Tess and Paul are fawning over Parrish, so we take a moment to talk.
“Nothing from Justin yet,” X offers, slipping me the phone so I can tuck it into my pocket.
“Thank you,” I tell him, and our eyes catch on one another before I pull away to join everyone else at the table.
Kimber is talking a million miles an hour, trying to get some words in over the twins. Ben sits quietly, beaming as he eats his food and keeps looking up at his big brother, and Tess is saying something about a press conference.
“You don’t have to participate,” she assures Parrish, and he nods, looking wary.
“I don’t want to do any interviews or anything like that,” he warns, and then his attention strays to me. Maybe he’s thinking about the talk show I was forced into against my will, I’m not sure. “But I’m guessing the feds want to talk to me again today?”
Tess gives a sharp nod and a long sigh. For once, Paul isn’t on his phone. He is, however, still sitting at the head of the table. Since Parrish is surrounded, I sit on the opposite end with Maxx on one side, Chasm on the other.
We all eat breakfast together, and I have to admit, it’s nice. It feels like family. But even as I’m thinking that, I’m missing my grandparents, missing Saffron. Mostly, I’m missing Maxine.
As soon as it seems feasible and not entirely inappropriate to sneak away, I do, ducking into the pool area to make the call. He ignores the burner phone, but answers right away when I use his ‘real’ number.
“Princess,” he purrs, smiling at me through the screen. “I see you’re enjoying your reunion. What a lovely family breakfast.” I ignore the cold shivers I get at his reminder that he can watch me most days, most places, and put that aside.
“Where is Maxine?” I ask, careful not to refer to her as my sister. That seemed to really get Justin’s panties in a wad last time.
“She’s just fine. Would you like to see her?” he asks, and then he switches the camera feed. I see Maxine lounging on a bed in a large room, browsing on her phone. She doesn’t seem upset. Actually, she seems relatively relaxed.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I whisper, sitting down on the cement floor beside the pool. The smell of chlorine tickles my nose as I draw my legs close and rest my phone against my knees.
“Well, Maxine finished the last of her exams yesterday. She came to me, looking for you.”
My heart drops. Of course my sister would’ve seen the news coverage about Justin Prior. He’s been projecting to the world that I’m his precious daughter. You’d have to be living in a cave to have missed it.
“And?” I push, desperate for answers. Clearly, there’s a plan here.
“And, she’s here of her own free will. I told her that she was welcome to stay a few nights, and that we’d be seeing you on Saturday. I’ve decided you need the week free to focus on your exams.” Justin’s voice takes on that cold stillness he gets sometimes.
“So, what, you’re going to imprison her the way you did Parrish?” I snap back, but Justin just turns the camera back on himself, raising a brow at me.
“Parrish? My program found Parrish. He’s alive because of me,” he says, and I sigh. I see we’re playing games here. Makes sense, seeing as Justin is actually showing his face. Guess this is just a ‘normal’ father-daughter conversation. “For now, I want you to focus on your schoolwork. I promise you that if you’re diligent, and you follow my rules, your sister can stay safely with me until the weekend.”
“You can’t just tell me to focus on my schoolwork and expect me to relax. I want to talk to Maxine.”
“You can speak with her on Saturday—provided you don’t piss me off before then,” he adds, getting an edge to his voice. His smile is a terrible thing to behold. “If you’re a very good girl, and your grades meet my expectations, I’ll even allow you to speak to the Banks. I did, just a minute ago.”
My blood goes cold.
“You spoke to my … to the Banks?” I query and Justin nods.
“Very nice people. I thanked them for raising you in my absence, and then I inquired as to Saffron’s location. Apparently, she left the mental health facility where she was staying; they haven’t heard from her.” Justin looks me right in the face, and there’s a very clear, undisguised threat in his gaze. “Have you spoken with her? Maxine doesn’t seem to know where she is either.”
“Spoken to Saffron?” I ask, shaking my head. She left the mental health facility on her own? That’s not surprising. That wouldn’t be the first time that ever happened. “Not since Tess caught me at a coffee shop one day and threatened me against further contact.”
