Page 1 of Junior Has a Secret

Chapter One

I don’t think every man who cries is a pathetic loser, but my father has taken macho emotional meltdown to a whole new level.I mean no wonder Ghost ran after he broke my father’s finger.He probably didn’t want to hear the whimpers that would follow.

“Lilah,” my father sobs.“Lilah,help me.”He tugs at his legs, that appear attached to the chair and when I remain planted in front of the door, the real him comes out, the rabid him.“Cut me loose!”he snarls.“Now!”And then the fool sobs all over again.

Now.

He wants to be free now, and in that moment, I’m thrust back into the past, to my birthday and the night that changed me, and Kane, forever.I’m trapped beneath my attacker, the scent of salt and ocean and death in my nostrils, fighting for my life, the haze of the drugs someone had fed me doing nothing to erase the feel of the monster on top of me.I couldn’t fight.I couldn’t get him off me.The only person who helped me was the only person who’s ever helped me—Kane.And thanks to how screwed in the head I was over that night, I pushed him away and almost lost him.

Fuck you, father, I think.Fuck you.

As if he’s heard me, as if he knows it’s his blood I taste on my tongue, he tugs against the ropes attached to his feet all over again and screams out, holding his wrist, and showing me the purple swollen finger, hismiddlefinger.I almost laugh with the certainty that the choice was not random, but rather Ghost’s way of saying “fuck you” as well.

“Lilah!”my father hisses, but it’s a hoarse whisper as if he’s become aware of the thin, temporary constructions of the wall, aware of the simple curtain Ghost used for his escape, aware of how foolish he’d look should anyone but me see him like this.

There’s a knock on the door and a shout of, “Almost time!We need you on stage in fifteen!”

“Lilah,” my father pretty much howls, verging on temper tantrum at this point.“I need free.I need out of here.I need a medic.Now.Now.Now!”

He wants attention.I’ll give him attention.

I close the space between me andmy father, a title I assign him loosely, and squat in front of him.His face is bloated and eyes are red, a far and literal cry from the suave, good looking, and all too pulled together gubernatorial candidate the public has gotten to know, or rather, think they know.Is there a politician alive that is who they seem to be?My father was truly made to hold an office while pretending to serve.Pocher’s a fool if he thinks he’s employed a limp noodle, he will manipulate as he pleases, he’s misjudged yet another Love.

I settle on a knee in front of his chair, but I don’t reach for him.“What did he say to you?”

“How do you know him?”he demands.

“He’s the number one assassin in the world.It’s my job to know him.”

“Youdid this?”

“Why would I ask him to do this when I could do it myself?Welcome to the spotlight.He chose you all on his own.Killers are drawn to killers.You should remember that.”I reach down and release the simple tie at his right ankle and then his left.“Should I get the police?”

“No,” he says roughly.“I need a medic.And Kane.Get me Kane.”

His obsession with my husband running his security would be foolishly baffling if I didn’t believe it had something to do with his desire to control Pocher.“Good choice,” I comment.“Kane is how I first met Ghost.”The color of moments before drains from his cheeks, and with satisfaction in my heart, I push to my feet, turn on my heels and walk toward the door.

When I exit the dressing room, I’m only slightly surprised to find Kane leaning on the wall, oozing a Latin king vibe in his perfectly fitted tuxedo.I close the few steps between us and he straightens, towering over me, an arch to his brow.“What just happened?”

“He’s asking for you.”

“He can ask all he wants.They need him on stage.He’s the new governor of New York.”

God, I love this man.My father’s the governor and he’s still in “fuck you” mode.“And Ghost just made sure it’s a night to remember,” I inform him.

He catches me to him and turns me to press my back to the wall he was just leaning on, his big body sheltering mine, as if it’s a natural reaction to protect me.As if I haven’t faced off with Ghost, and the likes of him, many times over.“What the fuck, Lilah?”

“What the fuck,Kane?It’s over.Stop freaking out.I walked into his dressing room and Ghost had him sitting in a chair.He told me to choose if he lived or died.”

“A gift,” he supplies.

“A gift,” I confirm.“And you know no one kills that man but me.I said as much and Ghost broke his finger.My father’s now crying like the little bitch he is and asking for you.He probably wants to yell at you for letting Ghost inside while demanding you protect him.He’s an idiot.”

Kane releases me, his hands settling on his hips, his jaw clenched hard, a grit to his teeth.“I assume Ghost is long gone?”

“That would require fear of being caught.I’d bet a whole lot of money and strawberry pie that he’s still here, eager to watch the aftermath of his actions.And before you ask, no.I do not think he has anything else planned.”

“He’s obsessed with you.”