Page 13 of Sinner's Obsession

“You were a child. No one should have blamed you.”

He grips the wheel and slams on the gas, forcing my back into the seat. When we reach my house, he parks the car in front of the stairs. I catch my father’s eyes, towering over me with sheer displeasure, his face scrunched up in anger. As I approach him, an apology is already on the tip of my tongue.

“Get inside,” he snarls.

I pass him and look over my shoulder to find Kieran’s shoulders stiff as he walks toward my father.

I run up the stairs, and Marie is already in my room, worry etched in her eyes. There is a team of three people gathered near my vanity.

After a quick shower, I take a seat, and they fuss around me while thoughts of Kieran swirl in my head.

I shove my hands in my pockets to keep from pummeling this fucking monster. Aurora is not my problem, I remind myself.

But my fury doesn’t calm down. A storm brews inside me as I watch Aurora rush into the house. I crack my neck at the unpleasant feeling constricting my chest. I climb the stairs, making my face inscrutable. All the while, I want to kill this man with my bare hands. It takes everything in me to uncurl my fists. Soon.

Her sweet scent still lingers around me, taunting me. From the moment I saw Aurora, I wanted to touch her, check for myself that she’s real. The similarity between her and the woman that brought my father to his knees are uncanny. She’s not sunshine anymore, she turned into a storm.

They would still be alive if she... But she was just a child. An innocent child.

I approach Silas McNamara, his disdain for me in his eyes is as clear as the thunder gathering over our heads.

“What was my daughter doing with you?”

“You should look after her better.”

“I will deal with her.”

Not only did he yell at her, but he looked at her with pure hate. I shouldn’t care, but I was intrigued by her, such a foreign concept. Yesterday, I complained about nothing fazing me, now it’s too much suddenly. Be careful what you wish for, and all that bullshit.

“As a good neighbor and your son’s best friend, I thought I should return her to you. Intact.”

The word triggers him, and he mumbles, “Stay away from her.”

Stupid fucker. If I wanted Aurora, there would be nothing he could do. He shouldn’t antagonize me, though.

I tower over him, and he backtracks from our silent power struggle, inviting me inside.

People fuss around, and I remember Cameron mentioned a party.

“Welcome home party? My invitation must have been lost in the mail.”

His cheeks puff with barely contained anger that tells me he wouldn’t have wanted me to know. I would have popped in anyway, but now he’s disrespected me by not inviting me.

I love when things go smoothly.

“What time does it start?”

“Eight o’clock.”

I give him a look as if I am thinking about it, which angers the asshole even more.

Silas clears his throat. “How long are you going to play the not interested card with me?”

“I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me or my business.”

“Just because Ethan was stupid doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate that his son is better at doing business than he ever was.”

I grind my teeth, almost breaking them. I nod in his direction, validating his comment. Soon.

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