Chapter Five #2
I felt Sully shift beside me, processing this information.
I wondered if he’d pull away now, realizing exactly what kind of complication I represented.
Because Tonio Miles wasn’t just any father.
He was second in command of one of the most powerful crime families in the South.
Hell, some said he had as much power as his father, Seth.
Seth was the official head, but the way it had been explained to me was that Seth was transitioning Tonio Miles to run the family so Seth could retire.
The point was, Miles was a man not many people would cross.
And he could crush Sully and his entire club without breaking a sweat if he chose to.
Sully didn’t step away. Instead, his hand slid from the small of my back to my waist, firmly anchoring me to his side as he faced down one of the most dangerous men in Nashville.
“I see,” was all he said. From the look in his eyes as his gaze shifted from me to Sully and back, I thought he might see.
Tonio took a step toward me, then seemed to reconsider. His gaze lingered on the bruise spreading across my cheek. His expression remained controlled, but I caught the slight tightening of his jaw, the narrowing of his eyes.
“You’re injured,” he stated, his voice carrying an edge to it I’d not heard in our previous encounters.
“Brilliant observation,” I replied, leaning more heavily against Sully than I strictly needed to. “Did your Harvard education teach you that?”
If my jab bothered him, he didn’t show it. “I understand you were attacked by men claiming to act on my behalf.”
“Just another Tuesday for me,” I shrugged, then winced as the movement sent pain shooting through my ribs. “Though they did mention a certain someone was looking for his long-lost daughter. Can’t imagine who that might be.”
Tonio’s eyes flickered briefly to Sully, then back to me.
“I’ve been making inquiries, yes. As Knight so eloquently reminded me, I practically painted a target on your back.
” He didn’t look happy at all. Like he finally realized he’d fucked up and how much it could have cost him.
“I never authorized anyone to approach you with violence,” he said, his tone hardening.
“The men who hurt you will be dealt with.”
The chill in his voice when he said “dealt with” made even my skin crawl. I almost felt sorry for Jenkins, currently being “questioned” somewhere in this compound. Almost. Okay, not really, but I’m trying to be a better person.
“Well, that’s comforting,” I said, infusing my voice with as much sarcasm as I could muster. “I’ll sleep better knowing you’ll murder some random thugs who roughed me up. Really softens my opinion of you.”
Tonio reached behind the bar and poured himself a double shot of Jack. The deliberate movements gave him time to compose his response, a tactic I recognized because I used it myself.
“Darby,” he said finally, turning back to face us, glass in hand. “I understand your reluctance to acknowledge our… connection.” He took a measured sip. “I understand your need to push boundaries, to test limits. But your running away from me, and my subsequent… concern, has put you in danger.”
“I was doing just fine before you knew I existed. I’ll do fine without you now.”
“You were hustling pool in dive bars and living in motels,” he countered, his tone maddeningly reasonable. “That’s not ‘fine’ by any definition.”
“It’s my definition,” I snapped. “My life, my choices.”
“Choices that nearly got you killed tonight.” He set his glass down with deliberate care. “You need to let me help you. Let me take you home where I can protect you. You will never want for anything. You’ll have as much freedom as you’ll allow me to give you.”
“Allow?” I felt my eyebrows climb in my disbelief. The nerve of the man! “You don’t get to allow me anything. I allow myself. No one’s told me what to do since I turned sixteen, when I ran away from my last foster home. I’m certainly not giving you that kind of control over me.”
Tonio gave an impatient shake of his head.
“That’s not what I meant. At least, not exactly.
Look,” he hurried on when I would have laid into him again.
“I only meant that, if you will let your bodyguards do their job to keep you safe, you can do any fucking thing you want, honey. You and Carrie are my only true weaknesses. You’re the only women in my family, and we protect our women.
I lost my sister because my father couldn’t deny her what she wanted.
Now I’m afraid I’m going too far in the other direction and driving you away. ”
I took a breath. “I’m sorry, Tonio. I know you don’t mean me any harm. I’m just not interested in being a prisoner, no matter how gilded the cage.”
“I can give you anything you want, Darby.” He actually took a step toward me. “Just… let me.” He balled his hands into fists. “Let me have a daughter. Please.”
Throughout our exchange, Sully had remained silent beside me, a solid presence radiating heat and unexpected comfort.
But I felt the tension in his body, the way his muscles coiled tighter with each word exchanged between Tonio and me.
He was watching, assessing, those observant eyes missing nothing.
I wondered what he saw. Did he look at me like a spoiled little rich girl rejecting her father’s concern, or a woman fighting to maintain her independence?
I risked a glance at him and found his gaze not on Tonio, but on me.
He was studying my face with an intensity that made something flutter in my chest. His gaze dropped to my hands, and I realized with embarrassment that I had his hand in a death grip despite the tough front I was putting up.
I wasn’t scared. Not at all. One thing I knew with absolute certainty: despite letting him believe I thought he’d let those thugs abuse me, Antonio Miles would rather chew off his own arm than hurt me.
So maybe I overreacted on this whole adventure.
Or maybe I was afraid I might actually like the guy. Then where would I be?
“You don’t understand what I’m offering,” Tonio said, drawing my attention back to him. “Protection. Security. Family. I’d have kept your mother safe if I’d known she was pregnant. You’re my daughter, Darby. Let me be your father.”
“I’m fine on my own,” I countered, but the lie felt hollow even to my own ears.
Tonio must have sensed the crack in my armor because he took a step forward, hand outstretched as if to touch my arm. “Darby --”
The movement triggered something in Sully.
In one fluid motion, he stepped between us, turning to pull me against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, careful of my injured ribs but unmistakably possessive.
The suddenness of it left me breathless, my hands instinctively coming up to rest against his solid chest.
“She’s already home,” Sully declared, his voice low and firm as he addressed Tonio over my head. “She’s with me now.”
The silence that followed felt charged, electric.
I could feel Sully’s heart beating steadily against my cheek, his body a wall of protection between me and the father I’d never thought I’d meet.
The declaration hung in the air between us all, unexpected and absolute.
Maybe I should have protested, but I didn’t want to.
Not with Sully. I’d examine the why of it later.
Tonio’s eyebrows rose slightly as he looked between us, reassessing the situation with his calculating gaze. I couldn’t read his expression. Surprise maybe? Something very complex. I thought maybe he wasn’t sure how to feel about the situation.
I stayed within the circle of Sully’s arms even though I knew I needed to stand on my own.
If I wanted my freedom, I was going to have to assert dominance over my own life.
Instead, I leaned on Sully, letting his strength shore up my own.
I let his claim stand unchallenged. It was terrifying how right it felt, how easily I could imagine belonging here, with him.
Tonio’s gaze settled on me, searching my face for confirmation or denial of Sully’s claim. I met his stare as calm settled over me. There was no defiance, only a steady reassurance that I would not be moved from the direction I was going.
Hell. Let him see it. Let him understand that I’d chosen this man, for however long it lasted.
“I see,” Tonio said finally, his voice betraying nothing of his thoughts. He picked up his glass again, swirling the amber liquid thoughtfully. “And does Kiss of Death understand what it means to stand between Antonio Miles and his daughter?”
The threat, subtle but unmistakable, made my muscles tense. I’d been avoiding exactly this. Dragging others into the complicated mess that was my life was not cool. Now Sully had placed himself directly in the crosshairs of one of the most dangerous men in Nashville, and all because of me.
But Sully didn’t flinch. His arms tightened fractionally around me, his voice steady when he replied. “I understand exactly what it means.” The simplicity of his answer, the lack of bravado or posturing, carried more weight than any threat could have.
I felt something shift between us in that moment, a realignment of power maybe. Underneath it all, a question hung unanswered. Was I truly prepared to accept what Sully was offering? Or would I run, as I always had, at the first sign of something real?
Tonio’s gaze shifted from me to Sully, his expression unreadable as he took another measured sip of his whiskey.
“And what exactly are your intentions toward my daughter?” he asked, the formal phrasing somehow more menacing than any threat could have been.
The question hung between them, two predators sizing each other up while I remained caught in the middle, still enveloped in Sully’s protective embrace.