Daisy (Archer's Creek Book 2)

by Gemma Weir

  “That’s better. Now, Ali, there’s cleaning up to be done from breakfast,” Anders says dismissing her.

  I turn my head to watch Ali scurry away. Her normal strut is more of an angry stomp and when she pauses and looks back over her shoulder her eyes focus on Angel and she glares furiously. Quickly, the room fills with chatter again and Anders and Grits wave their goodbyes and leave. Pulling out my chair, I sit, leading Angel down into my lap and wrapping my arms around her. “You okay?” I whisper into her shoulder.

  She twists in my lap until we’re facing each other. “Is that girl your girlfriend?”

  Her eyes are bright and her mouth is twisted into a tight line. She’s either pissed or jealous and I fight the smile that’s threatening to overtake my face. “No, baby, she’s not my girlfriend. She’s a club girl that I fucked once. She wants it to be more than it is, but I’m not interested.”

  “You had sex with her,” Angel says almost like she’s speaking to herself.

  “I fucked her once when I was drunk as hell, it was nothing.”

  Angel doesn’t speak and instead turns back to her plate and starts to pick at her cinnamon bun again. Wrapping my hands around her hips I lift her up and turn her to face me. Gently cupping her chin, I hold her so she’s looking at me. “She was a drunken fuck that’s all. I’ve fucked a lot of women and I won’t apologize for stuff that happened in the past. But it was just sex, Angel. They never made me feel, not like you do. I only have to hold your tiny hand or kiss your perfect lips and you make me feel more in those brief moments when you let me touch you than any of those mindless fucks did.”

  “It’s none of my business. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” Angel whispers, trying to pull her chin from my fingers.

  Instead of letting her go, I slide my hand under her hair and palm the back of her neck. “You’ve got every right to ask, Angel. I thought we got this fixed. I like you, I want to get to know you better. I told you this before all the shit happened with your dad. Fuck, the only good thing about the shit storm rolling around us, is that now I get to be with you, and I don’t have to wait for you to sneak out.”

  Angel’s eyes drop from mine and her cheeks tinge with a pale pink blush. “You hearing what I’m saying, Angel? The circumstances that brought you to me are shitty, but despite that I’m glad you’re here. In fact, I love that you’re here with me.”

  She nods. The movement is so small I wonder if I imagined it. “Don’t hide from me,” I say, my voice sterner than I intended, but if I can’t see her eyes I have no fucking clue what going on in her head. Her eyes tip up to meet mine and I smile at how bright they are. “You gotta tell me what you’re thinking, Angel.”

  Her lips part and when she speaks it’s barely a whisper. “I hate why I’m here. I hate that I had to drag you into my mess. But I’m glad I’m with you too.”

  My shoulders relax, and I release the breath I’d been holding. “You want me to kiss you, Angel?”

  I watch her mouth part and her tongue dip out to moisten her lips, then she swallows and looks away from me for a second. When her gaze moves back to lock with mine, she pauses and then slowly lifts her head and drops it again in a decisive nod.

  “Come here,” I say, and she leans into me, lifting her hands to rest on my shoulders. I take over and with the hand that’s still wrapped around her neck, I pull her the last few inches toward me and take her mouth.

  Our lips clash in a consuming kiss. When our tongues meet, I pull her flush with my chest, so I can feel her heart pounding against mine. I love that I make her feel this way. Slowing the kiss, I worship her, tasting her lips and tongue, trying to memorize every inch of her. Her hands move up to my hair and I groan when her nails scratch against my scalp.

  “Dove, put him down, Prez wants a word.” Blade’s words pull me from my Angel induced bubble and I reluctantly pull away from her. Angel’s cheeks are bright red, and she buries her face in my shoulder in embarrassment.

  I stand, lifting Angel and placing her next to me. Taking hold of her hand, I entwine my fingers with hers needing to stay connected to her. I wave to Echo and Liv who are too consumed with each other to even notice that we’re leaving and then follow Blade through the bar to Prez’s office.

  Angel’s cheeks are still stained red and Blade chuckles when he looks at her. “Don’t be embarrassed, Little Dove. No-one cares that you and your man were dry humping at breakfast. A little making out over the bacon and eggs is nothing, to the orgies and strip shows at lunch and dinner.”

  Angel’s gasp is loud, and Blade cracks up with laughter. I chuckle and pull Angel into my chest, dropping her hand and throwing my arm over her shoulder. Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head. “Come on, baby. Let’s go see what Prez has to say.”

  Blade knocks on Prez’s door. “Come in,” Prez shouts. We file into the office and take the same seats we’d all used last night. Prez is sat behind his desk looking pensive; his eyebrows are drawn and his eyes look tired. “Little Dove, I think it’s safe to say that your absence has been noticed. Your father reported you missing at 7:30 am this morning and he’s been tearing the town apart looking for you. He’s got the whole sheriff’s department searching for you, as well as the police department in Houston on alert.”

  “I didn’t think they could even class her as missing until she’d been gone for twenty-four hours,” Blade queries.

  “Apparently the rules don’t apply when it’s the mayor’s daughter that’s disappeared. He’s saying that you’re mentally ill and a danger to yourself, Little Dove,” Prez says, wincing slightly.

  “What?” Angel gasps. “I’m not mentally ill. There’s nothing wrong with me,” she cries.

  Prez lifts his hand to silence her. “You got any history we should know about?”

  Angel shakes her head. “I haven’t seen a doctor since I was thirteen when I fell and hit my head at recess. A month or so after that we moved here, and I started home schooling. I wasn’t even allowed to go to the hospital when my sister died.”

  Prez nods. “Okay. Obviously, your father is using the idea that you’re ill as a ploy to find you. You’re eighteen, Dove; he can’t class you as a runaway and you’re well within your legal rights to leave your parents’ home and never return.”

  “Has the club had any heat?” Blade asks.

  Prez shakes his head. “No. Dove has no links to the club. No-one here apart from us and Grits knows who she really is, so they haven’t got any reason to look for her here. My leads say that the mayor’s planning a TV interview this afternoon to appeal for help in locating her.”

  “Fuck,” I say.

  “Dove, what do you know about your parents’ financial situation? Can they pay this debt without using you as payment?” Prez asks Angel.

  Angel shakes her head. “Mama doesn’t have access to any of the bank accounts and as far as I know my father has about six hundred dollars in his account.”

  Prez stares at Angel assessing. “How do you know how much money is in your father’s bank account?”

  Angel glances at me for a second and then turns back to Prez. “Because even though my father thinks I’m an idiot, I’m not.”

  “Explain,” Prez demands.

  Angel’s back goes rigid and her fingers wrap around the arms of her chair. “My sister died two years ago. A few months before this happened she met a guy and ran away with him. My father lost his mind when she left. He’s always been an angry person—we just got used to him shouting and belittling us—but I had no idea that my sister had spent years shielding me from him and dealing with his abuse. Once she was gone, he turned his anger and punishments on me. I’ve been home schooled for the last five years, not allowed friends or a cell phone. I don’t get to pick my own clothes and God forbid I argue or talk back to him. He didn’t allow me to finish high school or get a decent education. I only learnt to drive because my sister taught me. My father truly believes I’m stupid. But I’m not. My sister had a laptop and
when she left I took it hoping that I could find a way to speak to her. We have internet at the house, even though my father doesn’t let me, or mama use it. So I set up access to online banking without him having any idea. I refuse to be used as a human punch bag, I didn’t deserve to be punished or beaten with a belt. I needed to escape, so I set up a bank account and for the last six months I’ve been slowly syphoning money from my father’s account into my own. I was biding my time until I had enough money to get me and my mama far enough away from Archer’s Creek that my father couldn’t find us.”

  A smile that’s full of pride is etched across Prez’s face. “How much did you take?” He asks.

  “Not enough. I needed a few more months, but I ran out of time.” Angel says sadly.

  “If you were saving for you and your mom to get away why isn’t she here with you?” Blade asks.

  Angel turns to look at Blade and I can no longer see her face, but I can hear the sadness in her voice. “She’s too far gone to know that what he does is wrong.”

  “So, she didn’t know you were going to run?” Prez asks.

  Angel turns her attention back to Prez. “Actually, she helped me.”

  “Explain,” Prez asks, more gently this time.

  “Mama knew that my father was doing something. We didn’t talk about what she knew or what I knew, but yesterday she cooked a big batch of spaghetti, gave me some and then ground up a load of sleeping tablets into the rest and told me she loved me.” Angel says.

  Prez stands up from behind his desk and slowly walks around until he’s in front of Angel. He leans forward and places his hand gently on her shoulder. She flinches, but Prez just bends and kisses the top of her head. “You’re strong, Little Dove. You’ll get through this and I promise you we’ll do everything in our power to keep you safe. When this shit with Carduccio is over, if she wants to leave, we will help your mama too.”

  Prez lifts his hand and steps back from Angel, then he looks at me. “Take your girl and keep her safe in your room. Lay low for the rest of the day and we’ll clear out anyone who isn’t part of the club.”

  I nod and then taking Angel’s hand, I lead her back to my room.

  Daisy’s hand is wrapped around mine. I silently follow him down the corridors that are becoming more familiar and into his room. He shuts and locks the door behind us and for a minute we just stand and stare at each other.

  “You okay, Angel?”

  I release a drawn-out sigh and shake my head. “No, not really.”

  “That’s understandable, you’ve had a shitty few days.”

  I scoff loudly, the sound bubbles up from my stomach and I start to laugh hysterically. I don’t know when the laughs turn to sobs, but Daisy folds me into his arms and holds me. My body wracks with the emotions I’ve managed to keep under wraps since I heard my father sell me to cover his debts.

  “Shh, it’s gonna be okay, Angel, it’s all gonna be okay.”

  I want to tell Daisy that it’s not going to be okay, how could it possibly be okay, but I don’t. Instead, I let him hold me and soothe me and I try to believe his words even though deep down I’m not sure things will ever be okay again.

  My sobs subside, and Daisy eventually pulls back to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “Don’t cry, Angel. Come on, let’s watch some TV. I’ll even let you pick the show.”

  I nod shakily and climb onto the bed resting my back against the wall. Daisy climbs on and sits beside me—we aren’t touching, just simply sitting next to one another. He flicks through the channels and then moves to the series boxsets. “What do you want to watch?” He asks.

  I shrug. “I don’t mind. I don’t really watch a lot of TV. The only one in our house was in the family room and watching that meant sitting with my father. It was easier to sit in my room on my own.”

  Daisy looks at me, his head tilted to the side, his teeth worrying his lower lip, like he’s deciding what to say, then he hands me the remote. “Your dad’s a fucking dick. Pick whatever you want. I’ll watch anything except reality dating shows, those things make me want to throw up.”

  I smile at him then turn to the TV and flick through the boxsets. I settle on a supernatural drama series and start the first episode. Dropping the remote onto the quilt between us I wiggle into the pillows to get comfy and watch as girl meets boy and realizes he isn’t exactly human.

  I try to force my eyes to remain on the screen and not wander to Daisy lying stretched out beside me, but I fail. His body is huge and after the first ten minutes of episode one he shuffles down the bed, so his head is on the pillows and his long, lean body is stretched out along the quilt. My eyes keep glancing at him, quietly watching the screen with one of his arms rested behind his head and the other laid across his stomach.

  “You like what you see, Angel?”

  My cheeks instantly redden, and I quickly dart my eyes back to the TV. Daisy chuckles at my side and the bed dips as he moves. I jump when his arms stretch across my stomach and I squeal when his grip tightens, and he pulls me down the bed so my head rests next to his on the pillow.

  “That’s better, now I can look at you too, Angel.”

  I lift my hands to cover my face. I want to deny that I was staring at him, but I can’t and instead try to hide my embarrassment.

  “Don’t hide, baby. I love that you’re staring at me. I’m pretty awesome and honestly I was starting to think you hadn’t noticed.”

  Pulling my hands from my cheeks, he rolls, so he’s half leaning over me. “You’re too beautiful to hide, Angel, and those big doe eyes of yours tell me everything you don’t say.”

  “What are they telling you now?” I say breathlessly.

  “That you want me to kiss you, but you don’t want to ask.”

  I lick my lips and nod. His lips immediately dip down to mine and I eagerly open my mouth. The kiss is lazy and wonderful. He’s not devouring me, but more like exploring every inch of my mouth and claiming it as his. Gently framing my face with his fingers, he strokes at my cheek reverently and when his lips finally release mine, I feel worshipped and cherished.

  “If you want me to kiss you, Angel, you ask. I always want my lips on yours, always. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I whisper.

  Moving from above me he lies back down on the bed and lifts his arm into the air. “Come here, Angel.”

  I don’t know what he wants me to do. Does he expect me to lie on top of him like he did to me? I’m not sure I can do that, I’m not sure I’m ready for that.

  I must take too much time thinking because he curls his arm beneath me and pulls me next to him. “I just want you to lay closer to me, Angel, that’s all.”

  He moves his arm until I’m nestled against him, my head on his shoulder. Lifting one of my legs he repositions it so that it’s resting over the top of his and I’m essentially draped across the side of his body. I’m uncomfortable and tense and he must know because he tenses too.

  “Do what you need to do to relax again, Angel. If that means you move back to the other side of the bed that’s okay. I don’t want you to be here with me if it’s making you uncomfortable. Just do what you need to do, baby.”

  His voice is open and reassuring and my muscles begin to relax. I lift my head off his arm and move it to rest on his chest, over his heart. I tentatively place my hand on his chest and stretch out my leg, so it rests alongside his.

  “It’s not that I don’t want to lie here with you, it’s just I’ve never done this before,” I say quietly.

  I feel him drop a quick kiss to the top of my head. “Fucking hell, Angel. You really are as innocent as you look, aren’t you?”

  I don’t know what to say so I shrug.

  “You’re hiding from me again,” Daisy says.

  “No, I’m not. I just don’t know what to say.”

  “Would it be easier if I asked questions, and you just said yes or no?” he asks playfully.

  I giggle. “Yes.”

  “Okay.” He sound
s dubious and I half expect him to just stay quiet and watch the TV show.

  “Was I your first kiss?”

  “No.”

  “But I’m the first guy you’ve ever snuggled with?” He says as his arms pull me closer to his chest.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you like lying here with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you ever done anything else with a guy, besides kiss?”

  I pause for a minute, embarrassed to admit that I’m eighteen and so inexperienced. The sum total of my history with boys is a chaste kiss when I was thirteen at Kristie Manors’ birthday party. I’d spent seven minutes in heaven with her brother’s friend. In truth it was seven minutes with a spotty fourteen-year-old who’d kissed me closed mouth for a minute and then spent the remaining six minutes asking me if my friend Georgie liked him.

  “No.” I finally say quietly.

  “Fuck, Angel. You’re a virgin.”

  “Yes,” I whisper and then bury my face into his chest.

  Daisy rips his arm from beneath me and jumps away so quickly the bed bounces. My mouth opens, and I sit up in bed and stare at him, as he stomps to the other side of the room.

  “You’re a fucking virgin, Angel, and you’re curled up in bed with me. What the hell, baby? You shouldn’t be in here alone with me.”

  I watch him pull at the strands of his hair in frustration and I fill with anger. I want to shout at him, but I can’t. My survival instincts tell me to tamp down my fury and annoyance, to become placid and inoffensive. It’s safer to stay hidden.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, but I know that you’re a fucking virgin, pure and untouched. I haven’t been a virgin since I was thirteen. If your asshole of a father was any kind of a man, he would be protecting you from men like me. I’m the guy your mama warned you to stay away from.” He rants, almost to himself.

  “Grits said I could go stay with her and Anders. Can I stay here until she gets here?”

  Daisy stops pulling at his hair and looks at me. “What?”

  “Grits said she was coming to see me tonight. Is it okay for me to stay until she gets here and then I’ll ask to go stay with them? It’s only a few days, so I don’t think she’ll mind.”