Page 64 of Possessing Paisley
“Where are your parents?” I ask.
He sits up straighter. “Dead. They both died of an overdose. A year apart while I was in prison. It’s horrible to say, but it’s a blessing they’re gone. They were awful people. I’d like to think it was the drugs that made them that way, but honestly, I’m not so sure.”
That cleans up my hit list by two names. Kind of a letdown. I wanted to meet those fuckers and make them pay. May they rot in hell.
I stare at Daniel. God, I hope I don’t regret this.
“Do you want to have contact with Paisley?” I ask.
Without missing a beat, he nods. “More than anything. But only if she wants that.”
Paisley’s watery brown eyes as she was telling me about her brother flash in my mind. My heart squeezes painfully. It’s the right thing to do.
I stand and pull a card from my suit pocket. “This is an address you can send a letter to. It’s her choice if she decides to respond. If she doesn’t, don’t try to contact her again.”
Daniel takes the card with his trembling hand and then turns his attention to me. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I love your sister more than anything. More than I love myself. I’ll move heaven and earth to make her happy. Including letting you back in her life if that’s what she wants.”
His face pinches with emotion, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows. I step around the desk to leave, but Daniel stands before I can pass him.
“Thank you for this,” he says, holding the card.
I glare at him. “Don’t thank me. Thank your sister. The only reason you didn’t die today is because of her. I promise this, though. If you do anything to hurt her emotionally, mentally, or physically, I will kill you, and I will make it long and painful. And if you think I’m bluffing, here’s a photo of the last guy who hurt her.”
When I hold up my phone to show him a photo of Chuck, restrained by his arms, bleeding to death, Daniel gasps, his eyes bulging.
“I’m a bad man, Daniel, and when it comes to your sister, I’m fucking ruthless. She is my life and my love, and I will spend the rest of my years protecting her.”
He looks away from the screen, then up to me, and nods.
Without saying another word, I stride out of the office to the car. I haven’t seen my girl in hours, and that’s way too fuckinglong. Especially since I have a really important question to ask her.
“Dude, what the fuck is that?”
I look down and then back at Grady. “What the fuck do you mean? It’s a dog. Have you never seen a dog before?”
Grady rolls his eyes and squats in front of the little black furball. “I’ve seen dogs, dumbass. What kind of dog is this? Its paws are huge.”
Squinting down at the puppy I just had delivered, I shrug. “It’s called a Newfoundland or something. I don’t fucking know. It’s some kind that Paisley has always wanted.”
He rises, grinning at me like I’m an idiot. “Did you research Newfoundland’s before you got it?”
Irritation prickles the back of my neck. Grady is getting on my last nerve with his annoying questions.
“Can you get to whatever point you’re leading to instead of wasting my time?” I snap.
“Newfoundland’s grow up to be like a hundred and sixty pounds, and they slobber like a faucet.”
What the fuck have I done? I look down at the tiny puppy. “It’s gotta go back. I’ll get her a stuffed dog. Yep. That’s what I’ll do.”
Just as I reach for my phone to call the breeder and demand they come to get him, the little guy looks up at me with his gentle, golden-brown eyes and whines.
“Fuck,” I murmur.
Grady bursts out laughing. “Dude, you’ve gone soft.”
I glare at him. “Shut the hell up and help me get this ring on the collar.”