Page 26 of Reaper's Claim

I don’t know when it happened, but Kim and I were now standing in front of each other.

Dad was still standing at the end of the table, shaking with rage.

“You’re right, something did change. I just don’t give a fuck if he has a heart attack anymore.”

I grabbed Kim’s arm as she attempted to storm past me. She was not leaving this mess that easy.

“You better start apologizing, Kim, before I knock your fucking teeth out,” I snarled in her face. My own temper was boiling over now.

Kim looked at my hand, then looked back at me. “Why are you even bothering to protect him? Since when did you start caring about him? After all, I don’t blame you.” She looked at Dad with such bitterness. “Where was he when you were assaulted last month? When you were bleeding out in the hospital, and they couldn’t get in contact with anyone? Where was he when his Vice President tried to rape you? Oh, that’s right…” Kim slowly turned her head and glared at Dad. “You were too busy screwing your way through any legs that would open.” She ripped her arm free and stormed out, leaving me there, speechless.

I was shell-shocked. Only when the boys began to rise from the table did I snap back into the moment.

Trigger was on his feet, my dad’s eyes zoned in on him.

“Is it true?” Dad’s words were so deeply quiet, so threatening.

I stepped in, grabbing Trigger’s arm. There was only a table keeping the distance between them, and Dad could flip that in barely a second.

“Dad, you need to listen to me. Kim made that...”

“Move, Abby!” Dad roared at me.

I didn’t listen. Instead, I pushed myself in front of Trigger. He looked shocked, not sure what he should do.

“DAD!” I yelled when Dad seemed zoned in on Trigger, not looking at me. “Kim made that sound like something it wasn’t.”

“Abby, I think you need to leave.” Trigger had his eyes on Dad’s, and he placed a hand on my arm, trying to pull me away from him. “Now.”

“Don’t tell her what to do,” Dad spat. “I trusted you.”

“Dad, Trigger didn’t do anything to me.” I spoke softly, quick and direct. I had to get Dad to see reason before he killed the man.

It wasn’t fair that Trigger was going to cop all of Dad’s rage.

“Dad, it was years ago, and it wasn’t what Kim made it sound like.”

“Leave, Abby,” Trigger spoke in my ear. “Now.”

I knew what I had to do, and I knew what would happen if I did, but I had to get Dad’s attention on me, so I did the only thing I knew that would get his full attention.

“Mark Defalcon wanted you to know what it felt like to lose something you loved, and he wanted me to tell you...” my stomach twisted with disgust and shame.

“Abby, when did Mark speak to you?” Dad’s voice was softer, and just like I had hoped, he was no longer interested in Trigger. He moved around the table and gently grabbed my hand. “Abby, what did he say?”

Trigger did the smart thing and backed right off, leaving me standing there with Dad.

I never wanted to speak these words, and it felt like I was letting Mark win by doing what he asked. But Dad wasn’t going to drop it, and he placed a hand under my chin, tilting my head up.

“Abby, tell me now.”

A month earlier, I was heading down to the stationery shop when a car pulled up beside me. One second I was walking, listening to music, and the next I was pulled into a car. Mark Defalcon was my dad’s personal enemy. They hated each other. Mark led a rival biker group. They were sworn enemies.

I don’t remember too much after the third punch. But I do remember the words he whispered in my ear before leaving me in that alley where he inflicted so much pain on me.

‘Tell your father that you tasted as sweet and as innocent as your mother.’

I promised myself I would never tell Dad those words. I was found by a stranger, taken to the hospital, and that’s when Kim was called in. She promised she would never speak to Dad about it, and it was at that moment I had my sister back. Pity, though, the next day she was back to normal.