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He can’t possibly think it’s that easy.
“We’re long past that.”
He moves away from Callista, leaving her standing precariously. “Then take me, kill me. I don’t care, as long as Callista can go home.”
“No!” Instead of launching herself at her father again, the blond spitfire flies toward me and presses her hands against my chest.
Instead of pushing her away like I should, instinctually, I wrap my free arm around her to keep her from falling forward farther on her unsteady feet.
She settles into my hold, pleading at me with eyes that match the trees around us. “Please, no.” Her hair flies around her as she shakes her head. “You can’t hurt him. You can’t—”
Tightening my grip on her, I lean closer. “I can do whatever the fuck I want, Callista. And I think it’s time you start acknowledging that. It’ll make your life a lot easier.”
Harold takes a step forward but immediately retreats when I snap my gaze to him. “Callista, don’t do this. Don’t give up your life, everything you’ve worked for your whole career because of my fuck-up.”
He almost sounds like a good father for a moment.
Almost.
Yet, he was willing to risk her and anyone else he cares about by messing with Rosewood in the first place. This isn’t an innocent man wrongfully accused. It’s a guilty man fighting the consequences of his own actions.
Callista peers over her shoulder at him, tears in her eyes. “After everything you’ve done for me, it’s the least I can do for you. I’ll be all right.”
She glances up at me, a question in her gaze, one that makes my heart thunder under my ribcage, something she can surely feel with her hand pressed against my bare chest. “I’m going to stay here with Mr. Barker. We’ll come to an”—she swallows thickly again—“agreement, an arrangement that will suit both of us, if it will keep you safe.”
There’s a question in her statement, a good one to ask.
“You staying here doesn’t get your father off the hook for what he’s done. He knows what he needs to do. And if he doesn’t take care of it, there’s nothing you can do to protect him.”
CALLISTA
Despite my best attempt to appear unaffected by The Beast’s words, I shudder against him at the threat. My fingers curl into his muscles and heated skin as I seek some sort of confirmation of something that will help me accept what I’m about to agree to.
The Beast doesn’t respond to my silent plea.
His intense, rigid gaze stays locked on me, waiting for me to acknowledge what he just said. Any hints of softness or cracks in his armor I thought I’ve seen over the last few days are invisible now.
I won’t get anything out of The Beast today.
No appeasements.
No gifts.
Nothing to make this easier on me.
Just a man I know can follow through on anything he promises.
I finally give him a sharp nod, conceding defeat in a way that makes my gut tighten. “Understood.”
The Beast takes a deep breath, his chest rising and falling under my hands, his arm still tight around me, holding me aligned along his hard body. He tears his eyes away from mine and looks to Dad. “Now, get the fuck off my property and don’t come back. The next time, I shoot.” He holds up the axe. “Or I use this.”
I wince at the threat, squeezing my eyes closed so I won’t have to see the fear in Dad’s eyes or how he’s reacting to The Beast holding me so closely.
My first night here is nothing more than fragments of memories. Brief flashes. Feelings more than anything. Fear. Self-preservation. Then something else I haven’t been able to place.
This.
The Beast took me into his arms that night. He cared for me. He ensured I was mended and somewhere secure. Regardless of my purpose here or his anger over my arrival, the man known for ending lives protected mine. Just as he is now, ensuring I won’t fall on the uneven rocks under my bare feet.
