Page 84 of Kage

“I wasn’t going to.”

“Then why did you?” There was as much contention in her tone as in mine.

I took a gulp of whiskey, waiting for the burn that never came. “My uncle wanted me to care about something other than… the shit I’ve been dealing with. When I saw Tank shaking in his cell, I knew he needed someone to look past his scars.”

“You did the right thing. But you need to know something. We all have shit to deal with, Kage. We all have scars. Even prima donnas.”

Her comment was meant as a slight and I took it that way. However, I refused to be goaded by a woman. “What happened when you were thirteen?”

“What?”

“A break-in at your house. Your father wasn’t home.”

Juliette looked horrified, jerking back from me with hatred in her eyes. “Why the hell does it matter to you? Why? That was a long time ago and not something I need to be reminded of.”

“That’s what happened this morning, when I pulled you down. You remembered the day the bastard broke in.”

Her eyes were wide open, those berry lips pursed together in continued anger. I’d invaded a private, very personal moment and she hated me for it. While her gaze fell slowly to the dark liquid in her glass, her breathing remained labored.

I might as well forget about it. Nursing my beer, I glanced up at the television, some sports shit on the screen I couldn’t care less about.

“Do you remember the movieTaken?” Her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper.

“Didn’t see it. Heard of it.”

“Yeah, well, the gist of the plot is a father who trained his daughter what to do and how to react in case of an intended kidnapping. To leave clues so both she and the kidnapper could be found. My father did that. I think he took a play by play of the script and forced me to go through several training sessions.”

I listened attentively while my hatred for the man continued to increase. Why leave her alone at thirteen? Why risk his daughter’s life because of whatever shit the man was into?

She fiddled with her glass, nervously taking a sip before continuing. “I’d just gotten home from school. Dad wasn’t due home from a meeting for a couple hours and the housekeeper had a doctor’s appointment. I was thrilled to have time to myself. The music was loud and I was dancing in my room not paying attention to the security system. When I noticed the warning on my phone, I had very little time to put everything into motion. I did what Dad had taught me to do, going to a bed in the guest room and hiding under it.”

Sighing, I tossed back the rest of the whiskey.

“Just like the movie. Only I had no intentions of being taken. I had a metal bat a friend at school had given me as my protection. When the monsters came, grabbing my legs and pulling me free, I fought them. The police said it likely saved my life by buying me a few minutes since a police car was already on the way. My dad said I could have gotten myself killed. One of the monsters tried to smother me. He had his hand wrapped around my throat when the police broke in.”

I closed my eyes, fisting my hand around the beer bottle and turned my head so I could study her. Her brow was pinched and she was constantly dragging the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip as she did when she was nervous. After struggling to tug hair behind her ear, the strand continuing to fall, she ripped her fingers through it until I took her hand into mine.

“You’re safe now, Juliette. That’s not going to happen. Not when I’m around.”

A single breath escaped, the sound as shaky as her voice. At least she didn’t try to pull away. “I know. Anyway, the two men were arrested. They had it all planned out. The idiots even had it written down. They’d ask for three million dollars. As you might imagine, I had nightmares for years. You know the worst part about the dreams?”

“What?”

“I wasn’t certain if my dad would have paid the money.” Her laugh was bitter, sounding more like something that could come from me.

“Of course he would have, Juliette. I mean Corabelle.” I huffed from the slip of the tongue. “I might not be much of a decenthuman being, but I do know fathers have a special place in their hearts for their daughters.”

“I’m sorry about some of the things I said. I really didn’t mean them.”

Something forced me to release my hold. “You meant them and that’s okay.”

Juliette concentrated on her wine while Tank nuzzled against her leg. She wore her loneliness like I did mine. A couple of minutes ticked by.

An ugly sound pulsed at my lips just before taking another swallow of beer. “Drink your wine. We need to get some food before we head back.” I lowered my gaze to where Tank was positioned between our stools.

He was a damn good dog.

It was too bad I wasn’t the best father for him.

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