“No!” he roars, and I gasp at the sharp tone of his voice. “I don’t want you here! I want you as far away from me as possible!”
Click.
Tears stream from my eyes as our connection is broken. The strain and stress in his voice makes my stomach clench, and all I want is to wrap my arms around him and assure him that all of this will be over soon, that we can go back to normal and live our lives like we’ve always wanted to. God, I want so much…but is any of it realistic?
He wants to keep me far away.
All I want is to be close to him.
It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
For years, he avoided his true feelings because they would have put me in danger.
Now here we are facing the most ominous threat to everything we’ve built over the past months.
Isn’t it ironic how everything comes full circle?
I won’t let anyone dictate how I should live—not Nico, not my father, and surely not Luca. This is what I’ve been preparing for, and I’m ready to claim my future because nobody on Earth is going to yank that freedom away from me.
Nobody.
I stab at the keyboard on my phone.
There’s been an accident. Nico’s dad was hit. I need to get to the hospital.
Seconds later, Max replies.
I’ll be there in ten minutes.
I pad over to my father’s office door, furrowing my brow at the muffled sounds coming from inside of the room. Dad’s voice gets louder, enough that I can only make out a few words.
“…building contract…time…warning…money…”
I knock, and the sounds dissipate. “Daddy?”
“Come in, Shaye.”
I push open the door and wipe away the tears. “There’s been an accident. Joe’s car was hit a little while ago. It’s really bad.” My voice cracks before the sob erupts out of my mouth. “He’s at the hospital now.”
My dad’s eyes widen before he leaps up to hug me. “Is he gonna be okay?”
I cry into his chest. “I don’t know, Daddy. But I really need to get to the hospital. Max is on his way over here to pick me up.”
Dad rubs my back. “Did Nico say where Joe was going when he got hit?”
“N-no,” I whisper. “I feel so terrible for them. Nico thinks it was Luca.”
“Did you tell Nico I’m here?”
I shake my head, sniffling. “I didn’t expect you to be here this late. I thought you’d have already been gone for the day.”
“Yeah, I had a few things to take care of before heading over to the site.” He ruffles my hair. “I’m just glad you didn’t have to be here by yourself right now.”
“I’m so scared for them. It doesn’t sound good at all.” I pull away to look up at my father’s face. “I know things are still a little strained between you guys, but I’m happy to see that you’ve put the past behind you. It’s so important to me, Daddy.”
“I know, pumpkin,” he murmurs.
The tears roll down my face. “I just hope he comes out of this. That monster needs to be stopped.” I clench my fists as my dad’s grip around me tightens. He needs to pay. And I have plenty of ideas about how to collect on that debt.