Chapter 11
Ramsey~
I had just walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around my waist, when my phone rang with that familiar, dreaded, unwelcomed ringtone.
My fucking father.
I swiped to answer, though I really didn’t want to. “Yeah?”
“Is that any way to greet your father?” he asked, actually sounding affronted.
I didn’t have time for his shit. “What do you want, Dad?” I asked, getting straight to the point.
I could hear him sigh on the other end of the phone. “I’m in Kansas City, doing some…consulting, and I will probably be here for a few months longer,” he answered.
So?
I stopped caring long ago where he and my mother were at, or if they were planning on ever coming home or not. What the fuck was he calling me to tell me about this shit for? “And I give a fuck why?”
“Careful how you speak to me, Ramsey. I am still your father,” he reminded me coolly.
“Yeah?” I bit out. “Well, if I were you, I’d be careful not to confuse who I’m speaking with, either. Now cut the shit, Dad, and tell me why you’re calling?”
“I heard a rumor that you’re running with some poor girl from some fucked-up hick town whose father murdered her mother,” he finally said, telling me exactly why he was calling me.
“Yeah? And where did you hear that from?”
Truth be told, he could have heard it from anyone in this fucking town. Damn near everyone had either their mouths closed over his dick, or their lips permanently attached to his ass. So, I wasn’t surprised that someone would call him and tell him that I was running after Emerson. Hell, me running after any girl was newsworthy in this town, but the fact that it was Emerson, well, that made it sensationalized news.
“Is it true?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“Yeah, and so?”
“Y…yeah, and…and so?” my father sputtered, and Colby Reed never sputtered. “What the fuck do you mean, ‘yeah, and so’? Have you lost your mind running around with trash, Ramsey?”
“You’re going to talk to me about running around with trash?” I let a heartbeat of silence pass. “Really, Dad?”
“Pick another girl, Ramsey,” he barked, and those words-the same that had been uttered by Emerson earlier-had my demons scratching at the surface of my skin.
I’d meant what I’d said to her earlier; there wasn’t another girl like her. I wanted Emerson like I’d never wanted anything else in my life. I wanted to ruin her and protect her all at the same time.
Fuck, how I wanted to hurt her though.
My father was still going on and on about all the other more suitable females that I could choose from when I cut him off. “No.”
“Rams-”
“I. Said. No,” I growled, not letting him finish. He was out of his fucking mind if he thought that I would ever give up Emerson.
“Ramsey, you have obligations,” he reminded me. “Do you think that girl is going to understand that?”
I was very aware of my obligations. After graduation, I was to go to college at Blaineview, then graduate from there with as many degrees in finance as I possibly could. After that, I would start working for my father in all capacities and learn all the tricks to balancing that fine line between criminal and upstanding citizen. However, what my father didn’t know was that I had no intentions of taking over his business. I wasn’t going to be anyone’s bitch, and that included the Mafia’s.
“I haven’t forgotten what’s expected of me, Dad. Trust me,” I shot back. “But I’m not giving that girl up for anything or anyone, so deal with it.”
Colby Reed let out a deep sigh. “Son, listen to-”
“No,” I said again. “She’s mine, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.” Then a dark thought occurred to me, so I added, “And if you’re entertaining the thought of taking her from me, I feel that I must advise you on that subject, Father.” My next words were the most serious that had ever left my mouth. “I will fucking kill you if you dare to try to rid me of her.”
I could hear the intake of his breath on the other end of the line. I would bet everything that I owned that he was seething at being threatened by his eighteen-year-old son. Hell, being threatened by anyone. However, I wasn’t just anyone, and he knew it; having to deal with the monster that he’d created and all that.
There were a few heartbeats of silence before he finally said, “Just make sure that she knows her role, Ramsey.”
I barked out a laugh. That was rich. “You’re seriously going to lecture me on how to keep my woman under control?” I snorted. I couldn’t help it. “By the way, where’s Mom at, Dad?”
“You know, Ramsey,” he started to say, “one day, you’re going to meet someone tougher and crazier than you are, and it’s not going to end well.”
I thought about Emerson.
“I’ve already met someone tougher and crazier than I am, Dad,” I informed him. “All that’s doing is showing me how to be tougher and crazier than they are.”
“Hmm,” he mumbled right before hanging up on me.
I tossed the phone on my bed, then walked towards the closet to finally start getting dressed for the lake party tonight. I also wasn’t overly concerned with my father. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear if he had a plethora of scattered bastards all over the world. If I didn’t fall in line, he could always pluck one of his other children out of the crowd, then groom them to follow in his footsteps.
My mother was also a complete non-issue. She didn’t care what I did as long as she had plenty of money in her bank accounts. Grace Reed had done her duty by giving my father a son, so as far as she was concerned, she’d earned her dues. The rest of it-and by rest, I meant my upbringing-wasn’t her problem.
Looking at my clothes, I’d never been one to dress to impress. Hell, I’d never been one to try to impress anyone for any reason, so I just threw on a plain dark blue shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of white Nikes, brushed my hair enough to say that it’d been brushed, then was ready to leave to the party.
I stuffed my wallet in the back pocket of my jeans, then grabbed my car keys and phone. Hopping down the stairs, I dialed Emerson. I had invaded her privacy on the first day of school by scrolling through her phone and stealing her phone number. However, this was the first time that I’d ever called her.
She answered on the second ring, probably wondering who the fuck was calling her. No one called each other anymore; everyone fucking texted. “Hello?”
“I’m leaving for the party now,” I rattled off, not even introducing myself. “I’d better see you there, Emerson.”
I heard her cluck her tongue. “So, then what you’re saying is that you’re going to be partaking in hallucinogenic drugs? Because that’s the only way that you’ll be seeing me there tonight, Ramsey.”
I stopped at the foot of the stairs. “You know what, Emerson?”
“What?” she sassed.
“I hope that you do make me come after you, baby,” I told her honestly. “I hope like hell that you make me chase after you. It’ll be that much more explosive when I catch you.”
She laughed into the phone. “Ramsey, Ramsey, Ramsey,” she taunted. “What happens when you finally find me, but I’m not alone?”
I had to count to ten and take a deep breath. I knew what she was doing; she was giving as good as she was getting. However, that particular threat wasn’t a wise one. She was insinuating that she was single, and she wasn’t.
Not by a fucking long shot.
We might not be in a traditional boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, but Emerson was mine, and mine alone. The sooner that she understood that fact, the better.
“I dare you to go to another guy, Emerson,” I growled into the phone, my voice dark and low. “Let me catch you with another guy. Let me hear that you’ve been with another guy, and he’ll never be able to walk again, much less fuck.”
“You can’t tell me what to do or who to see, Shepherd. Don’t forget,” she retorted, “I’m not one of your goddamn sheep.”
This fucking girl.
“I swear to God, Emerson, if you let another guy put his hands on you, I will unleash a hell upon you the likes of which you have never seen.” The very idea had my vision colored red. “You think your father murdering your mother was the worst thing that could ever happen to you? Try me, Emerson. Fucking try me,” I seethed, and then hung up before I could say anything more.
This. Fucking. Girl.