He was nothing but a nasty, washed-up bully.
“What do you want?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest.
“I want to know where my stash is,” he snarled, moving intimidatingly close, which was also a joke.
I shook my head, clueless. “What stash?”
“The fucking stash I had hidden away when they arrested me.”
Barking out a laugh, I shook my head. I hadn’t seen the guy in sixteen years, and all he cared about were his drugs? No sorry for murdering your mother, for all the split lips and black eyes, for raising you like a slave. Just where’s my drugs?
It figured.
“And you honestly think I know what happened to that shit?” I kept swishing my head back and forth. “They never let me back into the apartment. I don’t know what happened to anything.”
Growling out his disappointment, the old man gnawed on his bottom lip. “So you think the cops found it?”
I lifted my hands. “I have no idea. And honestly, I don’t give a flying fuck what happened to your drugs. You’re on your own with this one.”
I started to walk past him but he grabbed my shirtsleeve. “Hey, I’m not done talking to you, you little cocksucker.”
Sticks shifted toward us, sliding his hand into his pocket. My dad darted him a scowl but immediately eased up on me. Leaning closer, he snarled. “You owe me. I kept that bitch from killing you I don’t know how many times, from drowning you in the bathtub or suffocating you with a pillow. I kept you breathing and provided for you.”
I glanced at him impassively. “And yet I have no idea why.” He’d never shown me an ounce of compassion himself.
“Because you were supposed to turn out like me.” He started to step even closer but then remembered Remy and sent him a cautious glance. When he turned back, his lip curled into a sneer. “But you had to go and turn out like this.”
I shook my head and sighed, focusing on Sticks because I couldn’t look at the waste of space that was supposed to be my father. “I told you I don’t know where your stash is, and I don’t. So...we’re done here.”
I started off again, but he called, “I need some money to start back in again. Damn, kid, don’t you fucking walk away from me. You’ll regret it.”
Without even glancing back, I spoke to Remy out the side of my mouth when he immediately moved to my side. “See, I told he wasn’t out to kill me.”
“Oh yeah, sure; that you’ll regret this wasn’t threatening at all.”
I laughed. “Relax, man. I’m sure that’s the last time I’ll ever see or hear from him.”
“I think you’re wrong, but whatever.”
With a glance his way, I asked, “Are you really carrying a weapon? What the hell are you packing in your pocket?” I just couldn’t picture him tucking a gun in his luggage between his conditioner and hair gel.
So when he reluctantly answered, “Mace and a whistle,” I threw my head back and laughed.
Gripping his shoulder, I had to admit, “Man, you crack me up.”
“Hmm. Well, looky there,” he muttered, falling to a stop before we reached our table. “Your harem of sluts was kind enough to wait for you.”
His bitter tone only made me smile. “What? Jealous because there’s no dude in the group for you?”
He glowered at me. “Mmm hmm. Yes, that must be it.”
When I shrugged and started back to the table again, he caught my forearm. “I can’t stick around. I’m going to see if I can catch a cab and get a ride back to the hotel. Are you sure your dad won’t come back? I could leave my mace and whistle with you.”
I flipped him off. “I think I can manage without a freaking rape-prevention whistle.”
He shook his head and eyed the women watching and waiting for us to return. “I don’t know, Hart. That one looks like she’s ready to tear your clothes off any second, whether you’re willing or not.”
With a chuckle, I shoved him away. “Whatever. Get lost already. I’ll see you back at the hotel.”
A miserable expression crossed his face, but then he nodded and turned away. I watched him walk off for a second, then I shook my head and turned back to the women.
Fine, yes, I admit it. Seeing that skank crawling all over Asher had turned me into an evil jealous troll bitch. But I couldn’t help it. She just kept touching him. And I wanted to touch him.
It was no fair. I couldn’t even freaking put my bid in, since I was pretending to be a dude and all.
Unable to watch her maul him a second longer, I had hightailed it out of there and slumped back to the hotel, miserable, when I should’ve been pumped and happy. We had rocked that performance. It’d been awesome, right up until that slut had crawled into Asher’s lap, and he’d actually wrapped his arm around her waist. Had me so worked up I couldn’t even worry about his dad showing up.
Ugh.