Truth (Betrothed #10) - Penelope Sky Page 0,66

I pictured you with a successful man, but someone more ordinary.”

“Well…I guess I don’t like ordinary.” Now that Heath had put the thought in my head, I couldn’t imagine spending my life with a mediocre man, one who just went to work in an office or something and was always home by five. I came from a line of criminals. “And Damien lives in that world, but you don’t blink an eye over it. You did too—”

“Yes, but we’re men—”

“That’s sexist,” I snapped at my father, the first time I ever had in my life.

He was just as stunned.

“It’s unfair for me to be excluded just because I’m a woman, Dad.”

“But you can’t take care of yourself—”

“Heath can take care of me just fine. Isn’t that what you want? A man who can take care of me? Physically, financially, emotionally…he can do it all.”

He bowed his head with a sigh. “It doesn’t sound like he’s similar to Damien, who makes a product and sells it to shady characters. This man is much higher on the food chain, and the more eyes on you, the more enemies you have. I bet this man has a target on his back every single day.”

That was true. He did.

“That’s my issue, Catalina. He’s the Skull King, isn’t he?”

All I could do was blink because I couldn’t believe he even knew what that was. He’d been out of the game for decades.

He didn’t need me to confirm it. “That’s a whole different level, Catalina. As long as you’re with him, you’ll have a target on your back too. Yes, he can protect you, but he’s also the reason you need protection. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t want that.”

Hope slipped through my fingertips. “If you meet him, you’ll feel differently.”

“No, I won’t.”

I sighed loudly, disappointed. I thought Damien would be my biggest hurdle, not my sweet and loving father. “Please try…for me.” I pleaded with him with my eyes, needing this to happen, needing his approval to be happy.

He stared at me with a cold gaze, no longer the man I knew.

“Please…I love him.”

He sighed just the way Damien had, his nostrils flaring. Their features were never more similar than when my father was angry. The vein thickened on his forehead, and his skin tinted red, just the way his son’s did. “I want to talk to him.”

I had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “He’s outside.”

He leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Then bring him in.” His body was rigid, the muscles flexed through his layers of clothes. The kindness in his eyes had vanished along with all of his affection. He seemed to fall back in time, back to his youth, back to the time when he intimidated people for a living.

I hadn’t expected this conversation to go this way, so I felt terrible that Heath would be put on the spot without any time to prepare. But he should be able to handle it. He’d probably done worse things than meet a potential father-in-law. “Alright…I’ll be back.”

I got into the truck.

“Went that bad, huh?” he asked, barely looking at me.

“Why do you say that?”

“You look like snow.”

I stared straight ahead before I had the courage to turn to him. “No, it didn’t go well…”

His eyes fell with disappointment.

“He said he wants to talk to you.”

He gave no reaction.

I kept staring at him.

“Right now?” he asked calmly.

I nodded. “I told him you were outside.”

He sighed quietly, his chest rising with the air that filled his lungs.

“I know this is unexpected. We can come back at a later time—”

“No. He challenged me—and I’m not going to decline.”

“I don’t think he’s challenging you—”

“He put me on the spot. That was intentional. Trust me, I know what he’s doing. It’s a test—to see how much of a coward I am.”

“You aren’t a coward…”

“Exactly.” He opened the door. “Which is why I’m going in there.”

Seventeen

Heath

I was in jeans and a long-sleeved olive-green shirt. It was too casual to make a good impression, but it was all I had. I stepped inside, and Patricia immediately recognized me from the time Damien had marched me inside with my hands tied behind my back. She stilled on the spot, unsure if she should scream or run.

“Richard asked to see me.” I kept my distance, kept my voice low so she wouldn’t be scared.

She nodded to the large archway past the entryway. “He’s in there.” She probably wasn’t