he so calm? I expected him to be throwing things by now.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking like I had just slapped him with cold water. “I’m so sorry to put you through all this, Abby.”

“I’d do it again,” I sighed. “If it meant you kept breathing. I couldn’t tell you, I knew as soon as I did, Blake would pull the deal and you would end up where he wanted you.”

“I would have faced my death willingly, Abby.”

“And I saved you from having to face it willingly.”

“I’ve been hard on you the last few months.”

“Yeah well, I haven’t been a ray of fucking sunshine, and I’ve been hanging out with your enemy. When I’m not doing something stupid, I’m about to.” The regret of my decisions captured my face. “I’m sorry, Dad. I’ve really let you down.”

Was there any other way to put it? Dad wanted us girls to break free from this lifestyle and instead of doing that, I made headlines with my kill shot.

“You back with Reaper?”

“I honestly don’t know.” I ran a hand through my hair. “He wants this baby and he says he wants me but…”

“But?”

I looked up from glaring at the carpet and looked him in the eye. All my emotions that I’ve been trying to keep a lid on surfaced in my eyes and face. “But what if I’ve drowned this baby in sadness? Because I can’t say I’ve been happy. I’ve been killing people,” I scoffed, wiping tears off my cheeks. “I’ve failed as a mother before I’ve even started.”

“Don’t say that, Abby.”

“IT’S TRUE!” I yelled at him. “I’ve taken something good and I’ve done nothing but feed it bad vibes, and it’s not like I’ve been looking after myself. I’m not eating. I’m not sleeping. And when I’m awake, I’m either thinking about the next kill or doing the killing and regretting it.”

Only Dad could get what I really thought of myself out of me. My major fear. What if I had killed this baby with sadness? Drowning it with negativity. Well not it, him.

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