Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“She will be,” said Jesse. “She has me.” Another father might have felt comforted by that, but Jesse could see that Clive saw it as trespassing.
“She also has me. It’s a father’s right to love and protect his child.”
Love? Harley inwardly snorted. “You’re not capable of that emotion.”
Clive slid his gaze to her. “Maybe not. Or maybe I just process the feeling differently than others do.” He looked back at Jesse. “She was the sweetest child you’ve ever known. Used to draw me pictures and write me stories. I treasure them. She may now look at me differently and not show me that same unconditional love, but she’s still my daughter and I’ll always love and protect her.”
“But you don’t regret what you did that got you locked up, do you?” asked Jesse.
Clive blinked. “Why would I? Did those humans not deserve what they got?”
“Your son deserved justice. You didn’t seek that. You sought revenge.”
“Sometimes revenge is the only thing we can seek. The human justice system would not have seen to it that those men paid for what they did.”
“Maybe not. But in doing what you did, in getting yourself locked up, you left Harley vulnerable. That’s not loving or protecting her.”
“I left her vulnerable, yes . . . and I regret that. But think of all the things that may not have happened if I wasn’t a free man. Lily would not have broken and Harley would have had both parents—good things, true. But then she wouldn’t have needed Tess; she would have remained part of the pride. And if I had been around when your old pack targeted Harley, I would have challenged your father for blaming her for your sister’s addiction. And he would be dead now.”
“And The Movement might never have been formed,” Jesse added, very tempted to ask him outright if he had indeed formed it.
Clive’s smile widened. “Don’t ask questions that you don’t really want the answers to.” He rose to his feet and called for the guards. “Don’t forget it’s my birthday in two months, Harley. I’ll expect to see you then.”
As they walked across the prison’s parking lot toward their SUV, Jesse took her hand. “Do the guards often leave you alone with him?”
“All the time,” Harley replied.
“Well, they damn well shouldn’t. I know he’s your father, Harley, but he’s also a convicted killer.”
She puffed out a breath. “Yes, he is. And he’s worshipped by the other shifters in that place, so you can imagine how easy it is for him to start prison riots, can’t you?”
Jesse stopped in his tracks. “You’re telling me he starts riots if they don’t give him what he wants? Like a little kid who throws a tantrum to get their own way?”
“Yep. Giving Clive what he wants is a win-win situation for the guards. He can keep the other shifters in line, making their job much easier. But he can also make that job hell. If his requests aren’t unreasonable, they agree to them.”
Jesse brushed her hair away from her face. “You know it’s very possible that he formed The Movement, don’t you?”
She swallowed. “Yeah. But I don’t want to know if he did or if he didn’t. I’m just going to pretend it’s a dumb theory.”
Jesse couldn’t blame her for that. “Although he’s accepted our mating, I don’t think he likes that you have another male in your life. By protecting you, I’m imposing.”
“He protects me the way someone would protect a prized possession. He sees me as something that belongs to him as opposed to an actual person.”
“Yet, he gave you to Tess.”
“Yeah, but there were a lot of conditions involved.”
“Such as?” he asked as they resumed walking.
“I couldn’t change my surname. Tess had to take me to see him twice a month and allow him to call me once a week, whether I liked it or not. She had to agree to send me to the school and college of his choice. She also had to send him photographs, copies of school report cards, and stuff like that. She couldn’t take me on vacation or send me on school trips without his approval. The list goes on.”
Well, fuck. “Giving custody to Tess allowed him to control you.”
“Yes. Giving me to Tess was, by no means, a selfless act.”
Reaching the SUV, Jesse pulled her close and spoke gently. “Baby . . . I ask this without judgment: If you don’t like to visit him, why do you?”
“When I was sixteen, Tess had trouble with her boss. Sexual harassment. She made a complaint, and he set out to ruin her reputation; basically portrayed her as ‘the office slut.’ She’d come home from work every day, stressed out and devastated. She’s such a gentle person. Not tough when it comes to things like that. I mentioned the situation very briefly to Clive, not expecting him to react one way or another. He didn’t say anything about it or even look interested. Two days later, her boss pleaded guilty to sexual harassment and resigned.”