So quick to offer? He acted like she was a whore he’d picked up walking the streets.
“Go to hell,” she whispered, feeling the color leach from her face. Her stomach roiled and for a moment she thought she might get sick. Who was this guy sitting across from her? It wasn’t the Warrick she’d grown up with. This man was a cruel, brutal bastard.
For a moment she thought she saw remorse flash in his eyes, but then it was gone when he turned away and started the engine.
“It’s time to take you home,” he said tonelessly.
She didn’t say a word the entire drive back to her house and when he pulled into the driveway, she reached for the door handle, ready to jump out. The strong fingers that circled her wrist halted her. She ground her teeth together, hoping he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.
“What?” she choked out.
“You need to be a little more careful, Sienna,” he said instead. “With the guys you’re choosing.”
“Including you, obviously. Whatever, Warrick. Unsolicited advice duly noted,” she replied with a bitter laugh, before jerking free and fleeing into the safety of her house.
When her reflection in the mirror became blurry, Sienna quickly blinked away the tears and reached for a tissue. God, the memory of that night six years ago still had the ability to make her sick with mortification. Maybe even more so now, because the scab of loving Warrick had been ripped off again when he’d come back into her life tonight.
He’d left town shortly after that incident, and she hadn’t spoken to him since. Not that she’d wanted to after learning he’d told her brother and dad that she’d been drinking illegally and had gotten herself into trouble that night.
The betrayal of trust had been shockingly painful, but at least he’d skipped telling her family the details of how she’d thrown herself at him. God, that would’ve just completed her humiliation.
Tossing the tissue in the wastebasket, she turned and left the bathroom, pressing a hand against her chest. She felt the slight bump of the phone there, and her eyes widened and she bit back a curse.
She’d forgotten all about it! She should’ve called her dad the minute Warrick left the room. This is what he did to her—had always done to her—made her a frazzled mess. Jerking the small cell phone free from the hidden spot between her breasts, Sienna dialed with trembling fingers. Shooting a nervous glance at the door, she knew she had to do this quickly. At first there was silence, and she prayed to the reception gods there would be a cell tower nearby.
There was!
“Sienna, honey?” her father’s voice came through the line after two rings, the surprise in his tone evident. “What are you doing awake? I was just getting up to make some coffee.”
“Dad, I can’t talk long.” Her hands clenched around the phone and she glanced toward the door again. “I need your help.”
“Sienna, what’s going on?” His tone sharpened and she could visualize him pacing the small kitchen in his house back in Boston.
“Really horrific stuff with the lab I was working for.” God, he was going to think she was nuts. She drew in a deep breath and blurted, “There are things out there, Dad. Strange, unbelievable things…like something that can morph between human and animal.”
The silence on the other end had her stomach sinking. Yup. He was definitely thinking she’d drunk the Kool-Aid. “Look,” she plunged on, knowing she had to convince him. Couldn’t afford to let him not believe. “I know it sounds crazy—”
“I know all about the shapeshifter species, Sienna.”
Sienna blinked, the air stranded in her lungs as she reached out to grab the dresser. He knew? Her dad knew about shifters? How?
“Sienna?”
“How?” she finally croaked. “How did you know? How long have you known?”
“For…awhile,” he said carefully. “The question is, how exactly did you find out, my dear?”
Trying to recover from the shock that her father was aware of the existence of these creatures, she gave a feeble shrug. “The lab I work for was holding some of them…” She shook her head and gave a frustrated sigh. “Seriously, you knew?”
“Sienna, this is a conversation best had in person. Right now, why don’t you elaborate on the situation that requires my help?”
Footsteps sounded in the house and fear rocketed through her, chilling her blood.
“I need to go, Dad. Warrick’s back. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Just wait to hear from me.”
“You’re with Warrick? As in Warrick Donovan?”