Warrant (Righteous Outlaws #1)(25)

Aubree sat up behind me, pulling her clothes back into place. Her lips  parted, and tears filled her eyes. "Daddy, I can explain."

"Daddy?" I exclaimed, looking from Aubree to the doc.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" the doc said just before he lunged at me.





Aubree





Daddy's eyes were filled with rage as he lunged at Cash. He knocked into  him, taking down a shelf. Shock and disbelief completely consumed me as  I watched my father attack the man I was falling hopelessly in love  with. This was worse than any nightmare, because I knew there was no  waking up from this. If I didn't do something. If I didn't intervene,  they would kill each other.

Dad's fist came flying at Cash, and Cash ducked, causing Dad to punch  the wall. He cried out, grabbing his hand. "Daddy, no!" I yelled. He was  a surgeon; he needed that hand. If he did damage, he wouldn't be able  to work. He wasn't thinking clearly, and I needed to be his brains.  "Please stop!" I begged, hoping that my voice would snap him out of the  dark place he slipped into. My words couldn't reach him though. Nothing  could. Dad continued to throw more punches and Cash continued to dodge  them. I looked around the room for something I could use to restrain  him.

"How dare you touch my fucking daughter?!"

"I didn't know she was your daughter!" Cash yelled, trying to defend  himself, but it was as if a switch flipped in Dad. Nothing was getting  through to him. The look of fiery rage burned brightly in his eyes, and  only grew with each passing second.

Cash held him by the shoulders, determined to hold him back. I knew he  was resisting using his full strength because of me. I didn't know what  else to do, so I jumped in front of Cash as Dad brought his fist back.

It came at me in slow motion like a movie just before something bad was  about to happen. "No!" Cash yelled out, and grabbed Dad's fist before it  made contact with my face. He threw Dad on the floor, seething with a  murderous glare.

I had to do something and I prayed that my pleas would work better on  Cash than they did on Dad. Cash raised his hand above his head ready to  strike. "Cash, stop." I grabbed his wrist, halting him from beating  Dad's face to a pulp. "Please. Don't hurt him. Please," I begged, and he  snapped his eyes to mine. The deathly glower dissipated as he rose to  his feet. He took my face in his hands, resting his forehead against  mine. "Are you okay, Sunshine?"

"I'm okay," I assured him, and then broke away to check on Dad who was pushing himself up from the floor.

"Daddy, here let me help you." I went to grab his arm to help him up,  and he snatched his whole body away from me. "Daddy?" Tears filled my  eyes as, for the first time in my life, I saw my father look at me in  total and utter disgust.

Dad pulled at his collar, and swiveled his neck back and forth. "What  are you doing with this dirtbag?" he demanded as he got to his feet.

"He's not a dirtbag!" I sneered, and then looked at Cash with a silent apology.                       
       
           



       

"He's a criminal, Aubree. A goddamned criminal."

"You don't even know him!"

"And you do?" Dad questioned with venom in his tone.

I went to speak, to defend Cash, but Dad held his hand up halting me.

"Aubree, we're leaving." I didn't move. I stood between Cash and my  father, an impossible decision lingering before me. Do I alienate my  father? A man I loved and respected. A man who worked hard and gave me  everything. Or do I give up Cash, the man I was falling hard for? "Now!"  Dad yelled, and I jumped at the pure ferociousness in his tone.  Something I never heard before, and didn't even know he was capable of.

"No! I'm not going." I crossed my arms in defiance, finally taking a  stand for myself. I was so tired of him thinking he could make my  decisions for me. I might have lived under his roof, and loved him  unconditionally, but that didn't make me his puppet. I was an adult, and  this was my choice. It was time for him to respect my decisions and  stop treating me like a child.

"Fine, you want to act like a child, then I will treat you like a  child." Dad's hand latched onto my wrist, and he pulled with an angry  yank.

I stumbled forward and a surprised squeak spilled out.

Cash lunged toward us. "Don't you fucking touch her!" He stood in front  of Dad, blocking our path, and hovering over him by several inches. Cash  looked down at Dad, moving closer to him with each second.

He eyed my father with a murderous glare, and I couldn't take it  anymore. I couldn't stand to watch these two fight about me. This was  all my fault. I knew Dad would never approve of someone like Cash, and  that was the main reason I went after him. Kind of like a "eff you" to  Dad to show that I didn't fit into this perfect little box that he tried  to mold me into. In hindsight it might not have been an adult thing to  do, but I had no regrets.

I just never expected to fall for Cash the way I did. It was so quick  and so easy. He came into my life like a tornado, uprooting everything I  ever thought I knew about myself, and changing me. I never believed in  soul mates, but for a second there I thought maybe they were real. I  wanted him so badly, but I wasn't sure if the cost of losing my family  was worth it.

"Daddy," I said, again, this time tears cascading down my cheeks. "Let's go."

My gaze swung to Cash's, and I might as well have drove a knife through  his heart. He stumbled back, a man stripped of power and control in this  situation. I did that to him, and I didn't feel stronger. All I felt  was complete and total remorse and overwhelming sadness.

His eyes looked deep into mine, a quiet plea not to leave him. But, what  other choice did I have? As much as I wanted him, I didn't want to give  up my family. I mouthed, "I'm sorry," and walked away from Cash again,  knowing this time it was for good.

Out in the hallway, I straightened myself up, and ran a hand down my front to make sure nothing was out of place.

"Where have you two been?" Mom's voice echoed off the walls, as she and William appeared at the end of the hallway.

"My button broke, and Aubree was helping me fix it." Dad said the lie so  easily; it just rolled his tongue. I wondered how many other lies he  had told so easily over the years.

I cleared my throat, fighting back the emotion that was clawing its way  to the surface. "It's good as new now," I said, with a perkiness I  didn't think I could manage.

"Good, now let's get back. There are people asking for you, and we have  dinner reservations in an hour at the club," Mom said, as she glanced at  her Cartier watch.

"I'm not going to be able to make it to dinner," Dad said.

"What?" Mom exclaimed. "You missed dinner the other night. What can be so important that you have to miss it again?"

Dad ran a hand down his arm. "I just have a lot of paperwork at the  office. It can't wait till tomorrow," Dad said, and I knew it was  another lie. He just couldn't stand to be in the same room with me. He  didn't want to sit across from me at dinner. Didn't want to be reminded  of what a disappointment I was to him. It was going to kill him and the  realization tore at my heart, ripping it to a million tiny pieces. I was  not only humiliated, but hurt that my own father couldn't stand to be  in my presence.

"You okay?" William asked, and draped his arm around my shoulders,  pulling me gently against him. He was warm and safe, but, in that  moment, it suddenly became abundantly clear to me. Warm and safe would  never be enough for me when I knew hot and dangerous was in my reach. I  craved it and the need for it was stronger than anything I had ever felt  before.                       
       
           



       

We all made our way to the door, but I couldn't help myself from  glancing back. Cash stood in the doorway like a shadow. I searched his  face, trying to determine what he was feeling. To know that he  understood my decision and was just as heartbroken as me. But, as I  scanned all his hard lines, I found nothing. He was completely devoid of  emotion.





Cash





I'd been shot, stabbed, and tortured. All of which caused unbearable  pain, yet having Aubree choose her father over me rivaled them all.  Anger surged through my veins as I watched her walk away from me with  that douchebag's arm wrapped around her shoulder as if he owned her. He  didn't own shit. She was mine, and I needed her back.

Determination outweighed the anger, and I set off after them. Just as  they pushed through the doors, Kade came in. He pointed over his  shoulder. "Was that panty girl with the doctor?" he asked, but then the  laugh lines around his face dissolved. It took one glance for him to  know shit wasn't okay.