Corruption - Leigh Lennon Page 0,66
but you ever call your daughter a whore in front of me again, we’ll be having a very different conversation than the one we’re having. I came to talk to you man to man, and sure, we have different opinions, but as her parents, I thought you deserved to know she’s in danger.”
His eyes soften, if only for a minute, but it takes a hard-hearted man like myself to read another hard-hearted man like Roger Atkins.
It’s then when Mrs. Atkins looks at me that I realize she and her daughter share the same emerald eyes. I can’t miss her concern; she wants more information about her daughter. “Please, Mr. Sobota, have a seat.” Mrs. Atkins points at the chair, and I sit down and assume this has gotten both parents' attention.
I bypass my coffee, getting to the point. “I can respect the fact that you don’t approve of Jewel’s relationship, and the way you were told was by a man who lives the same lifestyle as I do, but your daughter chose me over him. He’s slighted and hell-bent on making Jewel’s life miserable.”
I use my coffee as a breather, giving myself time to pause because I’m not here to let her dad off the hook either for hurting her. “But what you don’t understand is that Jewel and I have the same kind of relationship as other couples. I take her out for dinner, I spoil her, and we watch TV together. She cooks for me because I can’t. However, I didn’t come here to justify our life choices.” I put down my coffee mug, scooting closer to him. “I saw what you did to her the night you found out. And if it wasn’t for the fact that Jewel needed me more than my need to come here, you’d be in the hospital, and I would most likely be in jail.”
He opens his mouth to talk, but I don’t let him. “I’m here to tell you that if you ever place your hands on my woman again, no strong relationship with the man upstairs will save you from the hell storm of fury I will place in your life.” I push to my feet because I’m done—well, almost done. “And, somehow, Jewel wants to forgive you, and she misses her mother very much. So if you ever want to get in contact with her, you’ll go through me.” I place my business card gently down. I march to the door, only to turn my attention back to the preacher. “And the man who came here, if for some reason he approaches you again, the name is Drake Danner. Where I will protect Jewel with my very last breath, Danner is out to destroy her, so remember that.”
My foot is over the threshold when a feminine voice calls out to me. “Mr. Sobota, can you tell Juliana I love her very much?”
I turn my head back to watch the reaction on her father’s face. “I will, Mrs. Atkins. And thank you for the cup of coffee.”
I leave without another thought of Drake Danner or Roger Atkins. One wants to hurt her, and the other can’t accept her. However, there had been a sliver of fear that flashed in her father’s eyes at the idea of his daughter being hurt. Maybe there’s a chance for him, I have no idea. But this much I know—they’ve both been warned, and they sure as fuck better take their warnings to heart.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jewel
Life is the same for the next several weeks. School, my bodyguards, the club, playing together in our private playroom, cooking dinners, agreeing on television shows to watch. In all of it, I’ve become immersed into his life, getting to know those who are most important to him as they, too, become important to me. But in it all, I wonder about my mother. I know she misses me—she told Maddox this when he made an impromptu appearance at my childhood home—but she’s not reached out to me, and this hurts.
Maddox is at work, and I’m home because it’s a Saturday. Cady has made herself invisible, reading in my study nook when the doorbell rings. I’ve gotten close to Calla in the past several weeks. She’s been coming over for Saturday coffee, and we meet for lunch a couple of times a month. I love this time with her. She’s older than me, and I’ve missed feminine contact. She’s not fully been able to fill the void of losing my mom,