I also didn’t blame him for failing to notice that my marriage to Jackson Carver had been a living nightmare. To the outside world we had been the perfect couple. I’d learned to hide my bruises and my scars well. I had become a damn good actress too. I was a chameleon. It had been the only way to survive. Nobody had known what Jackson was really like or how he made my life hell. I’d hidden it too well. I saw my father three times a year for our birthdays and on Boxing Day, and the rest of the time I kept him at arm’s length.
Neither of my parents were perfect. Whose were? But they both made decisions that only ended up hurting themselves, and I believe they’d made them for entirely selfless reasons.
What my dad didn’t seem to realise was that I was no longer that scared twelve year old girl who had been dumped on his doorstep. I was a grown woman who was more than capable of looking after myself. After all, if I could survive a marriage to Jackson Carver, I could survive anything.
Gabriel and my father were in their office when I arrived. I could hear them chatting, and it sounded much like their usually friendly banter, so that meant my father remained blissfully unaware of our relationship. I pushed open the door and saw my father’s face break into a big grin when he saw me. Crossing the room, he pulled me into a hug.
‘Sam. What a lovely surprise. What are you doing here? You’re still coming for dinner tonight, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, Dad. I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it,’ I replied.
I glanced at Gabriel, not wanting to make too much eye contact in case I gave the game away before we’d had a chance to explain.
He stood up and walked over to me and we both looked at my father. We hadn’t discussed how this was going to go. I knew it was more difficult for Gabriel than it was for me. If any boundaries were being crossed, then he was the one crossing them in my father’s eyes. So, I thought it might be better to come from me first.
‘I’ve got something to tell you, Dad,’ I said.
Gabriel was at my side in an instant. ‘We’ve got something to tell you,’ he added, taking hold of my hand.
The colour started to drain from my father’s face and he glared at Gabriel. ‘No!’ he shouted. ‘Tell me you’re not …’
‘Sebastian,’ Gabriel started. ‘Just let us explain.’
‘Explain what?’ he snarled as he squared up to his best mate. ‘I trusted you to look after her!’
‘Dad,’ I said as I put a hand on his arm, but he shrugged me off and put a hand around Gabriel’s throat, pushing him back towards the wall. Gabriel offered no resistance while I stood there with my mouth hanging open.
‘You fucking snake!’ he spat. ‘She’s my fucking daughter. You’ve known her since she was a kid! You fucking pervert!’
‘I know, Seb,’ he said quietly. It was as though he agreed with my father’s outrage. As though he somehow deserved what was happening. Well, he might, but I certainly didn’t.
‘Dad!’ I shouted and he turned to look at me.
‘I don’t blame you for this, Sam,’ he started. ‘I know it’s all his doing.’
‘What?’ I said, feeling the anger well inside my chest. ‘I am a grown woman and I make my own decisions. I am thirty-two years old for Christ’s sake. How dare you suggest that this is somehow all Gabriel’s doing? I have chosen to have a relationship with him. The only two people who get to comment on that are me, and him. You most certainly don’t get any say whatsoever!’
He blinked at me. I knew I’d hurt him, although I hadn’t meant to. I knew that his guilt would be telling him that I was saying those things because he wasn’t a very good father, even though that wasn’t true.
‘Let him go!’ I snapped. ‘Or I will walk out of here and you will never see me again.’
He dropped his hand and took a step back.
Gabriel rubbed at the skin on his throat. ‘Sam,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you leave this to us to sort out?’ he suggested.
I glared at him. ‘So, now you’re treating me like a child too?’
‘No! But your dad and me … this is between us. Please?’ he said.
I shook my head in frustration. My outburst had at least made me feel a little calmer. ‘Okay! But I am warning you both now, neither of you get to make decisions for me. There will be no deciding what is best for me during your little chat!’
Gabriel nodded. ‘Of course not.’
My father glared at me and I could tell he was anxious for me to leave the room so he could continue berating Gabriel.
‘I’ll go. But this is happening, Dad. Whether you approve of it or not. We didn’t plan this. But I’m your daughter, and he’s your best mate, so sooner or later you’re going to have to deal with it.’
‘We’ll sort it,’ Gabriel said.
‘Fine. I need to get back to work,’ I said as I started to walk out of the office. ‘I’ll see you later, Gabe?’
‘Of course,’ he smiled at me. ‘Scott is in the reception. He’ll drive you back.’
I heard the heavy footfall of steps towards my office and looked up to see that Gabriel had arrived early. His large frame filled the doorway and the sight of him set my pulse racing.
I smiled at him until I noticed the cut on his lip. ‘What happened to your face?’
Touching his lip, he winked at me. ‘Oh nothing. You should see the other guy.’
‘You didn’t. Did you? You and my dad? How old are the pair of you? I thought you were just going to talk after I left?’
He walked in and perched himself on the edge of my desk. ‘We did,’ he said as his tongue flicked over the dried blood on his lip. ‘And then he punched me.’
‘He punched you! Is he okay?’ I asked, wondering just how much of a fight they’d got into.
‘He’s fine. It’s how we’ve always settled our differences,’ he replied with a shrug.
‘Did you hit him back?’ I asked.
‘Of course not,’ he replied.
‘Why not?’ Although I was relieved my dad wasn’t hurt, I also wondered why Gabriel hadn’t defended himself.
‘Why didn’t I punch your dad in the face? Really?’ he frowned.
‘Yes. I don’t condone violence, but I know you well enough to know that if someone hit you, under ordinary circumstances, you would hit them back.’
‘Well, this isn’t exactly ordinary, is it?’
‘You agree with him, don’t you? You think that you’ve done something wrong?’ It was my turn to frown now.
He closed his eyes and sighed. ‘Kind of,’ he eventually said with a shrug. ‘He’s my best mate, Sam. You’re his daughter. No matter how grown up you are, you will always be his little girl. He asked me to drive you home to keep you safe, and in his eyes, I took advantage of that. Maybe I did?’
I looked at him. I suppose I could see where my dad was coming from, as much as it annoyed me to admit it. But there was no way in hell I would give any credence to the assumption that I had been in any way taken advantage of. What was I, some poor defenceless princess with no mind of her own?
I stood up. ‘You did not take advantage of me,’ I said as I stepped forward until I was standing between his strong thighs. Being so close to him made all my nerve endings sizzle in anticipation. ‘If anything, I think it was me who took advantage of you.’
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me towards him, a wicked grin spreading across his face. ‘Is that so?’
‘I believe so, yes. You were just some weak, unsuspecting man, who was unable to resist my charms.’
He started to laugh. ‘Did you just call me weak, Samantha Donovan?’
‘Hmm,’ I nodded. ‘And unsuspecting.’
He pulled me tighter and bent his head to my neck, grazing his teeth across my sensitive skin. ‘I’ll put you across my knee if you’re not careful,’ he growled.
I shivered with excitement at the thought. What the hell was wrong with me? This man turned me into some crazed sex maniac.
‘So, is my dad o
kay with us then?’ I asked as Gabriel nibbled on my neck. My office door was open and I feared if he continued kissing me much longer, I was only mere moments away from unzipping his fly and riding him on my desk.
It had the desired effect and Gabriel stopped kissing my neck. ‘Not exactly,’ he said with a sigh.
‘What? You let him punch you in the face and he’s still not okay with us?’ I asked.
‘I didn’t exactly let him punch me, Sam-'
‘You didn’t stop him though!’ I said, knowing that Gabriel was faster and stronger than my father was.
‘No. But it’s complicated. He’ll come around.’
‘You should have let me handle him,’ I said.
‘Well, it’s not you he’s pissed off with. It’s me. And I can handle it.’
‘By letting him punch you in the face again?’ I grinned.
‘I would let him punch me in the face every single day if it means I get to be with you,’ he said and before I could respond he silenced me with one of his incredible kisses.
Chapter 25
Samantha
An hour later, Gabriel pulled up outside my father’s house and turned to me. ‘I’ll pick you up about nine,’ he said.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to come in?’ I asked him.
He shook his head. ‘I think me and your dad have said all we need to say to each other for now. I’ll speak to him in a few days when he cools off. Besides, I think he’d quite like you all to himself for a bit,’ he smiled.
‘Okay,’ I replied with a sigh.
‘If you want me to come for you any earlier, or later, just ring me,’ he said as he took hold of my hand and kissed my fingertips.
‘I will. I wish you’d just come in with me though. This is ridiculous!’
‘Sam!’ He said sternly. ‘Just let us deal with this our own way. Please?’
‘Okay! I’ll see you later then.’
‘Don’t stay out too late,’ he said with a wicked grin that turned my insides to jelly.
‘I won’t,’ I replied.
I stood on my father’s doorstep waiting for him to answer. Gabriel drove away as soon as the door was opened.
‘Hi, Dad,’ I said with a smile. I couldn’t stay mad at him; despite the fact he'd punched Gabriel in the face a few hours earlier.
‘Hiya, love,’ he said, pulling me for a hug. He hugged me every time he saw me, but this one felt a little different. He held me tighter and for longer. ‘I really wish you’d use your bloody key though,’ he said as he pulled away.
I followed my father into his kitchen and could smell my favourite beef madras cooking.
‘So, how are you?’ I asked him as I leaned against the kitchen counter while he tended to his curry.
He shrugged. ‘Do you mean how am I in general, or how am I feeling about my best mate shacking up with my daughter?’
I rolled my eyes. ‘He is not shacking up with me! We’re just dating, Dad,’ I lied.
Actually, we hadn’t been on a single date, we were just having lots of sex. Very hot, frequent sex.
‘But he’s my best mate, Sam. He’s known you since you were a kid.’
‘I know that. But I’m not a kid now, am I? I’m a grown woman, Dad! And he’s only eight years older than me.’
‘I thought you weren’t interested in seeing anyone?’ He crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me suspiciously. ‘You said you’d had enough of men for life, as I recall!’
I laughed. ‘You can talk! How many times have to told me you’d never get engaged again?’
‘We’re not talking about me!’ he snapped.
‘Well, that was certainly the plan,’ I said with a shrug. ‘But then I saw Gabriel, and well...’
‘He’s not pressuring you into anything, is he?’
‘No, of course not! Why do you insist on treating me like a child?’
‘Because you are my child, Sam!’ he bellowed. ‘Like it or not, you always will be. I know I’ve let you down in the past, but that will never happen again! And if that means I have to stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong from time to time, then that’s what I’ll do. I should have done it when you were married to that cunt! But I didn’t, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life!’ he finished and I saw the tears in his eyes.
‘Oh, Dad!’ I said as I crossed the kitchen to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. ‘You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened to me. Jackson was a master manipulator. He fooled everyone. Nobody had a clue what was going on.’
‘It doesn’t matter how many times you tell me that, a father is supposed to protect his daughter.’
I kissed him on the cheek. ‘And you do. But you don’t need to protect me from Gabriel, do you?’
He looked up at me. ‘I suppose not,’ he said.
‘So, can you promise not to punch him in the face the next time you see him then?’ I asked.
‘That was nothing, Sam. It’s how we deal with things. He’s never let me win before though. I haven’t got the better of that bastard since I met him.’
I shook my head and took a seat at the kitchen table and my father followed suit. ‘Dinner will be ready soon,’ he said and then he looked down at his hands. ‘I always thought you never invited me round to your house in Knightsbridge because you were ashamed of me.’
‘Dad! I have never been ashamed of you,’ I said. Knowing that he had spent all those years thinking that made my heart feel like it was going to break.
‘I know that now,’ he replied.
‘You must have been so disappointed in me, abandoning you. After everything you did for me?’
‘No,’ he shook his head. ‘Not at all. I was proud of you for making something of yourself. You were always meant for better things, Sam. But now you’re back. And you’re with Gabriel – and I know it must be serious, because you’ve told me, and because that soppy bastard doesn’t do anything else. You’ve only been back home five minutes and already you’re being sucked back into our world. I want better for you.’
‘This is my world too, Dad.’
He nodded. ‘I know that.’
I sensed there was something else on his mind that he wasn’t saying out loud.
‘What’s really bothering you, Dad?’ I asked him as I placed my hand on his arm.
He stared at me. ‘He’s my family too, Sam. If something went wrong between the two of you...’
‘I know that. But we’re all adults. I would never ask you to choose sides. I’d never put you in the middle of us like that.’
He sat back against the chair and ran a hand over his beard. ‘Well, if you really think you know what you’re getting yourself into, then I suppose there’s not a lot I can do about it,’ he said with a shrug.
Rising from my chair, I hugged him. ‘It means a lot that you’re okay with this.’
‘I never said I was okay with it,’ he raised his eyebrows at me. ‘But, I’ll try and get used to it.’
Chapter 26
Gabriel
I put my mobile back into my trouser pocket. I’d just finished a few phone calls to my head bouncers, confirming there had still been no trouble from the Fenton brothers. It had been two weeks since Sebastian and I had visited them at their builders’ yard, and so far, it seemed our warning had worked. I’d heard on the grapevine that Jimmy Fenton had needed twelve stitches in his right eye and had had a steel plate put in his jaw. Martin had suffered a few fractured ribs and a concussion. I just hoped it was enough to warn them off for good. Jimmy had mentioned no more about his threat to expose my secret and I hoped that would be the end of it. After all, he was implicated in Calvin Stewart’s murder as much as I was.
Walking into my sitting room with two glasses of wine, I saw Samantha sitting cross legged on my sofa looking at a framed photograph of me and her father when we’d first opened Archangel Securities eighteen years earlier.
‘Is everything okay?’ she asked. ‘I heard you shouting at someone.’
>
‘We’re just having a bit of trouble with a rival firm, that’s all. Nothing for you to worry about,’ I said as I handed her a glass.
‘If it involves you and my father in trouble, then I beg to differ,’ she said.
‘It’s nothing, Sam.’
‘So, you get to know the intimate details of my life and be my own personal bodyguard, but I’m not allowed to know about yours, is that it?’ she asked.
‘No. But …’ I started. She didn’t need to be burdened with my problems. She had enough of her own to deal with.
‘I’m not a child, Gabe. I know what you and my dad are into. Just tell me what’s going on. I’ll only worry if you don’t.’
‘Okay,’ I said as I sat on the sofa beside her. ‘There’s another security firm who we had trouble with years ago. You know that scar on your dad’s neck?’
‘Yes. He tried to convince me it was from a cooking related accident.’
‘Well, one of the brothers, Martin Fenton did that to him. He and your dad were having a straightener, there were supposed to be no weapons, but Fenton brought a knife. Fortunately, your dad got the better of him anyway. And after that, we … well we sent them a message in return, and we’ve had an uneasy truce for years. But for some reason, they’ve started making noises about taking over our business. We’ve increased security and I don’t think they’re a real threat, but I’d just rather they were dealt with.’
‘So, who was on the phone?’
‘Just one of our new bouncers. He let a couple of the Fenton’s firm into one of our clubs last night and they tried to smash the place up. Fortunately, some of our other bouncers spotted them and threw them out before they could. But new guy will be lucky if he’s still in employment by the end of the week.’
Dark Angel: A Dark Romance: London Ruthless Series Book 1 (The London Ruthless Series) Page 10