Page 79 of The Stolen Dagger
“I know it doesn’t excuse anything, but that is why it was safer to leave you and your mother. There are many of those in power who want to take down the Reaper. I couldn’t let that happen with you both still in my life.”
I remained silent and stoic, processing all he said. He didn’t see it as abandonment, but protection. His explanation helped me understand his side of things, but I still couldn’t help wanting to scream and throw things at him.
Either way, I couldn’t change the past. All I could do now was move forward. Just as soon as we handled Adrian.
I nodded. “Well, I have the dagger, so how do we get Adrian’s attention?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him to have eyes on your house after what we did to Hunter,” Mack said. “He probably already knows you’re in town.”
My father stood from his chair. “Mack’s right. If Adrian’s as smart as he wants us all to believe, then I’m sure he’s more than aware you’re back in Vegas, assuming you have the dagger. Mybest guess is he’ll try to contact you sooner rather than later to get it. If he still has your neighbor like you say, he’ll use that against you, but we need to be ready for anything. Adrian may be an amateur, but he’s willing to risk lives to get what he wants.”
I sucked in a breath at the mention of Pearl.
“We’ll get her back.” Drew squeezed my hand in his.
I nodded, wanting to believe he was right.
“Now, we should go over your plan again,” my father said, getting down to business. “I don’t want to leave anything up to chance or?—”
The landline on my father’s desk lit up, and an ear-splitting ring echoed throughout the room.
I jumped, and Drew stiffened beside me. My father picked up on the third ring but didn’t speak.
It was only a few seconds of someone talking on the other end before my father’s face hardened and morphed with rage. His thick brows scrunched and hooded his dark eyes. His jaw clenched as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the call. A vein bulged along the right side of his forehead.
“You,” he ground out.
It was then I knew who was on the other end when my father pulled the phone back and extended it toward me.
Adrian.
As if in a daze, I stepped forward, took the phone from my father’s outstretched hand, and placed it up to my ear.
“Mhm,” a deep voice hummed through the phone speaker. “I know you’re there,mi princesa. I can hear you breathing.”
His tone was a mix between playful and threatening. It sent a chill down my spine. I cursed myself for giving him such power over me just hearing his voice.
I hated it. I hated him.
I tightened my grip on the phone handle. With as muchstrength as I could convey through my voice, I asked, “What do you want, Adrian?”
Adrian chuckled.
“It’s so nice to hear your voice again, Emilia. I’ve missed you.”
“I can’t say the same,” I said through my teeth and re-gripped the phone. “Where’s Pearl?”
“My, my, you have changed,” Adrian taunted, amused.
Drew walked up beside me and placed his hand at the small of my back, supporting me.
“I can hear it in your voice,” Adrian continued. “There’s something there that wasn’t before. You’re ... angry. It’s cute.”
He laughed again, and the sound only fueled my ire.
“I heard about your little scuffle with Hunter,” he said. “I was surprised to hear how you escaped him. I certainly didn’t think you had it in you. But then a little birdy told me you were with one of Roman’s men at your old house earlier. And then it all made sense. They found you before I did. A pity, really. Someone finally reconnected with dear old dad. How sweet.” He said that last word like it disgusted him.
He must have had someone watching my house in case I came back for the dagger. That was the only way he would have known, right? But I never told Adrian about my father when we were together. I never even told him my father’s name.
