Slow Burn(65)

    “So it’s only her baby, then? It doesn’t even have a father?”

    “Not really,” said Griffin. “What does that have to do with anything?”

    I glared at him. “Oh, nice. You think I’m going to fall for that? She looks just like you.”

    He furrowed his brow. “Who does?”

    “Dixie.”

    He took a step back. “You think that... that I’m...” He lifted both his hands, palms out. “No. Doll, absolutely not. You have this all wrong.”

    “You can’t get out of it that easy,” I said. “Beth basically laid it all out for me.”

    “Beth gave you this idea?”

    “She was upset that we were involved.” I lifted my chin in triumph. Let him try to wriggle out of that.

    “She was?” Griffin scratched the top of his head. “Okay, well, I don’t know. But there’s not a thing with me and Beth like that.”

    “Bullshit.”

    “Goddamn it, doll, I’m not lying to you. I told you that I hadn’t been with a woman since I was sixteen years old. You think I made that up?”

He had said that hadn’t he? I didn’t meet his gaze.

He took me by the arm. “We’re going back to Beth’s apartment, and we’re going to clear this all up.” He dragged me toward the train.

    I could have struggled, but he was stronger than me. And... I don’t know. It didn’t exactly seem like he was lying.

* * *

    “Oh,” said Beth as she let us back into her apartment. “You found her. That’s great.” From her tone, it was anything but great.

    “What’s that?” said Griffin, annoyed. “You got some problem with Leigh? Is that why you told her that I was Dixie’s father?”

    Beth’s jaw dropped. “I never said that. I never said anything like that.”

    “She says you did.”

    They both looked at me.

    My mouth felt dry. Damn it, I really wished I could get another bump of coke. “She didn’t really say that, Griffin. I guess I assumed that.”

    “This is not what you said to me before.” He crossed his arms.

    “It is, though,” I said. “She was obviously upset because you and I are...” What were Griffin and I? Were we dating? Was he my boyfriend? Was he just the guy who fingered me? “Whatever we are.”

    Beth stalked across the room and sat down on her couch.

    Griffin followed her. “Is that true? Did you chase her off?”

    “I didn’t mean for her to leave,” said Beth.

    “I apologized to you,” I said, “because I thought Griffin had abandoned you and Dixie. I thought he had no right to be with me.”

    “He did abandon us,” said Beth.

    “I did not,” said Griffin.

    “You did,” said Beth.

    “You really feel like that?” He settled in a chair across from her.

    She looked away.

    He rubbed his head. “I don’t think that’s fair, doll.”

    I gritted my teeth. I did not like him calling her that. I didn’t like it at all.

    “You think you owe Frank so much,” said Beth. “But you don’t think you owe us anything.”

    “I don’t do what I do for you out of obligation,” said Griffin, clearly offended.

    “But you do for me?” I said. “Because I’m Frank’s daughter?”

    He turned to me. “That’s not what I meant.”

    “It kind of sounded like—”

    “Hold it, doll.” He held up a hand in my face. “Just wait until I clear this up with her.”

    My face twitched. “We can’t both be ‘doll.’”

    “I call everyone doll,” said Griffin.

    “No, you don’t,” said Beth. She was glaring at him.

    He spread his hands. “I do.”

    Beth drew in a noisy breath, avoiding his gaze.

    I glowered at him.

    He lay back in the chair, covering his face with his hands. “What the hell is going on?”