I open my mouth to tell him we’re not dating before tossing out, “Maybe if you’d been in my life at any point, you could tell me who I can and can’t date, but you haven’t. We aremadlyin love, and you don’t get a damn say in it.”
“You’re right. But you act like I chose not to be in your life,” Dad says. “I sacrificed everything to keep you guys safe. You think I’d choose to leave the people I love behind?”
The fight leaves my body as the words sink in. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t. I’m just… tired, scared, angry… I don’t know.”
Dad reaches back and squeezes my leg. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
Tavish rights himself in the seat next to me.
“I really thought I was doing what was best for all of you. I swear, I really was,” Dad says. “Maybe it doesn’t feel that way… but I promise you.”
“So what exactly did you see or do that forced you to run?” Tavish asks.
Dad glances at him in the rearview mirror. “Shawn, I don’t know that you can trust this man. He’s working for Arthur.”
“I know he was, but it was a contract job, and he was misled into believing I was the guy who murdered his daughter,” I say.
“I don’t feel comfortable talking in front of him. He could go and tell everything I say to Arthur. He could be telling him where we’re at right now.”
“I’ll plug my ears,” Tavish says curtly. And I realize how much more relaxed I am now that he’s with me. I shouldn’t need some… contract killer or whatever the hell he is to comfort me. Shouldn’t seeing my dad be enough?
But everything feels weird, and I can’t help struggling to fight off the realization that right now, Tavish makes me feel more at ease than my own father.
Dad sighs, but his hands are wrapped so tightly around the steering wheel that his fingers are white. “This is a mess. This is such a damn mess.” He glances in the rearview mirror, catching my eyes. “God, you’ve grown so much.”
“Yeah… damn near half of my life has been without you,” I say.
“I know, kiddo.”
“What were you doing there at one of Arthur’s companies? If you’re running from them, why were you there?” I ask.
“Arthur told me to meet Nate to speak to him. It was somewhere with people where I’d be safe, and we’d figure things out… but when I showed up… he was already dead. I knew I needed to get out. I knew I wasn’t safe.”
“The door was locked when we walked up, so how’d you know he was dead?” Tavish asks.
“I saw the body when you guys opened the door.”
“So you saw me and still ran?” I question.
“No, I didn’t see you. I mean, yeah, I saw your back, but… I didn’t recognize you,” he says. “I knew it was a warning to me. It was a fucking warning.”
“Why would Arthur kill one of his own men to warn you?” Tavish asks.
“It wasn’t Arthur who did it… at least, I don’t think it was. No, it wouldn’t make sense for him to kill his own man. Fuck if I know. Someone else did it and is trying to frame me. They’re going to have footage of me in the building or something and pin it on me. But I never went into that room. I never… I would never kill someone like that.”
“Not even to get to go back to your normal life?” Tavish asks.
“I’m not a killer. I don’t care what people think of me, but I’m not a killer,” Dad says.
Tavish hums thoughtfully. “The man was recently killed, oh… within the last thirty minutes. I didn’t have enough time to fully check before I saw Ellis darting down the stairs. Kind of odd that whoever wanted him dead didn’t wait for you both to be in the room.”
“You can’t possibly think I killed him?” Dad asks in disbelief. “And if you claim he died thirty minutes ago, why the fuck would I have hung around?”
“Whoever did it had to have ended up bloody. They weren’t careful about it, so they likely had to go change out of whatever they were wearing to get back downstairs. That shirt you’re wearing doesn’t look like it fits you properly. Maybe you snagged it from someone else?”
Dad couldn’t have killed him, right? Dad was a detective. He was one of the good guys. He… didn’t do shit like this.
Dad shakes his head in disbelief. “Shawn, he’s putting shit in your head. It’s what Arthur does. He manipulates you, makes you think you can rely on him, and then fucks you over,” he says. “I don’t trust him, and I don’t think you should either.”
