Page 111 of Bossy Wicked Prince
Patrick Daniels.
My father.
Why the fuck does Nate have a file on him?
Anger, confusion, and fear jockey for prominence in my mind. I can’t come up with a single innocent reason Nate would look up Dad. Whatever’s in this folder, it’s bad.
So do I open it?
For years, Dad has lived in the back of my mind, a ghost haunting my days and my dreams. I can only bear the memory of what I said to him by pretending. Pretending that he’s out there somewhere, struggling, but alive.
Am I really ready for that illusion to possibly come crashing down?
What if I’m about to find out that he’s really gone?
Before I can decide, footsteps echo down the hall. When I look up, Nate’s standing in the doorway, staring right at me.
35
NATE
The blood drains from Cat’s face when she meets my eyes. Icy fear fills my body, and suddenly breathing feels impossible. The worst has happened.
She knows I’ve been watching her, and now she’s afraid of me.
I don’t know exactly what she saw on my computer, but I can assume she saw the cameras outside her house. Maybe she figured out that I bought her building, or worse. There’s only one thing I can do now—admit to everything, justify my reasons, and pray she can find a way to forgive me.
“I can explain, Kitten.” She winces at the nickname, and I swallow hard. “After I got Harry fired, I felt responsible for your safety. I knew he might retaliate, but I didn’t know when or how.”
“So that’s when you started watching me?” she says quietly. “After Harry?”
I could lie, but I won’t. She deserves my complete honesty. She deserves the truth.
She deserves everything.
“No. I noticed you before that. You caught my attention when I saw you buying hot dogs for two homeless men, then sitting down and chatting with them. Now, I know they’re probably your friends from the shelter. Once I saw you, I couldn’t look away. You were just so kind, so bright and warm. It was like you were a break of sunshine in a perpetually cloudy world. Once I saw you, I couldn’t look away.”
I can still picture her golden blonde hair haloed in the light on that first day. Usually, it’s a thought that makes me smile.
Now, all I can see is the reality. Cat’s completely frozen, not daring to move a muscle. It’s the same terrified look she had when Harry advanced on her in the elevator, and it makes me feel like the lowest of the low.
“I’m not just some creep,” I blurt out. “I didn’t watch you all the time. I’d just check the cameras if you were walking home alone. Sometimes, maybe I’d check outside your apartment to make sure no one was there. I see threats everywhere—it’s just in my coding. My family’s been in security for generations, and it’s hard to just turn it off. And you just seemed so…so sweet…and so trusting…even when you shouldn’t be, and I…”
Fuck, the excuses don’t sound like hold water even to me. I should’ve told her sooner. I thought about it. I thought about a bunch of times, but I don’t really watch her anymore. Not with my drivers taking her home after shifts at Terrace and the shelter. The only thing I’ve continued to do is monitor the outside of her apartment building for signs of Harry, and recently, to make sure the press hadn’t discovered her address yet.
Cat still doesn’t respond. All at once, it hits me. What it would feel like to lose her, the only person who’s ever made me want to step away from work, who can make me feel seen, who I trust implicitly. It’s my last chance to tell her how I feel about her.
“I promise, I only wanted to protect you because I care about you.”
I know she didn’t say it back in Paris, but the way she held me tighter, I knew she felt it and that was enough. I hesitate before saying it a second time, knowing that if she doesn’t feel the same, it would break me.
“Kitten, l?—”
“Don’t,” she snaps. The single word hits me like a slap. It’s full of an anger I’ve never seen in her. “Just tell me one thing. What was that folder with my dad’s name on it?”
I swallow, something cracking in my chest.
“After you told me about your dad, I thought I might be able to use my contacts to find him. I thought maybe it could bring you some peace or closure if you got a chance to see him again. Speak to him.”
