No.
“The daughter I know would also never date her fucking bodyguard.” His voice rises in the quarry.
“Two bodyguards,” I correct. Un-fucking-helpful. But I need this to be crystal clear.
Akara and Banks stay stoic, skilled in deescalating situations, and this situation does not need any kind of fucking escalation.
My dad’s nose flares. “Two bodyguards.” He zones in on them. “Get the fuck away from her.” We’re not even touching, but I know he sees me as his little girl, and he’s wishing for a whole mountain range of separation between us.
“Ryke—”Akara holds up a hand to cool the air, but the air is already laced with my dad’s fury.
“I said get the fuck away from my daughter,” he growls.
Oh God. Oh fuck. Oh Jesus.
This is not good.
Akara and Banks don’t move a muscle, and Kits is the one who says, “No.”
My dad drops his rappelling gear. Spooled rope falls to the dirt. His harness thuds, and rage is piling up in his eyes. Before he moves forward, I shout, “Dad!”
He looks to me. “Get over here, Sulli.” He points to the spot beside him.
“No,” I say, pain lancing everywhere. “They’re not hurting me—”
“They were supposed to protect you—that’s fucking all. That was the fucking end of it!” he shouts, more at them than at me. “You’re her fucking bodyguards.” His glower intensifies on my boyfriends. “You two—you had one fucking job. One!” At the base of the mountain, everything feels louder, even his wrath. I feel more like a small creature in the vast greatness of nature, not the girl raised by wolves.
Banks somehow is able to hold eye contact. “We have kept her safe, sir.”
“Fuck you,” my dad sneers. “If you think keeping her safe was making a move on my daughter—”
“Dad!” I yell even louder and take a step forward. “I kissed them! I made the fucking move!”
His face contorts in a series of horrified emotions. “They reciprocated, Sul. They abused their fucking power and trust—”
“What about Jane?!” I shout in hurt. “What about Moffy?! They both married their bodyguards!”
“They’re not my kid!” he screams. “You’re my daughter!” We’re hot and sweaty from the rock climb, our shirts soaked, and the sun beats down on us through the canopy of trees. Yet, the real fire is the tears that build in his eyes, in my eyes. “The day you were born, I cried in fucking pain, in fucking agony because I thought I’d lose you and your mom, and I knew, while I held you in my arms, that I’d be there for you your whole life, no matter what—I’d fucking be there. You’re my kid.” He points to his chest, eyes reddening with so much emotion that pummels me. “As a father, as your father, I’d never let anyone harm you or fucking manipulate you or come into your life and abuse the power that I’d granted to protect you when you were a kid.”
“I’m an adult now,” I cut in, eyes wet and raw. “And I’ve made an adult decision to be with them.” Please, fucking please accept this.
“They’re your bodyguards, Sulli!” he shouts like I don’t get that.
“I’m twenty-one!” I yell back. Pain chokes me. What’s happening. What am I destroying right now?
He keeps shaking his head like this is all going wrong. My feelings are the same, but the origin is different. He runs a rough hand over his face.
I rub my wet cheeks.
Fuck.
Fuck.
My dad exhales roughly but he catches my gaze and says, “Please come here, Sullivan. Please.”
We’re both begging each other for different things. Only half my pleas are in my mind. I start to shake my head.
He holds out a hand, pleading. “Protecting you is what they’re paid to do. What they’ve done isn’t fucking right, Sulli.”
His words are like a swift punch to Akara. He jumps in, “You don’t understand, Ryke—”
“I don’t even want to fucking look at you,” my dad snaps, but he spits out, “You…you are her brother!” The disgust in his voice almost bowls me back.
My brother?
“What…?” I cringe.
Akara puts a hand to his chest. “Hey, I get that’s what you wanted me to be towards her but—”
“That’s what you have been,” my dad growls.
“No, it’s not!” Akara yells into a frustrated noise. “I’m not her brother, Ryke! I’ve never been her fucking brother!”
My dad takes angered steps forward.
“Dad,” I warn. “Dad.”
He stops at my side. “You’ve always treated her like a sister. There wasn’t one fucking day you didn’t!”
Oh my fucking God.
“You put that into the universe!” Akara shouts so loud that veins protrude in his neck. “Not me. Not her! The closest thing she has to a brother is Maximoff—and I promise you, I’m not that!”
Banks plants a calming hand on Akara’s shoulder.
I cover my face, feeling sick thinking my dad believed we were like siblings.
My dad looks murderous. “How can you not see the fucking issue here?” He outstretches his arms, then points at Akara. “She trusted you to protect her. And fuck you for taking advantage of—”