“She’ll get the house? Where will you live?”
“Thought you already knew.” He grins coyly. “I’m coming to Charleston.”
“That’s very presumptive.”
“You could never give me any more than today and I’d stay close. You building this life is all I ever wanted.”
An unexplained warmth ripples through me, but my attention turns to the elephant-stomping coming from the stairs. We both turn and there’s a split-second to see Evin’s nuclear expression before my body is jerked protectively behind Marco.
“What’s happening?” Marco shuffles back a half step, his stance covering me and blocking my view.
“We’ve got a problem.” Evin comes to my side, his eyes so hard and sharp, fear seizes my insides. Hatred like this could only mean one thing.
“Tasha…” my words are drowned out.
“Shit, let me go.” The smarmy voice of familiarity slithers in the air, sending my stomach plummeting and my anxiety spiking at the same time.
Evin’s jaw ticks, and when my fingers lace with his, there’s no reaction.
This pisses me off.
She doesn’t get to ruin this day.
She doesn’t get to waltz into my building and taint it.
She does not have the upper hand any longer.
I nudge the two men, creating a sliver of space to slip through. It takes effort not to gasp at the image of the woman standing there.
She’s always had a gorgeous figure, but now she’s skin and bones, her curves gone. Her complexion is washed out and her eyes hollow and bleak.
“Good God, what happened to you?”
Evin's hand turns into a vice around mine, and Tasha’s already agitated state turns lethal.
“Are you… are you on drugs?”
“Fuck you.” She struggles against Grady’s hold.
“Poppy,” Evin growls, trying to tug me back.
“Tasha, why are you here?” I try again, noticing her twitch.
“Because I’m done with all this bullshit.”
“You need to be more specific.”
She scuffles again, going for an elbow to Grady’s side but he dodges. “Call this buffoon off of me, Dad.”
“Natasha, we should go back to my hotel and discuss what is on your mind,” Marco suggests cautiously.
Her flinch is almost imperceptible, but it speaks volumes. “She’s not welcome at the Brasher.”
“You did that, you bitch.”
Evin’s rage notches up and he grumbles, “Get her the hell out of my building.”
She slings her gaze to him, and my protective instincts lock into place.
“I didn’t do it. But you’ll find that most hotels in the area feel the same.”
“You don’t have the power to ban me from an entire town, especially with the Governor as my dad.”
I roll my eyes. “If you’re playing the elitist card, you may want to ditch the junkie appearance. It’s not exactly attractive on you. Accept the fact you’ve lost whatever game you’re playing.”
“You don’t get to destroy everything I’ve worked for!” she screams at me, lunging unsuccessful out of Grady’s clutch.
“Destroy everything you’ve worked for? Look what you did to me! I actually had a life and future that didn’t include laying on my back to get ahead.” The tactless insult flies past my lips before I can stop it.
She glowers, her eyes searing into me. “You may have landed the perpetual playboy of this city with your whole virgin innocence act, but you’re nothing but a washed-up circus performer.”
Blistery hot fury electrifies in the space from all three men.
“Get her whacked ass out of here,” Evin barely grates out, raw and unfiltered loathing in his voice.
“Either you make this right, Caitlyn, or I’ll obliterate your pathetic hippie ass. You won’t even be able to buy flowers for that nasty color-wheeled head—”
“Enough!” Marco’s forceful demand is met with silence. His eyes meet mine and I immediately feel his guilt, sorrow, and sense of obligation. He’s torn between a daughter he neglected and a daughter he enabled.
I reach over and squeeze his hand, trying to relay my understanding. He clutches tight, his gaze sending an unspoken apology.
“Something’s wrong. She’s not well. You need to take care of her,” I speak low, not wanting to set her off more.
“Pure heart of gold,” he whispers, a single second of full gratitude before his posture changes. “Grady?”
“There’s a car in the back waiting,” he answers, a black blur whizzing across the room.
Evin catches the object mid-air.
Red BMW a block away, rental plates from Georgia. You need to check it out.” Grady’s arm closes around Tasha’s chest and she loses it, squirming, kicking, thrashing her head. “Let go of me!”
Marco drops my hand, walks past them without a word or glance her way. Grady drags her behind, and her screams don’t die until the downstairs door slams.
“What just happ—eughedd?” My question is muffled by Evin’s sweater as I find myself engulfed in his arms.
“She called Isaac this morning looking for money. He knew she was high, drunk, doped—whatever, she was jacked up.”
“She needed money? She blew through one hundred thousand dollars in a month?”
“If she’s on drugs, that’s not hard.”
“What did Isaac do?”
“He knows what’s happening so he agreed to meet her in Atlanta. When he showed, she was coming down and got paranoid. She jumped in the car and headed this way. He’s been following but lost her at the city limits and called me.”
“That’s who called?”
“He was one of many. Darby got word she tried to check into the Brasher and was denied. Tony Sanchez also got a call looking for a place for her to stay. He unloaded on her, and she went unhinged when he mentioned pressing charges.”
“You knew she was headed here.”
“I did. Grady got a call from someone, too. He spotted her coming.”
He’s wrapped so tight, my lungs burn. “I can’t breathe.” His hold loosens, giving me room to face him. Worry and fear are fixed on his features.
“Evin, she’s gone.”
“Never felt that kind of fear, knowing she was hyped on God knows what and coming for you.”
“She’s deranged and possibly sick.”
“She’s an unpredictable live-wire.”
I frame his face, tipping up to kiss him softly. Some of the tension eases and he squeezes my waist. “What do we do now?”
“Marco’s got her. Now
