CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Victoria
"Wake up, Sweetheart." Joey's voice pulled me slowly from sleep. I smiled but didn't want to open my eyes just yet as he wrapped his arms around me. "Come on, I see that smile. Open those pretty brown eyes for me."
"Five more minutes?" I groaned, blinking a few times as I opened my eyes to look at him. "What time is it?"
"Probably after nine, if I had to guess. But I don't have to guess that it's time to get you some breakfast. Your stomach growling in your sleep said enough." He offered a little lopsided smile as my vision focused a little better. He kissed me gently and pulled away. "How do you feel?"
I considered myself for a moment, stretching and rolling my joints. I could feel the soreness in my hips and from the bruised spots on my body, but it was a delicious reminder of the night before. After we returned to the house, he'd run me a bath to soothe my bruises. It wasn't as effective because he'd joined me this time, and the water was cold when we left the large tub.
"I feel good. Don't worry, no harm done, babe." I smiled and booped his nose before pushing the covers off of us. "Wanna see what Craig is cooking up? I need a shower."
"Want some help?" He asked with a sly grin and waggled his eyebrows. I couldn't help but laugh at him, grabbing a small decorative pillow to help shove him toward the edge of the bed.
"I'd like to leave my room today, perv. Go on, see what's for breakfast," I said as I moved toward the bathroom. Maybe there was more swing to my hips than necessary before I shut the door behind me.
After my shower, I dressed in a loose t-shirt and sweats before heading toward the dining room. Hushed arguing in the foyer caught my attention just as I cleared the corner. My father stood just beyond the threshold, barely visible around Rich's broad back.
"This is my house, and if I want to see my daughter, you will allow me to see her." My father hissed.
"Dad?" I called out, my feet carrying me toward the commotion.
"Honeybee. Tell this fool to get out of my way before I find someone better suited to keeping you safe."
I placed a hand on Rich's upper back and pressed softly. His face turned to me, his eyes a maelstrom of worry. Ignoring the butterflies that had erupted in my stomach under his gaze, I stepped around him to address my father.
"What are you doing here, Dad?"
"I called the center looking for you, and was told you hadn't been in several days. That someone had ransacked your office there and left a clear threat to you behind. I needed to be sure that you were alright, Honeybee." His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "I can't lose you like we lost your mother."
"I'm fine, Dad." I sighed, not sure how to react.
Since my mother's death, my father had flipped from hot to cold on a dime. One minute, he ignored me for months; the next, he asked to make amends. And before that could happen, he treated me like property rather than a person. The man who had doted on me and read me bedtime stories as a child was gone, and I didn't recognize the man standing in his place.
"I should have been told there'd been a threat against you." He replied, crowding my space and forcing me to step back.
"If we had thought it would prove fruitful, we would have told you, Hugo." Rich spoke as he placed his hands on my shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze as he stopped my back from colliding with his chest. "After the way you treated her at that dinner of yours, we didn't feel it was prudent to allow you to trample all over her again."
My father's face twisted like he'd smelled something disgusting. "I'm speaking to my daughter, not you." His face softened when he looked back at me. "Please, Honeybee. We should talk. I've been worried to death about the things I heard this morning, and I just need to reassure myself that you're alright."
I sighed, and my shoulders slumped forward. Whatever bliss from the night before that had clung to me this morning was wiped away in my father's face.
"Fine, come in. I'm sure Craig is whipping up something good for breakfast. We can talk and eat at the same time."
My father frowned as he stepped over the threshold. "I didn't expect you to become so familiar with your bodyguards."
I decided to let that go without responding, knowing there was a chance that no matter what my answer was, he wouldn't be happy with it. Rich released my shoulders and stood off to one side, giving me a concerned look like he was trying to tell me he'd have my father removed if I wanted it. I gave him a small smile and patted his arm to return the reassuring gesture from a moment ago, and he fell in step behind me.
My father followed close behind as I led the way to the breakfast nook. We'd barely left the foyer when he spoke.
"Everything looks exactly the same, and yet it's not." He mumbled. "I haven't been here since… well, your mother."
My shoulders tensed at the pain in his voice, my steps faltering for just a second. Rich shot me a questioning glance.
"Princess?" His voice was soft but concerned, and I shook my head in response.
"I'm fine."
I didn't want to vocalize that the ache in my chest wasn't because my father sounded like he was in such pain. It was just the memory of her resurfacing in any way. I wished it was different, but the way he'd iced me out after her passing made it difficult to sympathize with his feelings after he'd left me to deal with mine alone.
I first saw Leighton setting the table when we stepped into the breakfast nook. The domesticity of his actions was strange, given his usual behavior. Instead of commenting on it, I turned toward the kitchen, intent on finding a cup of coffee before I dealt with whatever my father had to say.
"Looking a little tenderized this morning, ma petit ." Leighton chuckled, abandoning his task in favor of bee-lining toward me.
He stopped close enough that my chest brushed his with every inhale, but his eyes were focused on something over my shoulder. Turning my head to follow his line of sight, I wasn't surprised to find him locked in some sort of staring competition with my father.
"I didn't realize Joey had it in him," Leighton murmured low enough that I wasn't sure he meant for me to hear as he lifted his hand to brush the bite mark just above the nape of my neck with his thumb.
"If you are quite done accosting my daughter." My father barked.
"Only if she's done being accosted." Leighton laughed as he winked at me.
"Figured you'd need this." Joey's voice drew the attention from Leighton's goading as he entered the room with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand.
I pushed Leighton lightly so that I could step around him and closed the distance between me and Joey, taking the cup from him.
"You're a lifesaver," I whispered, causing him to chuckle.
"These too," he said and held out a couple of ibuprofen for me. "For–"
"Thank you," I said quickly before there was something else for my father to bark about.
I tossed back the pills with a sip of coffee and watched my father move to the head of the table before glancing at each of the other men in disgust.
"Where's your leader?" He asked finally. "I was under the impression when the five of you barged into my office two months ago, demanding I allow you to prove his innocence, that his number one priority would be Victoria's safety."
"Dad–"
"No, Honeybee." My father leaned forward in his chair and motioned for me to sit beside him. "Someone destroyed everything you and your mother worked to build and, if what I've been told is true, left an apparent threat against you behind. If these men aren't ensuring your safety, then it's high time you come home."
"There are four of us here to protect her. She's not any less protected because the boss is tending to business this morning." Craig's voice came from the doorway as he entered the room with a plate of ricotta hotcakes that smelled heavenly.
Rich pulled out the chair at the foot of the table and motioned for me to sit. I slid into the seat easily, squaring my shoulders as the guys seemed to file into a semi-circle behind me. Craig placed the plate before me and stepped back to stand beside them. The butterflies in my chest were going insane.
My father's lips pinched together in distaste as he took in the men surrounding me before he turned his attention to me. His good eye softened in a way I hadn't seen since before my mother's death, and I could feel the ache in my chest building as it silently pled for my forgiveness.
"Honeybee," He started. "I know I've made an absolute mess of things, but you are the most important and precious thing in my life." His shoulders slumped as he collapsed inward on himself. I'd never seen my father look so small. "I know you're unhappy with the situation I've forced you into and maybe that's why you didn't call me when your office at the center was destroyed. I just… I don't know how to do this without her."
"Dad," I said softly.
"No," He interrupted, raising a hand to stop me. "I've been a shit father. I don't deserve your understanding. I wouldn't blame you if you never spoke to me again, but I needed to come here and at least try to start making things right." He took a breath and straightened his posture. "There's a charity event for the Sacona Children's Hospital next week. That's part of why I wanted to know where their boss was. I've bought a table for you and your bodyguards so that you can attend and maybe you can start piecing your donor list for the center back together."
"I'm not really sure what to say, Dad. This is… It's very generous of you." I replied hesitantly.
"I understand if you would rather not accept the table." My father spoke. "I haven't had such a good track record lately, but I hope you will see this for what it is. An old man's attempt to make amends with his only daughter. Theo will be there as well, what with his niece on the board and all. If you don't want to go, I'm sure he'd be happy to gather some donor information for you. I just… I thought this was something you might want to do yourself, though. You were always like your mother in that way. Independent to a fault."
"I'll think about it, Dad. The guys will probably want to check things out before I accept, to make sure it's safe, since that's what they're here for."
"Of course, Honeybee," my father smiled as he stood from his chair and made his way to where I sat. "I'll just leave the information with one of them and see myself out. I've taken enough time out of your day. I'm sure you don't want to spend another second of it listening to your old man ramble on." He leaned down and gave me a stiff, unfamiliar hug before righting himself and looking at the guys. "Which one of you should I leave the information with?"
"I'll take it." Rich offered, gesturing for my father to follow him.
As their footsteps receded down the gallery hall, I finally took in the deep breath I hadn't realized I couldn't take before and sagged in my chair slightly. The guys all immediately seemed to come back to life as they stepped out from behind me and moved around the breakfast nook and the kitchen. It felt like a weight in the room had just lifted.
"I don't even think I have a gown for this kind of charity event." I remarked to no one in particular as I poked the food on my plate with a fork.
" Ma petit démone , we'll get you taken care of," Leighton offered with a grin, returning to the table with his own plate of hotcakes. "You know any of us would be happy to hold your purse while you shop."