Page 19 of Sully
I bit my lip and glanced up at Sully.If looks could kill, Knight might be dead.Or maybe he was looking that way at my father.No.It was definitely Knight.
“I did not have emotional anguish, Knight.”
“Please, man.You were atThrottlemore than Mike.And he works there.”Knight turned his attention back to Tonio.“This is part of what you pay us for.”
“For fuck’s sake, Knight!”Tonio snarled.“I fucked up.Okay?I panicked when I couldn’t find her!”
“She’s a grown-ass woman!”
Tonio slammed his hand on the bar before getting into Knight’s face.“She’s my daughter!”he roared.“She will always be in danger!Of course, I panicked when I couldn’t find her!”Tonio actually did look more than a bit unnerved.Even now, he kept glancing at me as if to reassure himself I was still there.Finally, he scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed.“I’ve only known about her for three months.When I found out I dragged her back to Nashville.”He snuck another glance at me.Did his face flush?“Might have been overzealous in the dragging.”
“You think?”I’d barked out the question before I could stop.“I had no idea who was after me.All I knew was everywhere I stopped, some goon would try to kidnap me!”
“Darby, that was never my intent.”Tonio actually looked pained.I knew he hadn’t meant to scare me.The goons in question had always told me that, but Goddamnit, I didn’t want to get to know the bastard.
“I guess my mother never bothered to tell you about me before she OD’d when I was seven.”I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my voice.“Now you want to play family after I’ve spent my entire life without one?”
I felt Sully shift beside me, processing this information.I wondered if he’d pull away now, realizing exactly what kind of complication I represented.Because Tonio Miles wasn’t just any father.He was second in command of one of the most powerful crime families in the South.Hell, some said he had as much power as his father, Seth.Seth was the official head, but the way it had been explained to me was that Seth was transitioning Tonio Miles to run the family so Seth could retire.The point was, Miles was a man not many people would cross.And he could crush Sully and his entire club without breaking a sweat if he chose to.
Sully didn’t step away.Instead, his hand slid from the small of my back to my waist, firmly anchoring me to his side as he faced down one of the most dangerous men in Nashville.
“I see,” was all he said.From the look in his eyes as his gaze shifted from me to Sully and back, I thought he might see.
Tonio took a step toward me, then seemed to reconsider.His gaze lingered on the bruise spreading across my cheek.His expression remained controlled, but I caught the slight tightening of his jaw, the narrowing of his eyes.
“You’re injured,” he stated, his voice carrying an edge to it I’d not heard in our previous encounters.
“Brilliant observation,” I replied, leaning more heavily against Sully than I strictly needed to.“Did your Harvard education teach you that?”
If my jab bothered him, he didn’t show it.“I understand you were attacked by men claiming to act on my behalf.”
“Just another Tuesday for me,” I shrugged, then winced as the movement sent pain shooting through my ribs.“Though they did mention a certain someone was looking for his long-lost daughter.Can’t imagine who that might be.”
Tonio’s eyes flickered briefly to Sully, then back to me.“I’ve been making inquiries, yes.As Knight so eloquently reminded me, I practically painted a target on your back.”He didn’t look happy at all.Like he finally realized he’d fucked up and how much it could have cost him.“I never authorized anyone to approach you with violence,” he said, his tone hardening.“The men who hurt you will be dealt with.”
The chill in his voice when he said “dealt with” made even my skin crawl.I almost felt sorry for Jenkins, currently being “questioned” somewhere in this compound.Almost.Okay, not really, but I’m trying to be a better person.
“Well, that’s comforting,” I said, infusing my voice with as much sarcasm as I could muster.“I’ll sleep better knowing you’ll murder some random thugs who roughed me up.Really softens my opinion of you.”
Tonio reached behind the bar and poured himself a double shot of Jack.The deliberate movements gave him time to compose his response, a tactic I recognized because I used it myself.
“Darby,” he said finally, turning back to face us, glass in hand.“I understand your reluctance to acknowledge our… connection.”He took a measured sip.“I understand your need to push boundaries, to test limits.But your running away from me, and my subsequent… concern, has put you in danger.”
“I was doing just fine before you knew I existed.I’ll do fine without you now.”
“You were hustling pool in dive bars and living in motels,” he countered, his tone maddeningly reasonable.“That’s not ‘fine’ by any definition.”
“It’s my definition,” I snapped.“My life, my choices.”
“Choices that nearly got you killed tonight.”He set his glass down with deliberate care.“You need to let me help you.Let me take you home where I can protect you.You will never want for anything.You’ll have as much freedom as you’ll allow me to give you.”
“Allow?”I felt my eyebrows climb in my disbelief.The nerve of the man!“You don’t get to allow me anything.Iallowmyself.No one’s told me what to do since I turned sixteen, when I ran away from my last foster home.I’m certainly not giving you that kind of control over me.”
Tonio gave an impatient shake of his head.“That’s not what I meant.At least, not exactly.Look,” he hurried on when I would have laid into him again.“I only meant that, if you will let your bodyguards do their job to keep you safe, you can do any fucking thing you want, honey.You and Carrie are my only true weaknesses.You’re the only women in my family, and we protect our women.I lost my sister because my father couldn’t deny her what she wanted.Now I’m afraid I’m going too far in the other direction and driving you away.”
I took a breath.“I’m sorry, Tonio.I know you don’t mean me any harm.I’m just not interested in being a prisoner, no matter how gilded the cage.”
“I can give you anything you want, Darby.”He actually took a step toward me.“Just… let me.”He balled his hands into fists.“Let me have a daughter.Please.”
