AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re more like him than you realize.”
“If you say so.”
We finally make it up to the penthouse, and at the locked front doors one of the two guards takes a step forward. His gaze rakes over me as he holds up both of his palms. “You can’t just walk up here with some piece of ass, Eligor. You were banished.”
“That’s right. Boss told us you’re not welcome in his city, so you’re definitely not welcome in his home,” the other guard remarks.
“Shut up and move, jackasses,” Eli orders them, showing them his bared teeth. “This is not some piece of ass. This is Dante’s oldest daughter, Madison. You know, the one who ran away a year ago? But I can’t wait to tell Dante what you fucking called her.”
“Sorry,” the guard murmurs before he not only steps back, but he punches in the code, opens the door, and holds it open for us. “Sorry, ma’am.”
“Whatever,” I mutter, since I’m not even insulted. I don’t feel like I’m worth much more than a piece of ass at the moment. And Jordan recently called me worse.
When I stall at the door’s threshold, Eli goes in and drops my duffle in the foyer then comes back to press his palm to my lower back, urging me inside. “Come on. Let’s get this over with. It probably won’t be as bad as you think it will be.”
“Yeah, right,” I agree sarcastically.
“Dante is probably in his office.” No doubt since my father is a workaholic, managing properties, legitimate businesses, and his underground illegal drug trafficking. His office is the first place I would look for him any day of the week. And sure enough, I hear my father’s deep, commanding voice barking orders at someone in the room with him or on the phone since the door is standing wide open.
Eli gives me a harder shove on my back and then I’m standing in the open doorway, watching as my father turns to me, and his jaw goes slack. The cell phone slips from his hand, hitting the floor with a thud in the sudden silence, forgotten.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“Madison?Madison,” he says again as his wide blue eyes takes me in from the top of my head down to my toes. I can’t help but wonder if I’ve changed since I left, if I look different now that I’ve been happy and in love but had to leave it all behind.
My father still looks exactly the same in his pristine custom suit, a tall, physically imposing mountain of a man. His thick black hair and closely kept beard may have a little bit more gray in them than they had when I left.
“You’re okay?” he asks.
“I’m okay.”
My father becomes a blur as he charges toward me. Despite Eli’s reassurance that he wouldn’t physically hurt me, I still brace myself for a slap to my face or some other type of assault for what I put him through.
Instead, his arms wrap around me so tightly I can’t take a deep breath. He even picks me up, feet clearing the floor, making me laugh with what little oxygen I have remaining in my lungs.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t...how?”
“Eli found me,” I admit, giving the man his credit.
“Eli?” Putting my feet back on the ground, my father looks over my head at his personal tormentor. “You actually did, you crazy son of bitch. You fucking found her!”
“I found her,” Eli replies, flashing him a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. In fact, I think the normally cocky man looks anxious. “It wasn’t easy, but I brought her back to you, safe and sound.”
Daddy doesn’t let go of my shoulders as he stares at my face, while shaking his head. “You look the same, but…different.”
“I do?”
“And you’re really, okay?”
“I am.” I nod gently, trying not to draw any attention to the light bruises healing on my neck.
“Good. That’s good, because I’m going to fucking kill you!” he shouts loud enough to rattle the windows as he shakes me by my shoulders. When he lets me go, I cringe away from him.
“Daddy...”
“Don’t you dare ‘Daddy’ me! Do you have any idea how worried, how fucking devastated I’ve been, thinking you were dead or worse, alive and suffering!”
“I’m sorry if my leaving upset you, but I needed to go, to be on my own for a while.”
