Trials and Tiaras (Untouchable #7) - Heather Long Page 0,18

his nose. “I understand you might be upset…”

“Might be?” Archie snorted. “I might be upset that you told my girlfriend you think she’s my sister?”

The scorn in his tone was razor sharp and perfect. I swore I could see the skin he stripped right off the older man. As it was, “Eddie” paled and dropped his hand from his face as he stared at Archie. “What do you mean girlfriend? She’s not dating anyone.”

“According to whom? The lying cunt you’ve been fucking?” Every word rolling out of him carried a lash of anger and heat, but I’d bet money as much as he meant every word, he delivered them with purpose. “Or maybe in your own interfering and stalking ways, you hired someone to investigate? ’Cause let me tell you, if you did, you should get a refund. She’s been my girlfriend for months, and I’ve loved her for a lot longer.”

I swore the man looked ill.

Holy shit, he really hadn’t known.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or to spit.

“Wait,” Archie said with a snap of his fingers. “I forgot, for you to know anything about my life, you’d have to give a fuck. We both know you couldn’t be bothered. Until today, I always thought that was my fault.”

“No,” his father said slowly, though I loathed even calling him that. I couldn’t help it. I studied him. The pallor of his face, the way his eyes widened, even the way he ignored the blood trickling from his nose. Nothing about him was like Frankie at all. There was a surface resemblance to Archie, but the guy lacked his directness or the ease of his charm. “It’s never been your fault. But you can’t date Frankie.”

“She’s not my sister.”

“I understand this might be…”

“If you say difficult, I will take one of those clubs and beat the fuck out of you with it.” The cold violence in that threat had the older man straightening and taking a step back. He believed Archie. Good. Because I didn’t doubt that he would. “I don’t care what you think you know. Tell me what that lying fucking cunt told you. I’ve seen the four tests. Only one is positive, and it doesn’t have your name on it.”

Expression rippling, Eddie frowned. “There were only two tests, and before you challenge that, yes, I was aware of Maddy’s affairs at the time. It was why I had the affair with your mother.”

“I really couldn’t care less where you stuck your dick. I want to know exactly what she told you and what evidence she gave you that Frankie is yours, ’cause while you’re not a fucking prize for a parent, I find it hard to believe that a selfish, narcissistic bitch like her wouldn’t have come after you sooner.”

Sighing, the older man pulled a fucking handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his bloodied nose. “Archie, I understand you’re upset. While I appreciate you may not care for Maddy, could you at least show her some respect?”

I couldn’t help it, I snorted aloud, and that earned me a baleful look from his dad. Yeah, I met him stare for stare. I couldn’t care less. “You want respect, you earn it,” I told him flatly. “She’s an abusive, neglectful, selfish bitch.” That was about as kindly as I could put it.

“What he said,” Archie agreed with a nod toward me. “What did she say to you?”

Seriously, I couldn’t read the man’s expression as he fixed a look on his son. “She asked for a sample so she could run the test. Largely because I needed proof. She wasn’t certain about who the father was, she hasn’t been.”

Yeah, that didn’t surprise me.

“To be fair,” he continued, not that I had any fucking interest in being fair. “Maddy had a rather severe falling out with her family after our engagement collapsed and I married your mother. The ceremony was quick and efficient, it was important to your grandparents that you were born with our name.”

Wow. My dad was looking better and better by the minute. What a douche.

“And before you decide that I’m a terrible person, I did want to be your father. I just didn’t know how. I gave up the woman I loved for you.” He actually looked aggrieved. “There’s no pleasant way of saying this, and it’s not a conversation we should ever have to have.”

“No shit,” Archie said. “But you’re having it because I want answers, and at the bare minimum, you owe me