Page 55 of Dirty Roxie

Mack

“I’m going with you to meet your dad,” I tell Daria. “Especially if you are going right now.”

“I think I need to do this alone,” she says.

“Tough.”

She shrugs. “He says he’s downstairs in the poolside lounge bar.” She types out a message on her phone. “I said we’re on our way.”

I take her good hand in mine, and we make our way down to the bar. “You okay after all that with Quinn?”

“I suppose. I’m just so mad at her for being reckless, and I feel helpless about it. I just keep thinking, what if we hadn’t saved her, you know?”

“So, you threw a knife at her head, I get it, babe, I do.”

She laughs, which was my hope. “With my left hand too,” she says, holding our joined hands up.

“She’s lucky all you nicked is her ear,” I joke.

“Ha-ha. Not funny.” She takes a moment, collecting her thoughts. “I just wanted to scare her. Even if it was only half as much as she scared me. I wanted her to know that the emotions are real, and she can’t just go around taking things so lightly.”

“I’m not condoning your method, but I get why you did it.”

“You would condone if you were Russian,” she says.

“Why you always gotta play the nationality card, babe? I can’t win that game.” I squeeze her hand to show I’m teasing as we step off the elevator at the main floor. Her grip gets tighter the closer we get to the lounge bar. I don’t even think she realizes it.

The interior of the bar is more dimly lit than the lobby and halls we walked through to get here. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. Daria sees her father before I do and pulls me along in that direction.

Viktor stands as we reach his table. “Daria, you’re looking well.”

“Father.” She nods in return.

“And Mack, is it?” He turns to me.

“That’s right, Vik, nice of you to remember.”

You know, since I’m planning to spend the rest of my life with your daughter and all.

Now that I’ve got Daria back, I’m never letting her go.

“You wanted to see me?” Viktor addresses Daria in Russian.

She raises a brow at him and says, “English, Father.”

“That is why you came all the way to Colombia, no?” he says. “Because you wanted to see me.”

“It is. I want an explanation for why you attacked Andrei’s compound, knowing my friend Quinn may have been there and that my other friends and crew were going in to look for her.”

“Do not forget your place, daughter. If I choose to share information with you, I will. It does not matter what youwant.”

“Were you always like this?” she asks him, cocking her head.

“Like what?”

“A self-absorbed, narcissistic asshole with no regard for anyone but himself.”

His hand shoots out to slap her. I’m on the wrong side of her to stop it, but still half out of my chair when Daria catches his arm. I remain partially standing, waiting to see what he will do next. Viktor sighs and pulls his arm back from Daria’s grasp.