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Travis continues telling me the story of their love affair. As fate would have it, they lived within an hour of each other so they continued their relationship when they got home. “Your mom was going to move in with me. We had it all planned out…” his voice softens “…but my business took a hit from one of my enemies. There was retaliation and your mom witnessed how dangerous my world was. She told me that she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t move in with me.” He sighs. “I couldn’t argue with her. How could I put this angel of a woman in my hell? It wouldn’t have been fair to her so I let her go. I let her walk away.”
I knew right then how much he loved her. As much as I wanted to blame this man for the death of my mother, I couldn’t. He thought he was taking her out of his world by letting her go.
“How did they find out about her? Whoever it was,” I ask quietly.
“One of my men betrayed me.” He closes his eyes, his jaw tense. “I never thought she’d be targeted. Ever. If I had, I would have had someone watch her. There were very few people who knew about her. But when a car of mine had been used, it was obvious to me who had done it.” He pauses. “I didn’t even know where she lived. When she left, she took my love with her. She broke me. I was angry that she didn’t want to be with me. I went through a destructive period in my life. If it wasn’t for Melanie, I’d probably be dead right now.”
The confusion reflects on my face. My eyebrows cinch together.
“Melanie was my nanny growing up and has been more of a mother to me than my own flesh and blood. She’s been an employee of mine ever since I started in this business. She manages the house,” he explains. “She knew your mom, too. She loved your mom very much. She’s the one who got me to understand why she left.”
Melanie knew my mom. “Does she know that I’m her daughter?”
“She knew the minute she saw you. She actually yelled at me for having you handcuffed to the bed.” He chuckles under his breath. “I’ve been in this business a long time; trust is not something I give out freely.”
Tell me about it.
“I needed to know for sure.” He tries to justify his action.
“I get that. I’ve been lied to my whole life. Trust is earned, not given,” I say, glancing up at him.
“What made you come here? You’re not a naïve girl. Maybe a little too ambitious at times, but I see where you get that now.” He warmly smiles.
I’m not sure I’m ready for him to start picking traits that I got from him. It’s a little too early so I ignore that comment.
“I knew my mom’s killer was never caught. I’m the one who gave the police the license plate numbers so I found out that it belonged to you. After I grad—” I stop midsentence. I don’t want to tell him my life. I might not ever be ready for that. “After I had some free time, I decided I’d come check you out.”
He doesn’t question why I stopped but asks, “And what did you expect to do if I was the one who killed your mom?”
“I saw the face of the killer. I knew it wasn’t you. I thought maybe one of your guys had done it. I was going to see if I could get a look at your men and then go to the police if I saw him,” I explain. Coming out of my mouth, it even sounds juvenile. “I don’t know. I wanted to do something. My mom was dead and her killer never paid for what he did.” I sigh.
“Oh. He. Did,” Travis says with coldness in his voice.
“So you say,” I respond. I’m glad the asshole got what he deserved, but I plan on going into law enforcement. I know the rules and vigilante justice is frowned upon.
“I’d like to have a chance to get to know you,” he says cautiously, twisting his lips, warmth entering his eyes again.
“What if I told you I wanted to leave?” I ask.
“I already let your mom go and she was murdered because of me.”
“But no one knows about me,” I quickly reply.
“I don’t know that,” he says in frustration. He gets up and paces the room. “I don’t know what to do. I find out that I have a daughter. I’ve missed twenty-three years of your life already. I want to know everything about you.”
“So you want to keep me prisoner?” I stand up in protest. “How noble of you to make sure I stay safe. If you keep me here, I’ll be in more danger than I am out there where no one knows about me. People will start to ask questions why I’m here. My people will question where I am.”
“I’m not going to keep you locked up in the this room. I want you to stay with me. When you leave the house, I’ll know you’re safe because you’ll have a bodyguard.”
Here is my out. My way to escape. I’m going to have to agree so I’ll be able to leave this room. “Can I think about it?” I try to sound defeated.
“Of course.” He walks over to me and I think he’s going to give me a hug but instead stops short. “I really hope you can learn to trust me.”
Travis turns to walk out, locking the door after him. For now I’m still a prisoner. I really don’t think he’s going to give me a choice. I understand how he might feel after losing my mom, but this life is not mine. It’s not part of my plan. My plan is to take guys like Travis Stein down, not have him as a father. And though we share the same DNA, I don’t have to acknowledge him as my father. I can leave here without so much as a glance and never regret that decision.
My mind switches to Jett. I might not ever regret leaving here, but I will regret what I have to do to leave. I have to use Jett. I have to remember he’s a means to an end. And hopefully that end is tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty
