Secret Beast - Amelia Wilde Page 0,64
It doesn’t matter. I run up the steps to the front door and shove it open. “Cash? Where are you?”
“I’m right here.” He’s sitting on the couch, back rigid, his jaw so tense I can hear his teeth grind together. “Hey, Hales.”
“Cash, what—”
A man steps into view. He has dark hair and dark brows that dip low over intense eyes. His lips are a taut line. He looks scary when he’s guarding my aunt, but it’s nothing compared to now.
My stomach twists and drops. “Ronan.” I can’t just stop at saying his name. “Did Caroline send you?”
It’s impossible not to notice the gun at his side. He’s not trying to hide it. “She learned some unfortunate news about your father, and the family has decided it’s best for him to stay home for the time being.”
Smiling feels impossible but I force it, my heart trying its best to leap out of my body and follow my stomach to the pits of hell. “Is he working now? I’d like to see him.”
“I’m not sure he’s cooled down enough to talk.”
Tiny hairs on the backs of my arms pull straight up. “My dad always wants to talk to me, even if he’s busy. Where is he?”
Ronan gestures to the workshop door. It’s closed. It’s never closed. And there’s something shiny and thick on the outside. A new lock. On the outside of the door.
They locked him in.
I take a deep, slow breath and try not to throw up.
“I’m going to go down and see my dad now.” Cash stares straight ahead on the couch, not looking at me. One of his hands clenches into a fist and opens again. “You’ll unlock the door.”
Ronan considers this for so long I think he’s going to tell me I can’t go. I prepare myself to scream. To freak the fuck out. It’s probably the most effective tool in my arsenal. Clearly, trading my body for my father’s safety didn’t work. A full-scale imitation of hysteria might.
“Fine,” he says finally. “But if he causes any trouble, I’m locking you both in there.”
Causes any trouble. Please. My father is distractible and too in love with his work, but that doesn’t mean he’s dangerous. The only trouble he causes is not being enough of a stuck-up asshole. I march over to the door and wait, arms folded over my chest, while Ronan undoes the lock. It’s too much for the old wooden door. The sight of all that stainless steel makes me want to sink to my knees and cry.
I’ve done enough crying for now.
Ronan opens the door. Silence floats up the stairs, and a new fear pierces me. What if something happened to him while he was locked in? I take measured steps on the way down, like dignified walking is some kind of talisman. Three steps from the bottom, I get the courage to say something. “Daddy?”
A muffled noise. I leave the last step, and his workbenches come into full view. My dad is sitting next to one, shoulders hunched, his face in his hands. I rush across to him in my high heels. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
“Daddy.” I crouch down in front of him, and he uncovers his face. His skin is blotchy, eyes red. “Are you okay?”
“I wanted funding for my project. That’s all.” His voice quavers, and my heart breaks again. How many times can it do that before I die? “I didn’t mean to do any harm. It’s a good project.”
A daughter should never see her father so desperate. “I know. I know.” I take his hands in mine and begin the hopeless task of finding the right thing to say. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Caroline sent her man to lock me down here. He says I can’t be trusted. Me. Untrustworthy. I’ve spent my life being trustworthy. All I’ve ever done is try to make things to help people. I can be trusted.” His voice rises, and I’m acutely conscious of Ronan standing at the top of the stairs.
“You’re right. You are. Aunt Caroline—” Ronan. Stairs. Close. “She sees things a different way. It’s a misunderstanding. We’ll smooth everything over.”
“What about my invention?” He’s so pale. So afraid. “It can’t die with me.”
“Daddy, you’re not going to die. Nobody is going to let that happen. Let’s let Caroline clear her head, and then we’ll find a way to make things right with her.” It makes me sick to think about appeasing her. “I’ll make things right. You can concentrate on