It wasn't exactly a question, but he didn't just inform me that was what he was doing whether I agreed or not. That was probably a huge concession in his world. Plus, I needed help. I nodded and he smiled, then sat up and swung his legs down.
I couldn't help the gasp. It had been dark when he'd gotten in bed with me before, so I'd never seen his back, or the multitude of crisscross scars that littered it. "Daddy," I whispered, and he stiffened as if realizing what I'd seen. I sat up. "Baby, did you get those in the Marines?"
He sighed and turned, clasping my hand. "Nope, I got those between the ages of nine and fourteen… from my father."
Chapter Ten
Dion
I watched Emily's face as she processed what I'd just told her. Her fingers gently traced the scars on my back, her touch so light I barely felt it.
"Your father did this to you?" she whispered, horror and compassion mingling in her voice.
I nodded, turning to face her fully. I rarely showed people my scars, and even more rarely spoke about them. But with Emily, the words came naturally. "My family is Greek, in case you wondered about my name. Well, my first name. I changed my last name to my mother's. It was Laskos. My grandfather andgreat-grandfather made a lot of money from the tobacco and engineering industries. My father lost it all. He was selfish and cruel, and only cared about being the big man. He also groomed me to treat Mom basically like shit. She couldn't do anything right, and I grew up conditioned to think she was pathetic." I tried to keep the shame out of my voice, but I didn't succeed as Em pressed closer to me, sensing it.
"I'm so sorry, Dion."
"I had my eyes opened when I was nine. I can't even remember why I came home early from school that day, but he was raping her on the kitchen floor. I didn't understand what was happening, but I heard her cries, saw his fists… the blood." I swallowed the bile that rose up my throat.
"I went crazy and ran at him but at nine I was a weed." I needed to end this story, but Emily shuffled up behind me and wrapped her arms around my middle, dropping a kiss on my shoulder. "Long story short, Mom had no cash and she knew if she left him, he would get me, and she wouldn't leave me. So, we came to an arrangement."
Emily stilled. "What do you mean?"
"Every time Mom 'messed up' I would take her punishment. I used to have to take myself to his study and bend over the desk." She hissed in a horrified breath, and I hastened to explain.
"No, not that." But it'd been worse because I’d had to hide it from Mom. "He got off hitting me with a cane."
"What happened?" Emily asked softly.
"I had to leave school and get a private tutor. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere in case someone saw my back, but one day I was doing stupid stunts with some of the village kids. They all thought I was a stuck-up asshole, and Dad was away at some golf thing, so I took on a dare. I'd never been on a skateboard in my life, and I ended up with a broken arm in three places and a concussion." I pressed my lips together, then turned andscooped Emily into my lap. If I was going to get this all out, I needed her close. "Before I knew what had happened, I was in the ER, and they'd called my mom… who didn't know about my back." I’d been so selfish. If I hadn't taken on that stupid dare, Mom might still be alive.
"Dad got summoned and pretended to be horrified. Blamed everything on her. Said she was drinking, paid off a doctor to back him up, but I was in surgery and didn't know any of this. By the time I woke up he'd had her committed and drugged up to her eyeballs. She died seven months later before I managed to find out where she was."
I glanced down and thumbed the tears from Emily's face. "Dion," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," I said, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm. "It's ancient history now."
"Is your dad still alive?" I smirked at the surprise in her voice. Maybe she knew me already.
"Yep. Penniless and living in a dump."
Her eyebrows rose. "Eric?"
"Actually no, but he keeps him that way. Eric is a master on a computer. I met my godparents at Mom's funeral. Mom's cousins. They'd just returned from a five-year diplomatic posting to Malasia and only found out about Mom's death because my aunt reached out. Apparently, there was bad blood between my father and Uncle Christopher, so they didn't speak. After the funeral, Aunt Catherine came looking for me while my father was getting drunk downstairs. She came into my bedroom when I didn't hear her knock and saw my sports bag packed with clothes and food."
"You were running away?"
I nodded. "Mom had been the only thing keeping me compliant. He told me horror stories about the places she could be sent to if I ever breathed a word, and he kept promising tobring her home. I didn't let him hit me ever again, but I stayed quiet. I moved in with Chris and Katie, as I called them, that evening."
Emily reached up and pressed a kiss on my lips, and for a few moments I lost myself in her.
"Why did you join the Marines?"
I traced her swollen lips with the tip of my finger. "Honestly? Anger, I suppose, which is a really insane reason. Originally, I wanted to hurt my father, and Katie and Chris convinced me to let them handle it. Two days into bootcamp I finally got the news that my father was being prosecuted by the IRS." She bent and pressed a kiss to my shoulder.
"Chris caught me practicing with one of his guns behind the house three days after I moved in. He sat me down and told me to trust him. That dying was too good for my father, and he had to suffer. So, I waited, and it took a while, but Chris kept his promise." She leaned into me in support.
When we'd sorted this mess out, I was going to take Emily to meet them. Katie would adore her. "Come on," I said, standing and putting her down gently on her feet. "Let's get that shower, then figure out our next steps."
