Chapter Twenty-Nine Ava
W hen Nick came home from work, he found me pacing the living room with a half-empty wine bottle in my hand and my phone in the other. His eyes widened with concern. “What’s wrong? Is it Wesley?”
I shook my head. “No. Not this time.”
He exhaled in relief. “Is Piper okay?”
Waving my phone, I replied, “Yeah. She’s upstairs in the playroom.”
He took the wine bottle from me and set it down on the end table. “Is downing half a bottle of wine about seeing Dare today?”
“In a way.”
His dark brows furrowed. “Come on, Ava. Talk to me.”
“This afternoon after I got home from Boston, Dare came to the house.”
“He wasn’t backing out was he?”
“Oh no. He’s fully invested. He insisted on sending me home with bodyguards. I didn’t even get to drive home.”
Furrowing his brows, Nick argued, “I didn’t see any guys outside.”
“One’s at the backdoor and another is parked across the street facing the house.”
Nick nodded. “So what happened when he came here?”
As Dare’s expression at seeing Piper flashed before my eyes, I reached for the wine bottle. “Piper answered the door.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “Fuck.”
“Exactly.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing. The instant he put two and two together he ran out of here.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Shaking my head, I took a long drag of wine. “I wish.”
“I can’t believe the big bad mafia man ran at the sight of his daughter.”
“Me either. I thought for sure he would go off on me for not telling him.”
At the ring of the doorbell, Nick and I shot out of our seats. When I grabbed my phone to check the app, I gasped.
“Is it Wesley?”
“No. It’s Dare.”
He grimaced. “Do you want me to get the door?”
I shook my head. “Considering I asked the man to murder my ex today, I think I can handle it.”
My bravado was all a facade. Fear held me in a vise. Considering he’d driven an hour back to my house, there was no telling what kind of mood I was going to find him in.
When I opened the door, Dare’s dark energy permeated the porch. I hoped he couldn’t hear the sound of my rapidly beating heart. “Hello, Dare.”
“We need to talk.”
I nodded. Stepping out of the way, I ushered him inside. At the sight of Nick in the living room, Dare’s tense body language eased up slightly. “Hey Nick,” he said pleasantly.
“Hey, man. Good to see you.”
After they clapped hands and backs, Nick said, “I think I’ll go grab a drink and let you two talk.”
While I bobbed my head in agreement, Dare replied, “Thanks for keeping an eye on things.”
“That’s what family is for, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Call me when you need me,” Nick said.
“Okay,” I whispered.
When the door closed behind Nick, I swallowed down my rising nerves. “Would you like to sit down?”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Look, Dare, you have every right to be angry–”
“Anger doesn’t even remotely cover my emotions right now. Livid. Betrayed. Traumatized. Those are the words that describe me.”
“I’m sorry. I truly am.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
I stared down at the intricate patterns on the rug. “Not if I could help it.”
“Fuck you, Ava!” Dare blared.
As I jerked my head up, fury replaced my fear. “How dare you speak to me that way?”
“How dare you deceive me in such a way as to keep my child from me?” he growled.
“I’m a mother. It’s my job to protect my child.”
“She’s mine too.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Now that I know she exists, I’m not going to allow you to keep her from me.”
I sucked in a harsh breath. While I’d expected his wrath, I hadn’t foreseen this. “But you never wanted kids. You told me so yourself,” I protested.
“And you said the same. Yet here you’ve been playing mommy for three years while keeping my daughter from me.”
“I didn’t want her to be a part of your world.”
“Bullshit. You didn’t want to have me in your world.”
“You’re right. I didn’t.”
“So you deprived me of being a father. You deprived your daughter of having a father.” Posturing his hands on his hips, Dare sneered, “Whose the monster now, Ava?”
Tears stung my eyes at his tone and words. But I quickly slipped my mask back in place. “What kind of father would you possibly be for her? Torturing men a floor down while she sleeps in her bedroom? Bringing a revolving door of women around her?”
“Doesn’t seem like you were thinking of Piper when you spread your legs for an abuser.”
As red painted my vision, my palm cracked against his cheek. “You pompous bastard!”
Dare narrowed his eyes at me. “The truth is one of us brought danger to Piper’s door, and it wasn’t me.”
“I hate you,” I spat.
“I don’t give a shite about how you feel. This isn’t about you or me anymore. It’s about our daughter.” Smacking his hand against his chest, Dare replied, “I won’t ever let you keep her from me again!”
Fear ricocheted through me. “You won’t take her away.”
“Watch me.”
“No judge in their right mind would award you any custody with your background.”
Dare sneered at me. “You don’t want to test my power, Ava.”
I gasped. “Are you threatening me?”
“Just stating facts.”
“How can you be so cruel?”
“Me? I’m the cruel one? You kept my daughter’s existence a secret from me. You denied me experiencing her being born, taking her first steps…” He shuddered. “Calling me daddy.”
“I did what I had to do.”
“By coming to enlist my help to kill the man hurting you, your cruelty deepened even further because you still didn’t tell me about her. I could’ve gone my entire life not knowing about her.” He shook his head painfully. “You’re a cruel hearted bitch, Ava.”
The mask of strength I’d kept up evaporated at his words. For the first time, I saw myself through Dare’s eyes. How hurtful my choices had been.
And I hated myself more than he did.
A sob tore loose from my chest. Sweeping my hands over my face, I wept openly, not caring what Dare thought of me.
A commotion came from behind me. Jerking my hands away from my face, I watched in horror as Piper came charging forward with her t-ball bat in hand.
Before I could stop her, she whacked Dare in the knees. “Feckin’ hell!” he shouted in agony as he collapsed to the floor.
Piper moved to stand over him, glaring down at him with the bat raised and ready to strike again. “Piper, no!” I cried.
“You hurt Mommy!” Piper shouted as Dare rubbed his knees.
With wide-eyes, Dare stared at Piper. I steeled myself for his rage. But instead of losing his shit, Dare threw back his head with a laugh. “She’s a Kavanaugh all right.”
Piper tilted her head at me. “Mommy, what’s a kava…”
As her auburn brows furrowed, Dare replied, “Kavanaugh.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s not what but who.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jerking his chin at her, Dare said, “Do you think you could lower that bat?”
Without missing a beat, she said, “Do you prowmise not to make mommy cwy?”
“I promise.”
As Piper slowly lowered the bat, I jerked it away from her. With a disapproving look, I shook my head at her. “I can’t believe you just did that! What has Mommy said about hitting people?”
“Only if they hits you first.”
Snorting, Dare countered, “So you don’t object to violence now?”
I whirled around to narrow my eyes at him. “As a girl, it’s necessary to teach her not to take any shit.”
Holding his hands up, Dare replied, “I completely agree.”
Glancing between the two of us, Piper asked, “Who is he?”
Staring at Dare, I nibbled on my lip. Did I tell her who he really was now, or did I wait for her to get to know him a little better? So far she hadn’t even asked about a father. I thought when she started preschool and started seeing fathers that she would. My therapist explained that all her needs were being met by me and my family, so she didn’t feel an absence.
Dare anticipated my dilemma. Holding out his hand, he said, “I’m your mommy’s friend, Dare Kavanaugh.”
She thrust out her tiny hand to Dare. “Hi.”
The corners of Dare’s lips quirked. “Hello.”
When he took Piper’s hand in his, tears stung my eyes. It was such a small gesture, but it also meant so much.
“It’s nice meeting you, Piper,” Dare said. I couldn’t help noticing how his voice was filled with emotion.
To Piper, it was much more inconsequential. She quickly turned her attention to me. “I’m hungwy.”
“I’ll start dinner in just a minute.”
Piper scrunched her nose up. “But I’s hungwy now.”
“Why don’t I take you guys out to dinner?” Dare suggested.
Considering we’d been at each other’s throats only moments before Piper had appeared, I couldn’t imagine sitting in a restaurant with him, acting as if we were a happy little family. “Um, I’m not sure about that.”
Ignoring me, Dare focused on Piper. “Where’s your favorite place to eat?”
Her blue eyes bulged. “I gets to pick?”
“Yep.”
Inwardly, I groaned as she did a happy dance around the kitchen. I want to go to Bowlerama.”
His brows furrowed. “You like bowling?”
“She likes the game room.”
Dare nodded. “And what do you eat there?”
“Pizza!” Piper shrieked excitedly.
“Sounds good to me.” Dare’s gaze flickered to mine. “What about you?”
“I don’t think I’m up to going out.”
Dare countered, “Then I can just take Piper myself.”
As fury filled me, I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s not happening.”
His self-assured smirk slunk across his face. “Then I guess you’re coming with us because Piper and me are getting pizza.”
“Yeah, pizza!” Piper exclaimed as she danced around the kitchen.
“Fine,” I grumbled.
“Then let’s go,” Dare said, holding out his hand to Piper.
As she happily slid her hand into his, I mumbled under my breath, “Traitor.”