Chapter 16
Daria
Killian had no idea how much it frightened me to confront my father, or how much it meant to me that he was there, guarding my back.
I hadn’t told him to get lost. I hadn’t told him he was ridiculous for his ‘love at first sight’ thing, either.
Against all odds, I was starting to believe it could be true.
Pike and Stella would never believe that cynical old me was starting to have fuzzy feelings.
I guess believing in love could be my New Year’s resolution.
The hallway was dark, but I’d visited my father’s home plenty of times to know the layout. He never locked his door either but relied on his security system to give him an advanced warning. He would already know exactly who was stepping into his home.
I guided Killian down the hallway to my father’s study, the only light in the house bleeding from the crack beneath the door. There were no guards, not yet, but I didn’t doubt that they were only a short distance away. As important as my father was, he was never without a security detail.
The door opened silently, and I drew in a breath filled with familiar smells.
The houses might have been different growing up, being a military brat, but he always furnished his office the same way.
Old books, a beautiful Persian rug, and the faint scent of the cigars he liked to smoke.
He was exactly where I expected him to be, and he looked the same as I remembered.
Maybe there was a hint more gray at his temples, but his face wore the same stern expression as always.
“Daria, what a surprise. You haven’t visited in so long,” he said, rising to his feet as he straightened the jacket of the tuxedo he wore.
His bow tie was missing, and the shirt unbuttoned at the collar, but that was the only concession he’d made to relaxing in his home when he returned from whatever fancy meeting or New Year’s party he’d been at.
I met the soft brown eyes that I’d inherited from him and rolled a shoulder.
“What? A daughter can’t drop by to wish her father a happy New Year?
” We both knew I’d never do that, and that he wouldn’t even want me to.
He didn’t care about frivolities, he cared about power and appearances.
Since I was not the son he’d wanted, and I’d absolutely refused to conform to the path he’d set out for me, I was forever a failure in his eyes.
He opened his mouth to say something sharp, something about my scruffy clothes maybe, or how I still hadn’t given up my risk-taking behavior and gotten into a respectable career.
Then his eyes caught on Killian when my alien followed me into the office; they went comically wide.
I’d never seen that kind of expression on my father before. I liked it.
“Fine,” I said, and I crossed to the desk and planted myself on the edge.
I knew exactly which drawer he kept his gun in, and I conveniently blocked it with my leg.
“You caught me. I’m really just here to look you in the eye and hear the truth.
Tell me, Dad.” I drew in a deep breath and made sure the body cam was recording his face.
“Are you really brokering a deal with aliens to make Earth soldiers fight their wars?”
His eyes narrowed in that glare I knew so well, the one laden with disappointment, a bit put upon as if it bothered him that I was wasting his time. He was going to deflect, I knew that because it was a skill he’d taught me.
“Are you really asking me that when you’re the one who walked into my office with one of them?
” He jabbed a finger over my shoulder at Killian, and I heard my golden alien rumble in response.
Those were the beginnings of an angry growl, and I had a feeling I needed to make sure this didn’t escalate.
“Alien? I brought my boyfriend, that’s all,” I said mildly, and watched with satisfaction as that made my father do a double take.
It also made Killian cut off the angry noise abruptly, and I imagined that he too suddenly looked my way in surprise.
I guess I’d made him think I wasn’t going to be amenable to that whole lovey-dovey thing he had going, but I was starting to get the hang of my feelings now.
“You’re General Alvin Marcus. One of the most influential people in the United States military.
Are you going to tell me you know jack shit about the biggest deal going down in history?
They kept you out of the loop?” Playing on his ego always worked, always.
It helped that though he’d seen my camera, he’d assume I would never be able to walk away with the video.
A silent alarm had already gone out. Troops were converging on us as we spoke, maybe even waiting outside. I was sure that Killian would know. His handler, Callum, had been well-informed of troop movements so far. I also knew all the secrets my father’s home held, including the secret passage out.
As I’d expected, the taunt worked beautifully.
My father straightened, his still bulky shoulders filling out the white shirt.
“I know everything!” he barked out. “The Dragnell and the Praxidar are going to make Earth one of the biggest nations in the entire Alpha Quadrant. The cost of supplying troops is worth that, to cement our position.”
I quirked a brow, which I knew infuriated him, always had.
When I remained silent, he tried to reason with me, a last attempt to convince me that his power-grabbing ways were the right way.
“You can see how manpower is but a small price to pay for the power we’ll hold over other nations in our galaxy?
Power is everything, Daria. You should know that by now. ”
I shook my head, and I realized that I wasn’t feeling angry so much as sad at hearing him talk. “No, power isn’t everything. Not at the cost of lives. Knowledge is a worthy pursuit, but we’ve always disagreed on that, haven’t we, Dad?”
That’s when Alvin Marcus changed tactics, not even left with so much as a hint of fatherly instinct.
“You know you’ll never succeed. You’ll never get out of this house.
Why did you come here? I didn’t raise an idiot.
” He stepped away from the desk, ignored how Killian moved aside to make sure his exit was blocked and reached for the bookshelf.
That was the secret passage I’d been counting on, and my escape route was quickly snatched away when it sprung open, and a monster stepped out.
“Meet Roavar, the alien Mullberry, was supposed to hand that data to. He’d like his data chip now.
” The creature, eight feet tall and covered in brown fur, was like a wolf on two legs.
With a giant maw that he pulled into a feral grin, silvery blue eyes glinting at me from the darkness of his snout.
That look said it all. It said: I’m going to swallow you whole.
We were screwed. I looked over my shoulder at Killian, an apology already on my lips, and discovered he was gone.