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There was no possible way to make this look innocent.
I walked out ahead of Sam, and halted, wanting to disappear. Jake had seriously underestimated Dad’s mood. He wasn’t angry—he was furious. And I had no idea why.
He caught my arm and pulled me forward. “Are you all right? Answer me, Alex.”
“I’m fine. Why are you—”
Dad stepped in front of me when Sam appeared. Oh, that was why.
“Did you touch my daughter?”
“Dad—” I jumped when he went after Sam, slamming him into the wall.
“Did you hurt my daughter?”
Sam looked remarkably calm.
I was freaking out. “Dad! Let him go—”
“I need to know—”
“Dad—he didn’t—”
“Tell me.” He shook Sam, his violence scaring me. “Tell me you didn’t—”
“He didn’t hurt me.” I grabbed Dad’s arm, terrified he would do something to Sam. Something that couldn’t be undone. “Dad—look at me. He didn’t hurt me. Please, let Sam go. Dad.”
After an endless minute he listened. He turned to me, ran both hands over every inch he could touch. “Are you sure? Don’t hide anything from me, Alex, because of the way you feel—”
“I swear.” Because it seemed to calm him, I let Dad examine me, until he was satisfied I didn’t have any new injuries. I couldn’t blame him; the last couple of months had been pretty crazy. “Nothing happened.”
Nothing violent, anyway. My skin still hummed from that last kiss.
Dad started to drag me down the hall. Away from Sam.
“What are you—Dad—”
“I decided. You are not to see him again.”
His words lodged my heart in my throat. We got as far as the parking lot before I managed to talk again.
“Stop—Dad, please.”
“I will not discuss this, Alex. I can’t trust him not to—”
“I can. I do. Dad, please, let me finish.” He halted, next to his truck, and let me go, crossing his arms. “There’s something going on—something that I need to figure out, if you don’t want what happened to me last night to happen again. And to figure it out, I need Sam’s help.”
“Why?”
I tried not to flinch at the flat, ugly tone in his voice.
“Because,” I took in a deep breath, braced myself for his reaction. “It has to do with the fire ten years ago.”
The anger drained out of his face, and what replaced it shocked me. Fear flared in his dark blue eyes. “You won’t do any such thing. It needs to stay in the past, where it belongs. Now get in the truck. We’re going home.”
“No.” I shocked myself as much as Dad.
“Alex—”
“This isn’t going to go away because you don’t want me involved. I already am. And whoever tried to run me down knows it. Until I find out the truth, I won’t be safe.”
“Damn.” He rubbed his forehead, looking more defeated than I had ever seen him. “I want to protect you, sweetheart. This is getting bigger, and more dangerous, and I don’t want you part of it.”
“I made a commitment, Dad. To Sam, to everything he stands for.” I took his hand, and he pulled me into an embrace, holding me so tightly my ribs hurt. I let him; it made me feel, for a minute, that we could shut out the danger, the freak show that had become my life. “Okay?”
“I will be. Eventually.” He eased me back until our eyes met. “I know you told your mom almost everything, but you are not to let her know about this. Ever.”
“Okay.” Letting out a sigh, I leaned against his chest, felt his arms tighten around me again. “But I want to know I can talk to you, run things by you, without you threatening to ground me, or drag me away without warning.”
“I can’t promise—”
“Dad—”
“But I’ll do my best. You are my daughter first, Alex—and if that means I pull you out of danger, and put you before this hunt you’re on for the truth, I won’t apologize for it.”
“I won’t expect you to. But don’t expect me to just stand by and accept. I’m not a little girl anymore, Dad. And you may not want to hear this, but I love Sam—and I’m going to stand by him.”
“Alex—”
“Let me finish,” I said. He nodded. “For the first time in my life, I have real friends, and some of them come with—unusual qualities. I don’t want to be the person I was before they became part of my life. I like this Alex.” Dad looked surprised. I was, too. I didn’t realize until I said it out loud just how much I had changed in the last couple of months. “I’m hoping you and Mom do, too.”
“I am incredibly proud of this Alex.” He framed my face with both hands, and I knew he had really heard me. I was also waiting for the ‘but.’ He only cradled my face when he upset me—or was about to. “But I will still protect her, without apology.”
“Okay. Can I go check on Sam? I want to make sure he’s recovered.” Yeah—it was a test. I needed to know up front just how much room he was going to give me.
He let me go, rubbed his face. “Just—be home before dark. Mom is cooking dinner tonight.”
“I will.” I didn’t want a repeat of the night we came back from Hyattown, when Mom dropped cold dinners in front of us—after calling us out on the lies and evasions. “Thanks, Dad.”
I kissed his cheek, and moved as fast as I could back to the school building, waiting for him to change his mind. Instead, I heard the door to his truck slam shut, and the engine roar to life. He was keeping his word—for now.
I would take advantage while I could.