Page 62 of Born to Scar

I clear my throat. “Not going to happen.” Thankfully, my voice returns to normal.

A malicious laugh leaves his lips. It’s pure evil. “Oh, it will, whether I force you to or you do it willingly.”

“Are you threatening me?”

Half of his mouth lifts in a grin. “It’s not a threat, kid.”

Without another word, he turns and walks out. I watch him get in his car and leave before I allow my tears to fall. My father’s going to take everything I love away from me, like he’s done my entire life. I sit on the floor behind the bar, pulling my knees to my chin. I don’t know how long I sit like this, until familiar arms pull me up and carry me to the back.

“He knows,” I whisper in his neck.

“He knows what?”

“Who you and Cam are. Who Micky is,” I sob. “Jay, he’s going to take everything from me. He’s going to take you from me.”

He holds me closer, his cheek resting on my head. “We aren’t going anywhere, Indy.”

“No, he’s going to do something. He threatened me. He is going to.”

“What does he want?”

“He said he wants to talk. He left those fucking journals.”

He squeezes me into his chest. “You aren’t going anywhere near him.”

“I have to,” I whisper so softly, hoping he didn’t hear it, but he did.

“No, you don’t. He can’t do anything to us, sweet girl.”

“I don’t think that’s true, Jay. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Cam strides in. “You don’t have a good feeling about what?” he asks, kneeling on one knee in front of us.

“My dad showed up and said he wants to talk to me. He threatened me if I don’t.”

“He guaranteed that she didn’t have a choice. He knows who we are. She thinks he’s going to come after us if she doesn’t talk to him,” Jay adds.

“I have to do it. I’m not losing you because I didn’t do something. I’d sooner lose myself. He made it clear what he plans to do. I can’t lose you, too.”

“Indy, don’t go near him. If you do, we need to be with you. He’s dangerous,” Cam says coolly, and the laugh that bubbles out of me takes me by surprise.

“You don’t think I know that?” I hold up my arm. I could show him my legs, my stomach, my chest, my back. I can show him virtually any part of my body. But he knows that. He’s seen them all. He’s kissed them all.

He grips my wrist and drops a soft kiss on it, doing that again. “Do not do anything without us, got it?”

I nod. “I need to get out there. The bar isn’t going to tend itself.” I smile weakly, standing off Jay’s lap. “I’m sorry Mik called you here. There isn’t anything you can do.” After walking to the front, I can still hear them talking back there. I’m so far behind in my prep, and people are already sitting at the bar; I can’t worry about it or fight them now.

Apologizing to the customers for the wait, I take their orders. It’s hard to focus on work when I know my dad is plotting how to fuck up everything, every relationship I’ve made for myself. Cam asked me not to do anything stupid, but I can’t let that man hurt them or worse. I can take the pain. I’ve lived it my entire life. I’ve been built for it.

Born for it.

This is all my fault. They’re a target because of me. I needed to stay away, and now he’s going to hurt them to get to me. All because of me.

It’s late, and Cam and Jay are still sitting at their table. They need to go home to get ready for work in the morning. Standing in front of them, I tilt my head. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure you’re safe.”

I offer a soft smile. “You can’t do this every night.”