Page 72 of Cruel Love
Her reply was instant, my grin turning smug. Welch’s features twistedinto a look of disgust, andjustas he opened his mouth to argue, I took a step forward, my stomach pressing against his bulbous one.“You might have been her guardian for eight years, but now you’re nothing to her. You willneverget near Willow again. Now get the fuck out of my face before I do something I won’t regret.”
“Dude,”Jackson said, clapping me on the shoulder.“I’m sorry Imissed the service, my flight got delayed. You holding up okay?”
“Yeah,”I replied, downing the last of my whiskey.
My glass had been refilled four times. Any more, and I wasn’tgoing to be in a fit state to drive us home.
But I couldn’t help myself.
Watching Elijah preen around, lapping up the attention Legion members were giving him, coupled with my father and Welch huddled in a corner, surreptitiously casting glances at me and Willow, was making me angrier by the second.
“I see Elijah’s still a prick,”Jackson said, swiping a glass ofchampagne from a passing waiter.“But where’s Kiki? I haven’t seen her yet.”
I pulled my stare away from my father and Welch, meeting Jackson’sgaze. He’d made an effort, wearing a black suit and tie like all the other guestseventhough he hated wearing suits.“She wasn’t allowed to come.”
His brows furrowed. “Seriously?” I hummed in response. “Fuck. Your dad really is a callous asshole.”
“You can say that again.”
He shook his head, a grimace on his lips. His attention dropped toWillow, his eyes lighting up mischievously.“You going to finally introduce me to your wife?”
She lifted her head from where she’d been staring down at the floor,her worried gaze going from Jackson to me.
I sighed.“This is Willow.”
He laughed, holding out his hand to her.“Great introduction, dick.Willow, I’m Jackson, your husband’s business partner, and hisbestestfriend in the entire world.”I rolled my eyes.“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She looked at me, silently asking me what she should do. I bobbedmy head, permitting her to take his hand. Recognition dawned in her eyes as they shook, no doubt rememberingthathe collected her from Peartree House, but she remained silent as she pulled her hand from his grasp.
“Doesn’t say much, does she?”he whispered, an amused grin on hisface.
I ignored him, my attention back on my father and Welch. Elijah hadjoined them, and once again, the not-so-subtle glances at me and Willow resumed.
My fury bubbled over.
“What do you think they’re talking about?”Jackson hissed, notingwhere my attention had gone.
“I don’t know, but I’m about to find out. Stay with Willow.”
I didn’t give him a chance to talk me out of it as I stormed over to thethree of them, abandoning my whiskey glass on a table, otherwise it would have been embedded into Elijah’s annoying face.
As I reached them, they quickly composed their features, each manwearing a lookthattried to convey innocence.
“What the fuck do you keep looking at?”I growled, my words slightlyslurred. Maybe the whiskey was affecting me more than I realized.
Welch looked away, Elijah smirked, but my father remained stoic.“Wewerejustadmiring how close you and your wife appear. For someone who protested how much he didn’t care for the girl, youseemawfully fond of her,”my father said.
A muscle ticked in my jaw.“Things change.”
“Indeed. But it doesn’t change the factthatshe isn’t Legion.”
The insinuation in his tone made a murderous rage roll through me. Ididn’t like my father. I didn’t love my father. But I’d never wanted to cause him harm.
Until then.
“That can change too.”
Truthfully, I’d never given any thought to inducting Willow as amember of Legion, she didn’t have anything to bring to the society, there was no way her membership would be approved. But I’d be damned if I wasjustgoing to sit back and let my father take her from me.
