“So back off and let me do my job.”
“Back off?” His voice softened. “That’s not how this is going down, Alexandra.”
Another damn truck was in her way. She honked and jerked to the side to pass the idiot. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I don’t work for you.”
“No, you’re my mate. As such, we have a couple things to get straight.”
Her head lifted. “Like what?” she asked, her temper really wanting to make an appearance.
“Things are heating up, and the fact that you’re my mate will be known soon. In fact, when you grappled with the witch last night, he probably sensed the change. Thus, you’re in more danger than usual, especially since the darts will really hurt you.”
“I’m a cop. Danger is normal, and the darts are dangerous for everybody, even humans.” She pressed down on the accelerator. Finally.
Something banged hard across the line. “You’re rich now and don’t need to work.”
Oh, he did not. “Unless I won the lottery and nobody told me, I’m not wealthy.” Man, the guy had hidden this side of himself pretty well.
“This is a discussion to have in person. What time can you be here?” His tone hinted at command and impatience, and pretty much pissed her off.
“I’ll be there when I damn well get there.” She clicked a button and ended the call. Just who exactly did he think he was? For the life of Pete, she was a cop, and she had a gun. One she’d shove up his ass if he didn’t knock it off.
She fumed the rest of the drive, finally reaching the correctional facility where she took the necessary steps to go through security. Giving up her gun didn’t feel right, yet she understood the precaution since she was there as a visitor and not on business. Sure, she could’ve argued to keep her gun, but the chance remained that she’d shoot her father.
Keys jangled from the belt of a heavy-set guard who guided her through the maze and down several concrete hallways. Lex dragged her heels, her gaze straight ahead, her shoulders back. Even so, her stomach gurgled.
She sat on a curved yellow chair secured to the floor. In deference to her position, the warden had allowed her in a private room and not in the lineup with glass walls.
Thank God she hadn’t brought Tori to such a place. Even the thought of Tori’s vibrancy and energy being sucked away by so much gray and the stench of evil seized Lex’s lungs.
The chill swept through her, deeper than her skin, and she shivered.
Footsteps plodded toward her, getting louder. A guard escorted her father in and secured the chain between his hands to a ring in the table.
“Alex,” her father said.
Nobody had called her Alex since her early teenaged years. She sat back and studied him. He’d aged, his dark hair turning gray, his smooth skin heavy with wrinkles. Once vibrant green eyes had faded, and harsh lines cut out from the sides of his mouth. “What do you want?” she asked.
He leaned forward, and the chains clanked. “How is your mother?”
She glanced at the clock on her phone, pleased when her hand didn’t shake. “You have one minute to tell me why I’m here, and then I’m gone. Spill it.”
He sighed. “Alexandra, please take a moment and talk to me. I haven’t seen you in ten years.”
“So while you’re looking, talk.” She kept her expression stoic.
His gaze raked her bruised and battered face. “Who did this to you?”
She sneered. “Why? Remind you of how you treated my mother?” Yeah, she remembered how horribly he’d treated her, acting like she was stupid. After a while, Jennie had seemed to believe him. It had taken years for her to regain her confidence.
Her father blanched. “I never once raised a hand to your mom.”
“No, but you might as well have. The way you belittled her and put her down.”
He sighed. “I’ve changed. I really have.”
“Men who kill, sell drugs, and belittle their wives don’t change.” Lex shoved her chair back from the table. “Your time is up.”
That quickly, her father dropped the concerned look, and calculation filtered through. “I’d hoped we could talk like rational people, but I can see you inherited your mother’s flare for drama over reason.”
“Screw you, dickhead.” Lex stood.
“Wait. I know about Apollo.”
She paused and focused on her father. “What do you know?”
His smile sent a chill down her back. “Oh, you need to sit for this.”
“No.” She lifted her hand to wave for the guard.
“Wait. I know about the mineral from Russia that gives Apollo its power, and I know about the new assembly lines making Apollo-filled darts. Think nail guns with deadly drugs shooting out. Man, will those cause hell on the Seattle streets.”
Taking a deep breath, Lex slowly sat down. “I’m listening.”
His upper lip curled in what could only be triumph. “Now that’s a nice change.”