Page 74 of Relentless Sinner
“Jaxon Bortsov, are you seriously going to speak for my daughter? I raised her to have a voice. There are things we need to talk about as family. Like her sister’s disappearance.”
My blood spikes when I think that he might have found Natasha. I need to know if he has. Even if he hasn’t I need to know what he’s planning.
Jaxon tightens his jaw. “I said?—”
“It’s okay, Jaxon,” I cut in, tugging on his hand.
Dad drops his gaze to our hands joined together at my side and his smile turns sour.
“Alright,” Jaxon rasps. “I’ll be right here, though. Remember what I said, Gabriella.”
Of all the people Jaxon has threatened to kill my father is the only one who I’ve felt no remorse for. “I remember.”
“Follow me, Gabriella.” Dad gestures for me to come forward but keeps his eyes on Jaxon.
Jaxon gives my hand a squeeze before I let him go. I move toward my father, glancing back at Jaxon over my shoulder. He gives me a reassuring nod and I feel assured that he’s there if I need him. What a complete juxtaposition that I felt safe with the Beast when I was with him.
Dad leads me out onto the balcony and we move to a spot where there aren’t any people around. I’m glad, though, that I can still see Jaxon in the hallway.
“Wow, you and he are really getting on, holding hands and all that shit,” Dad sneers.
“This is our engagement party.”
“I know when something is for show and when it is not. I guess it’s good for you that you’re falling for him.”
I don’t know which scares me more—the idea of falling for Jaxon or the fact that my father thinks I am.
“You don’t know me.”
“I do, my dear daughter, and I can tell you that the Beast will not be your savior. He's not the white knight you want him to be. He’s no different from me.”
His words cut through me like a laser. It was bad enough to think Jaxon was like my father. But to hear my father himself say it? It makes my insides feel like they’re being torn apart.
“Have you found Natasha?” I decide to change the subject but I hate the quiver in my voice and the devilish smile that spreads across Dad’s face.
“Not yet but my intel has informed me that she’s left the country and is somewhere in Europe.”
Oh no. Oh, Natasha.
A weight slams into my chest, leaving me feeling unsteady. My heart races, hammering against my ribs. If Dad knows she’s in Europe it’s going to be easier to find her. He has eyes in Europe.
I have no way to warn her.I tried to reply to the email she sent but it came back undelivered. I knew it wouldn’t work because she would have taken precautions to protect the message she sent. I just thought I’d try anyway.
“Cat suddenly got your tongue?” Dad smiles.
“No. I’m just wondering if you’d really be so evil as to kill your own grandchild and its father.”
“You already know the answer to that question. I’m a man who always needs to have a plan. You girls messed up my plans.”
“I don’t understand how I messed up your plans when I was supposed to marry Jaxon.”
“You are a fool if you think things aren’t a mess. When have I ever done anything and gotten nothing out of it?”
I give him a hard stare as realization dawns on me. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before but…I don’t think he wanted Jaxon to have me. He was so angry when I last saw him and talked about his plans being a mess then, too.
Was the marriage contract a decoy?
“Did you have someone else in mind to marry me?”