“I’m not going to hurt you, Kit. I’m here to see you. You disappeared from Mexico, and we had no idea where you went.”
“I won’t hurt you either, kitten,” Gavin drawled. “That’s not the kind of guy I am.”
“Good. I’m glad we have that settled. Now, let’s go find Elliot and we can all talk.” I tried to edge past them, but Gavin put himself in my way. With the wall behind me and the two of them in front of me, I felt like a trapped rabbit. “Excuse me, I don’t like being blocked in like this.”
My father, for his part, seemed to realize what they were doing and backed off, giving me some space. But Gavin stayed where he was, trying to intimidate me with his height and proximity.
“I don’t think we need to involve Levy,” Gavin said smoothly. “The three of us are getting along so well.”
“This doesn’t involve you anymore either,” my father told him. “I’d like to speak to my daughter in private.”
Gavin swiveled to look at him. “That’s fine, as long as you remember what we discussed. I found her for you and brought you here. It’s time for you to keep your end of the bargain. I expect to have a new lease in hand on Monday.”
Dad straightened his spine and tugged on his starched cuffs. Gavin obviously didn’t know who he was messing with. While Elliot Levy could be intimidating as hell, Samson Warner had the capacity to be a soulless villain without breaking a sweat.
“It’s become clear to me you deal in deception, young man. I see now why you haven’t been able to find office space, and it has nothing to do with being wrongly blacklisted. I don’t make it a habit to do business with anyone who isn’t completely aboveboard.”
I almost laughed at my father’s claim. It was so ridiculously untrue, but I wasn’t really in the laughing mood. All I wanted was to get to Elliot without making a scene and ruining his party. Once I was with Elliot, we could face…whatever this was together.
“Kit? What’s shakin’ over here?” Miles appeared out of nowhere, putting himself between me, my father and Gavin. “This little trio is not matching the party vibe.”
I hooked my arm through his, relieved he’d found me. “Walk with me to find Elliot, please.”
Miles’s expression grew serious as he looked me over. “Are you okay?”
“I’m…I don’t know.”
My father reached out for me. “Wait a second, Kit. You’re not going anywhere until we talk.”
Miles maneuvered us away from the wall and my father’s grasping hand. “How about you don’t touch her? She’s clearly uncomfortable with you, so we’re going to walk away and you’re going to leave her alone.”
He puffed up his chest with his own overinflated importance. “I’m her father. I have every right to touch her or talk to her.”
Miles raised a brow at me. “You want him to touch or talk to you?”
“I don’t. Not without Elliot.”
“Then he’s not going to.” He winked and shot me a sparkling smile. “I’ve got you, Kit.”
With my arm hooked in his and his hand over mine, he wove us through the crowd. My father was hot on our heels, muttering his protests, with Gavin simpering beside him, but I didn’t look back.
Like the Red Sea, the bodies of partygoers and servers moved aside, giving us a path that led straight to Elliot. He was by the bar with West, Luca, Elise, and Saoirse, but he wasn’t paying them any attention. His head was swiveling left and right, and my stomach panged at his worried expression. He was waiting for me, undoubtedly concerned I hadn’t shown up yet.
Breathless seconds passed, and our eyes finally met. I saw him taking the situation in. Me holding on to Miles for dear life. The two men right behind us. Miles’s determination to get me away from them.
Without me saying a word, Elliot lifted his hand to signal to the security guards standing sentinel nearby.
Then he came for me.
Chapter Forty-three
Elliot
Catherine was trembling all over when I took her from Miles, her teeth chattering from how hard her jaw was shaking. Still, she tried to give me a reassuring smile.
The source of her stress and fear became apparent in seconds.
Gavin, the asshole whose lease I’d terminated, had crashed the party, and he’d brought with him Samson Warner, the man who’d abandoned his only daughter.
I’d known something was wrong when she didn’t show at the bar, but this wasn’t what I’d expected—and I really didn’t like being taken by surprise.
“I’ve got you.” I pressed my lips to her forehead. “I’ll handle this.”
I gave her to Elise and Saoirse, who enfolded her between them without me having to say a single word.
Then I stepped forward to intercept the two unwanted guests, Luca and Weston, on one side of me, security guards on the other.
I kept the anger out of my voice. Polite and to the fucking point. “I’m going to ask you to leave without making a scene.”
Samson Warner had the audacity to appear affronted. “I’m not leaving without speaking with my daughter. Who the hell are you to try to stop me?”
I had no interest in introducing myself to this man. He was shit beneath my boot, as far as I was concerned.
“I’m the owner of the building you’re standing in, and you’re not welcome here. You can leave on your own accord, or my men can carry you out. Your choice.”
Samson sputtered, leaning around me to see Catherine. “Kit, please. Your mother has been so worried for so long. I can’t leave here without something to tell her.”
“You need to leave,” I repeated flatly.
He flung a hand out toward Gavin. “Toss this scumbag out. He’s the one who lied and said I was an invited guest. I came with the impression I was expected by my daughter.”
A vein bulged in Gavin’s forehead. “This is unacceptable. I brought you here. I—”
The sound of his voice was nails on a chalkboard, and Catherine didn’t need to hear anything either of them had to say. I motioned for security to go ahead and remove them.
Two guards latched on to Gavin’s shoulders and began forcibly walking him toward the exit. He dug in his heels at first, but some sense of propriety must have come over him, because he eventually gave in and let himself be escorted out.
I looked down my nose at Samson. “Are you going to leave, or do you need a hand?”
One moment, he was standing proud, spine rigid, chin up. The next, defeat snapped something inside him, and he collapsed to a broken old man in an expensive suit.
“I just wanted to see my daughter,” he murmured. “I’ll go.”
He started for the door, and I turned back to Catherine, taking her hand in mine. “You’re okay, sweetheart.”
She wasn’t crying, and her trembling had ebbed. “That was my dad.”
“I know.”
“I—I think he really believed I wanted him here tonight. He came to see me.”
“It sounds like Gavin had given him that impression.”