His Property(6)

“So how have you been?” my father asked me as the elevator descended. He caught sight of Liam holding my hand, and he gave a little smirk. “Looks like things have been working out between you two.”

“No, things haven’t been ‘working out,’” I spit. “You sold me off like I was some kind of product.”

“Oh, come on, Emmy,” he said, using the nickname he always used whenever he was trying to get me to see something his way, usually when he’d done something horrible. “There are worse things than having to spend a week with this handsome fella.” My father licked his bottom lip and looked thoughtful. “You look very nice, Emmy,” he said. “You’ve always had such a pretty face.”

It was a subtle dig about my weight of course, and I felt the rage radiating off of Liam as he went to take a step toward my father, almost lunged toward him, but I tightened my hand around his and held him back. What was Liam going to do, beat my father up in an elevator? It wouldn’t accomplish anything.

“Let’s just get the money and get the hell out of here,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure it was really going to be that easy. What would happen once my father got the money? Where would it go? Would it be wired to some man somewhere, the one my father was in debt to? I imagined some faceless businessman sitting in front of a bank of computers, like on that show Deal Or No Deal, waiting for the transfer to show up in some covert bank account. Would I be free to walk out of here right away? Would I be put on a plane back to New York? Would Liam go with me?

“Get out of here?” my father repeated, frowning as he stepped out of the elevator onto the main floor of the casino. The sound of slot machines echoed around us, the air heavy with the cloying scent of cigarette smoke. We began weaving through the machines, past the men and women holding buckets of quarters and cards filled with money. Their eyes were glassy and shiny, their faces slack-jawed.

“After this we’ll have a steak dinner,” my father declared. “At Uncle Frank Dio’s Steakhouse.” He smacked his lips together. “Best T-bone in the casino, only 9.99 with a baked potato. Do you still like steak, Emery?”

“Yes,” I said dully. “I still like steak.” There was no freakin’ way I was going to have dinner with him, and even if I was it certainly wasn’t going to be at a place called Uncle Frank Dio’s, where you could get a steak and a baked potato for $9.99. And yet part of me still craved a connection with him, still remembered how badly I’d wanted him to be there for me on my birthdays and Christmases and everything else.

“Where’s the cage?” Liam demanded.

“Right there.” My father pointed to a closed door on the other side of the casino. “There’s the pit boss I’ve been dealing with,” he said, motioning to a man who was standing by the door, almost guarding it. He had trimmed red beard and was wearing a dark gray suit.

As soon as the man saw my father gesturing to him he hurried over, as if he’d been summoned by a king.

“Tito!” my father said, sounding delighted. “This is my daughter, Emery, and my friend, Liam.” Friend? I tried not to laugh. Although him calling me his daughter was also pretty funny, since he definitely hadn’t acted like a father to me, so I supposed he might as well call Liam his friend.

“Nice to meet you,” Tito said. He held his hand out to me and I took it. He had very nice nails, this Tito, clean and perfectly shaped as if he’d recently had a manicure. And yet the rest of him was somehow rough and dirty, his hand calloused, his skin leathery and his cheeks sunburnt. The sleeve of his suit slid up and revealed a tiny oozing sore above his wrist, and I averted my eyes.

Liam glared at him until Tito finally dropped my hand. Liam immediately picked it up, his fingers tightening around mine possessively.

“We need you to get Mr. Waters cashed out,” Liam said rudely. “Now.”

“Of course, of course,” Tito said, licking his chapped lips. He clapped my father on the back. “How much are we looking at?”

“Around 150k,” my father said.

“Come with me.” Tito began leading my father toward the door he’d been standing in front of at a few moments before. “I’ll have him fill out the paperwork and we’ll be right back.”

Once they were gone, I dropped Liam’s hand.

“Emery.” The way he said my name made me hot.

“What?”

“Look at me.”

I forced myself to raise my eyes and meet his gaze.

“You should be happy.”

“Happy?” I threw my head back. “Why, because it was confirmed that my father is a scumbag just like I thought he was? That now I don’t have to wonder? Isn’t that what you said? That I won’t have to wonder anymore?”