good little girlfriend to Brandon, the least you could have done was snare a guy with some money. Some power. But no, you’re just like your mother, going for the losers who can be broken just like that.”
He snapped his fingers, and I flinched.
“I can ruin his life, Princess. And you know that I will.”
No. No, no, no. Jack didn’t deserve my father’s wrath. It was me. I was the fool who’d thought I could sneak something past him. I was the idiot who thought I could steal some happiness and not have to pay. “Daddy, please. I can ex—”
Crack! The sound of his hand connecting with my cheek hit me at the same time as the sharp, shooting pain. My sight went black and then red as the backhanded smack knocked me sideways.
“You little slut,” he growled, stalking toward me as I tried to scramble backwards on the floor. “Just like your mother.”
I stopped when my back hit the edge of my bed. Terror had me staring up in horror as his nostrils flared and his face turned mottled and red.
“You had one job,” he said, his hands clenching at his sides. “One job, you worthless little whore.” He reached down and grabbed my jaw, cupping it so tightly that his fingers dug into my skin and I cried out at the pain.
“Please, Daddy,” I tried to whisper.
He tugged me up and half dragged me to standing as his fingers dug in deeper, sinking into the skin of my neck. “I should have known you’d turn out to be like her. Useless little girl.” He shoved me back, and I fell onto my bed with a bounce.
“Stay here and keep your mouth shut, do you hear me?” He took a step back and ran a hand over his hair to smooth it, his chest heaving as he fought for control. He still wore a sneer as he eyed me one last time before walking away with a muttered comment that might as well have been another slap.
“Useless.”
The word followed him out the door. It filled the air as I choked on a sob.
It rang in my ears as I sank down onto my bed and let my tears soak the pink pillowcase, turning it a bloody shade of red.
Twelve
Jack
“Back again, huh?” I said as Tess slumped over the table beside me with a sigh. “I guess I’m just irresistible to you Devereaux girls.”
Tess arched a brow, but her lips twitched with amusement. “First of all, neither of us are girls, thank you very much.” She slipped off her heels and sank a few inches. “And I’m a Baker, not a Devereaux.”
I nodded. “That’s right. I forgot you took your mom’s name.”
She kept her mouth shut.
“I suppose there’s a story there.”
She gave me the side-eye but kept quiet. She’d been doing a lot of that tonight. I’d tried my best to get any info out of her about the latest findings when it came to their dad and Lila’s mom, but Tess had been oddly tight-lipped.
Well, maybe not oddly. It wasn’t like she and I were close friends or anything, although I’d always liked Tess, and I was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. But if Tess didn’t trust her own sister with family secrets, maybe it was asking too much that she let me in on them.
“So,” I said slowly, leaning forward and lowering my voice. “What exactly is your plan with the Vivien angle?”
Might as well try again, right? I was nothing if not persistent. Or maybe just stubborn. Either way, every protective instinct I had was itching to make things right for Lila any way I could.
I thought Tess was going to give me the silent treatment again. She’d been doing a good job of deflecting my questions or just meeting them with silence all night, but every time she looked my way, alarm bells started going off for some reason I couldn’t explain.
Maybe it was because there was a wariness there beneath the surface, and I didn’t think it had much to do with me.
I got the feeling that there was something Tess wasn’t telling me. Something she wasn’t telling anyone…
“Tess,” I said. “I know you’re used to working alone. But…” Ah hell, I’d never been good at emotional crap. I shrugged. “You’re not on your own anymore.”
I could have sworn I saw a battle going on behind those dark eyes of her. Without the glasses and the dark hair falling in her face, she looked