Page 45 of Reckless Seduction
“Enough,” Liam roars from the head of the table, his fist banging on the worn wood. “This is something for Bailey to decide, not all of you. She is the one taking the risk.”
All eyes are on me.
Fuck my life. This isn’t what I need right now.
SIXTEEN
I am fuming.
The blood in my veins edges closer to its boiling point the more the conversation keeps on. I can’t believe my father is on board with subjecting Bailey to the sick depravity of her father and his men. Even my own fucking brother has hopped on the train to fucking loony town.
Who the hell does Dashkov think he is, bringing something like that up in front of her? Spying on her own kin? There are so many ways that could go wrong. He knows Bailey is desperate to find her friend, and he is using it to his advantage. I may not have known the raven-haired vixen for long, but there is one thing I know for sure. Bailey is selfless when it comes to those she calls friends because she has so few.
“I’m not even sure what it is you think I can do,” Bailey admits, her blue eyes sweeping around the table. She is holding her coffee cup in both hands, close to her chest, letting the warmth of the liquid comfort her as she tries to process what everyone is saying. “I’m not going to spy on my father for you. He isn’t the man you think he is.”
“Maybe we should give her the evidence we brought,” Ava whispers to her husband. “The ones my brothers ask for.”
A derisive snort escapes me, my scowl turning dark at her words. “Why not?” I flutter my hand toward her. “Get it all out.”
“Kiernan,” my father hisses. “Show your sister some respect.”
His words are sharp and have the intended effect. Softening my tone, I murmur an apology. Ava gives me a soft smile before turning her gaze to Bailey, who sits back in her chair, awkwardly watching us all interact.
I know I said that we would show her the evidence we have against her father. Bailey says that if it is true, if we can prove it, she will side with us and tell us what she can. But that is different from putting her in harm’s way. If we tell her the truth and then send her back to her father, it will be harder for her to keep up the charade of innocence and naivety she has lived with for so long.
Crowe is smart.
Ava reaches down and digs around in her bag, drawing out a large manila folder. She hands it across the table. Bailey takes it from her with shaky hands. She doesn’t make a move to open it, just holds it, her eyes on the bold print lettering that spells out her father’s name.
“Before you dig into that…” Ava bites her lip before she continues, “there are some things you should know.”
Bailey raises a suspicious brow at my sister. She isn’t buying any of it, but once Ava tells her story, she might be more open to the idea that her father isn’t who he says he is.
“Where to start…” Ava ponders for a moment. “Your father and Elias Ward have been friends since before college. They were part of the same fraternity.”
“I don’t understand.” Bailey looks around the table, confused. “What does Elias Ward have to do with any of this?”
Ava ponders what to say next. Hers is a long and complicated story that brings up wounds that still haven’t healed. They are too fresh. But my sister is strong. She takes a deep breath andlaunches into her story, her hand tight on Matthias’s as she recounts her life with Elias Ward.
Bailey listens with rapt fascination as my sister recounts growing up within the Ward household. She was eleven when her mother was murdered in a botched home invasion. The assailant didn’t know she was hiding in a small space her mother designated for emergencies. When the police arrived sometime later, they found her, and social services shipped her off to live with whom she was led to believe was her biological father.
Elias Ward.
Ava divulges her past openly, unshed tears crowding her eyes as she recounts how she was treated growing up in that godforsaken household. The mental and physical abuse. Her obsessive, perverted brother. My father’s hands are clamped so tightly around his cutlery, I think they might bend beneath his grip.
There are a few things we know about her time with Elias, but most of what we were told has been watered down or skipped altogether. We have all been waiting patiently for a time when Ava would tell us on her own.
Part of me wishes she hadn’t.
If I ever see Christian Ward again, I will kill him with my bare hands, only to bring him back and do it again.
Fuck that.
I will bring him to the brink of death, only to heal him and do it over again. Time after time. Slice after slice. He will spend years being tortured by my family and me, the exact same way he had tortured my sister.
“Wait.” Bailey smiles behind her coffee cup. She sets down the envelope in favor of the new mug of steaming coffee she has been brought. Her plate of food has been set aside, uneaten. I will have to make sure she eats before we leave the table. “You run away and the only thing you change is your last name, whichhas been your last name prior to it being changed to Ward, and no one found you for an entire year?”
Ava smirks mischievously. “Yep.”
