She honed in on the word ‘first.’ She promised would come to him first, which implied she’d go to him over Alex. She was parsing, she knew. Playing word games to justify not telling him about her father’s call and threats. Word games were all she had.
She couldn’t go to him about this, not because she didn’t trust him, but because she did. She trusted him to take care of things, to either kill her father or agree to pay him off. She couldn’t allow the former, and the latter? She shook her head. She might be learning to accept things from him, but this was out of the question. Her father would only keep coming back for more, over and over again. He’d never be out of their lives. She shuddered at that.
Somehow, Riley needed to handle her father herself. No matter how scared she was, and her stomach cramped with pain at the thought, she needed to handle him alone.
She played with the necklace dangling against her chest, finding small comfort as she touched the pendant, and thought about how to proceed.
What to do.
The idea, when it came to her, was simple. It also devastated her. But most important, it would buy her time and protect Ian and his family from her father until she could figure out a more permanent solution.
FOURTEEN
Ian’s stomach grumbled.
He glanced at his computer screen, his gaze on Riley’s instant message window that he kept up and available to him at a moment’s notice. He thought of the day he’d taken her in his office, and his c**k hardened immediately. Sex or food, he thought wryly.
Ian: Hungry?
She didn’t answer immediately, so he gave her some time to return to her desk.
He called the private investigator he’d put on Riley’s father and left the man another voice mail. Ian understood it took time to compile information, but dammit, he wanted answers now.
A few minutes later, with no word from Riley, he decided to go find her. He’d had lunch with her all week, and though they hadn’t explicitly discussed today, she’d have let him know if she had a meeting.
He walked through the offices, which were mostly empty, as it was lunchtime, and stepped into her private domain. She wasn’t around. He figured he’d leave her a note and go grab something in the cafeteria. Maybe she’d come find him and they could share a quickie for dessert. At her desk, he looked around for a piece of paper, his gaze immediately coming to rest on a notepad.
Cash-In Pawn Shop was scrawled in her handwriting.
Ian narrowed his gaze. What the hell would she need to hock and why?
Her father.
Ian didn’t know what was going on, but he’d bet his life it had something to do with that bastard.
He pulled out his phone and saw missed calls from earlier that morning. His half brother had called twice. No message.
Shit.
He hit redial, and Alex answered on the first ring.
“You’re a hard man to get a hold of,” Alex said.
Ian scowled. He’d have to get his phone checked. “What do you want?”
“I have the report on Riley’s father. I thought I’d share.”
Ian narrowed his gaze at his half sibling’s unexpected overture. “Go ahead.”
“Douglas Taylor has been living on the streets for the last two years. He lost his job and then his house to the bank when the market crashed a few years back. He’s flat broke and an alcoholic, to boot. Occasionally he sobers up and gets a job washing dishes, but then he has money for booze, so the cycle starts up all over again.”
The words flat broke reverberated in Ian’s brain. “Riley left the name of a pawnshop downtown scrawled on her desk.”
“Son of a bitch,” Alex said.
“That bastard’s been in touch again. He probably wants money,” Ian said.
“But she doesn’t have anything of value to sell,” Alex said.
Ian thought of the necklace he’d bought her, and the pain of betrayal nearly gutted him. “Yeah. She does.”
And she’d chosen that route instead of trusting him. He shook his head, unable to believe it.
“What’s the address of the pawnshop? I’ll meet you there,” Alex said, breaking into Ian’s thoughts.
He shared the address on the paper and disconnected the call.
* * *
Riley pulled up to the pawnshop in a really horrible part of town. Luckily, she got a parking spot out front. She shouldn’t be here long, which was a relief, considering the neighborhood gave her the creeps. A man with a cup sat on the ground beside the shop with a sign asking for money. And a gang of kids wearing matching colors hung out across the street.
She shivered and quickly walked inside. The shop was dimly lit, the linoleum on the floor filthy and cracked. There were other people in the store, lingering at the counter and haggling with an older woman near the back.
A middle-aged man greeted her. “What can I do for you?” he asked.
She still wore the necklace, unwilling to take it off until the last possible second. She reached for it, as she’d been doing since she’d made the decision to sell it to pay off her father.
The weight of it gave her comfort, making her feel like she had Ian beside her. From it, she drew strength. “I umm…”
“I ain’t got all day, lady. You selling that piece or not?”
“I need a minute,” she snapped and turned away from the counter.
He mumbled about indecisive women and turned to help another customer.
She ran her hand over the cool diamond, memories of Ian bombarding her. The vulnerability in his face when he’d asked her to accept the gift, the relief when she had. His placing the pendant around her neck and his huskily spoken words, It’s perfect. Just like you.
She clasped the beloved piece tighter, knowing she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t part with something Ian had given her, and she wouldn’t cave in to her father. He’d bullied her throughout her childhood, and she was finished.
Done.
It had taken her coming here to see what a foolish mistake she might have made. Ian would know the necklace was missing, and she couldn’t lie to him. She’d promised him she would come to him first and always, and that’s what she would do.
“Thanks anyway,” she called out to the man, walking at a fast pace out the front door. She reached the sidewalk and breathed in the stuffy, humid air, wanting nothing more than to get into her air-conditioned car.
“Riley.”
She turned to see her father climb out of the passenger seat of a beat-up car that sat behind hers.
“Long time no see.”