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“Hold on, Dakota.” He doesn’t take his eyes off Smith, though.
Smith’s eyebrows rise. “You told her your name?”
“That was Mercer.”
I don’t know why but those words are a slap in the face. They’re true, so why do they hurt? Why couldn’t he say yes? Why the hell can’t he tell Smith to go away?
But I know.
I want him to say it. “Orion.”
Now he turns to me, and whatever he’s going to say remains unsaid as he takes in my expression.
“Y’know,” Smith says. “I expected Malone to fuck her, not you.”
Orion whips around. “That’s your daughter, man. Watch your tongue.” His voice is low, dangerous.
Smith mutters something and shakes his head. Then he says, “If you had to claim her on the yacht, on that island to get her out alive, that’s one thing, but here? And now? Still? She’s twenty.”
“I know how fucking old she is.”
Anger bubbles and burns inside. It’s like I’m not even here. But finding the right words is beyond me at this point. My throat’s blocked.
Smith meets Orion’s eyes. “I asked you to watch her, not take advantage of the situation, not lead her the fuck on.”
My eyes sting and I blink the blur of tears away. Leading me on, is that…?
“Is this all a lie, Orion?” I ask, my voice scratchy as I try to hold the fraying parts of me together.
“You know Smith sent me.”
It’s not an answer. Or maybe it is.
I don’t like Smith. But he’s still my father, and I’m not talking about any intimate things in front of him. I draw in a shuddering, shaking breath. “But not to… You let it go on… you…”
“Dakota. I had a job.”
“And what? It was easier for you to get off at the same time?”
“Like it or not, I’m protecting you, and he knows damn well no one else can do this job.”
“So my father has to buy me a man, is that it?” My voice wobbles, getting higher, and I’m stretching tight, painfully inside. If my control snaps, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m both ice and flames.
My stomach roils.
The look on Smith’s face is priceless.
“What?” I snap at the shocked expression. “Orion saying daughter didn’t just tip me off. You think I didn’t know?”
“Dakota, this isn’t the time. You ran off, and if your friend didn’t contact me, who knows what would have happened to you.”
“I guess paying someone to come after me eases your guilt, or whatever it is you feel for me.”
Smith pushes a hand through his hair as Orion stands there, arms crossed. Anger surges through me. I hate him, too, for not beating Smith to a pulp, for not…
I swallow past the throat-constricting lump.
Not choosing me because he wanted me, not because he figured he’d have fun while watching over me.
