my elbow and led me towards the
back where he kept his offices. As soon as the door was closed I started in. “I
know what was done to her, well some of it anyway.” He sat down heavily and
held his head in his hands. “I want to know what’s not in the report, I want to
know everything he did to her.”
“Leave
it alone son, trust me I wanted to go after this asshole more than you’ll ever
know but the cops said my hands are tied. He has more rights apparently, rights
that say if I go after him I might end up in jail. That’s a hard thing to
swallow as a father.”
“I
don’t understand that shit. It says he stalked her from the age of fourteen,
four fucking years and they did nothing? She was a fucking kid when he started
his sick fucking campaign…”
“I
know boy, you think I don’t know? You think I don’t lay awake at night thinking
up ways to remove him from the face of the earth? My child wakes up screaming
sometimes and it tears at my heart but there isn’t a damn thing I can do about
it. He has more damn rights right now than we do don’t you understand? One
wrong move and I’ll be behind bars for the rest of my life, then who’s gonna
protect her. This is the best we can do for now, all I can do.” He shook his
head like a broken man and that just added fuel to my fire.
Be
a Steele. That refrain kept playing through my head over and over as I fought
to overcome the feelings that threatened to overpower me. I was going in blind
all across the board here, our relationship was new, my knowledge of the
situation was literally a few hours old and I had no experience with this shit.
My life up until a few months ago was one of high school ball and whatever
hoorah mom came up with to make us kids happy. I knew nothing about the seedier
side of things, nothing outside of having to put my foot in somebody’s ass for
messing with me or my brother.
This
was a whole new ballgame, this, as they say, is the big time. It looked like I
wasn’t going to be allowed to tread the natural order in the dating game this
go around. I’m being pushed into the deep end of the pool straight off the bat.
I have to ask myself had I known all this was waiting for me would I have gone
after her anyway? The truth was very simple when it came. I hadn’t gone after
Kadyn Daniels; this thing between us was set in stone long before we ever laid
eyes on each other. Something neither of us had any control over.
“I want
to see everything you have on him.”
“What
makes you so sure I have anything?” I just gave him a look to remind him that
my birth certificate might say one thing but in my chest beat the heart of a
man. And right now that man was in combat mode because some fuck had messed
with his woman. Whether I’d had her for a year or a day, she was mine; time
made no difference to a Steele, we laugh at that shit. The minute the decision
was made it was a done fucking deal.
“You’re
her father, you love her, you have everything I need.
Your hands may be tied but mine aren’t.”
“No son
leave it alone, if you want to be with my daughter then the best thing you can
do for her right now is be there for her. She has problems still I know, that’s
why she goes to doc Graves, but going after this guy might only open up a can
of worms that’s best left uncovered. She’s doing a lot better since she came
here…”
“She’s
afraid of her fucking shadow, no disrespect, I’m not saying you’re not doing
all you can for her but there’s something you need to know about me, about the Steeles period. We don’t hide and we don’t back down. I
have a sister, a mother and a new sister in law. If anyone had done this shit
to one of them I’d lay his ass out, I can do no less for Kadyn.”
“But you
just met…”
“Doesn’t
matter, my heart knows her, my soul owns her that’s
enough for me. Now are you going to give me what I want or am I going this
alone?” He studied me for the longest time
back where he kept his offices. As soon as the door was closed I started in. “I
know what was done to her, well some of it anyway.” He sat down heavily and
held his head in his hands. “I want to know what’s not in the report, I want to
know everything he did to her.”
“Leave
it alone son, trust me I wanted to go after this asshole more than you’ll ever
know but the cops said my hands are tied. He has more rights apparently, rights
that say if I go after him I might end up in jail. That’s a hard thing to
swallow as a father.”
“I
don’t understand that shit. It says he stalked her from the age of fourteen,
four fucking years and they did nothing? She was a fucking kid when he started
his sick fucking campaign…”
“I
know boy, you think I don’t know? You think I don’t lay awake at night thinking
up ways to remove him from the face of the earth? My child wakes up screaming
sometimes and it tears at my heart but there isn’t a damn thing I can do about
it. He has more damn rights right now than we do don’t you understand? One
wrong move and I’ll be behind bars for the rest of my life, then who’s gonna
protect her. This is the best we can do for now, all I can do.” He shook his
head like a broken man and that just added fuel to my fire.
Be
a Steele. That refrain kept playing through my head over and over as I fought
to overcome the feelings that threatened to overpower me. I was going in blind
all across the board here, our relationship was new, my knowledge of the
situation was literally a few hours old and I had no experience with this shit.
My life up until a few months ago was one of high school ball and whatever
hoorah mom came up with to make us kids happy. I knew nothing about the seedier
side of things, nothing outside of having to put my foot in somebody’s ass for
messing with me or my brother.
This
was a whole new ballgame, this, as they say, is the big time. It looked like I
wasn’t going to be allowed to tread the natural order in the dating game this
go around. I’m being pushed into the deep end of the pool straight off the bat.
I have to ask myself had I known all this was waiting for me would I have gone
after her anyway? The truth was very simple when it came. I hadn’t gone after
Kadyn Daniels; this thing between us was set in stone long before we ever laid
eyes on each other. Something neither of us had any control over.
“I want
to see everything you have on him.”
“What
makes you so sure I have anything?” I just gave him a look to remind him that
my birth certificate might say one thing but in my chest beat the heart of a
man. And right now that man was in combat mode because some fuck had messed
with his woman. Whether I’d had her for a year or a day, she was mine; time
made no difference to a Steele, we laugh at that shit. The minute the decision
was made it was a done fucking deal.
“You’re
her father, you love her, you have everything I need.
Your hands may be tied but mine aren’t.”
“No son
leave it alone, if you want to be with my daughter then the best thing you can
do for her right now is be there for her. She has problems still I know, that’s
why she goes to doc Graves, but going after this guy might only open up a can
of worms that’s best left uncovered. She’s doing a lot better since she came
here…”
“She’s
afraid of her fucking shadow, no disrespect, I’m not saying you’re not doing
all you can for her but there’s something you need to know about me, about the Steeles period. We don’t hide and we don’t back down. I
have a sister, a mother and a new sister in law. If anyone had done this shit
to one of them I’d lay his ass out, I can do no less for Kadyn.”
“But you
just met…”
“Doesn’t
matter, my heart knows her, my soul owns her that’s
enough for me. Now are you going to give me what I want or am I going this
alone?” He studied me for the longest time
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