I’m about to chalk it up to a fan wanting an autograph, but Phoenix’s steps come to a halt and his expression turns serious. “I’ll meet you in the car.”
An uneasy feeling fills my gut. “Why? What’s going—”
“Get in the car.”
His ominous tone sends chills down my spine, but I’m not leaving.
Not until I know who this guy is and what’s got Phoenix so on edge.
“Aren’t you gonna say hi?” the man presses.
Phoenix spins around. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
The man staggers forward. He’s around Phoenix’s height, with long greasy dark hair, and the bluest, cruelest eyes I’ve ever seen.
The same shade as Phoenix’s.
“Just came to pay my boy a visit.”
The uneasy feeling in my gut intensifies.
Instinctively, I grab Phoenix’s hand, giving it a sharp tug. “Come on. Let’s go.”
I don’t know what this piece of shit wants, but we’re not sticking around to find out.
His father’s bloodshot eyes zero in on me. “Who’s your little girlfriend?”
In a flash, Phoenix yanks me behind him. “None of your fucking business.”
“Is that any way to talk to the man who raised you?” He takes another step, swaying as he does. “I taught you to have more respect than that.”
This asshole didn’t teach him a damn thing. His fists did.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“Your old man is having some money problems. I was hoping you could help me out.”
And there it is.
Phoenix snorts. “Big fucking surprise.”
Sneering, he rocks back on his heels. “Don’t you dare take that self-righteous tone with me, boy. You lived in my house rent-free for eighteen years, remember?”
That’s par for the course when you have children.
Baring his teeth, Phoenix takes his wallet out of his pocket. The look he gives him is engulfed with venom as he throws a wad of cash in his face.
“How could I forget?”
“Does he visit you a lot?”
Paying me no mind, Phoenix rolls down the window in the back seat of the SUV and lights a cigarette.
Shocker.
“Wow, the silent treatment. What else is new?”
Grinding his jaw, he brings the cigarette to his mouth and inhales. “You’re one to talk.”
“Are you deaf? I do talk to you.”
Far more than I want to.
He laughs, but there’s no humor. “Not about shit that matters.”
Good Lord. He’s unbelievable.
“Fine. What do you want to talk about?” I snap my fingers. “Oh, here’s an idea. Let’s talk about your dad.”
“Let’s talk about yours,” he bites out, eyes blazing.
Ripping a page out of his book, I scowl at my window.
A harsh snicker cuts the air. “Hypocrite.”
Anger brews in the pit of my stomach, and my hands itch with the urge to smack him. “Fraud.”
Closing my eyes, I draw in a deep, cleansing breath.
Fighting with him all the time is exhausting.
But that’s all Phoenix has ever known. Thanks to that abusive piece of shit with a vacant block inside his chest in place of a heart.
“I wasn’t trying to start an argument,” I whisper. “I simply wanted you to know you could talk to someone about it.”
He tosses his cigarette out the window. “Maybe I should go find George then, since that’s who we’re telling all our secrets to these days.”
I don’t know why I even bother anymore.
“That’s because George is my…”
I don’t finish that statement…because I can’t.
Phoenix’s cruel stare burns right through me. “Your what?”
“None of your business.”
My feelings for George might not be clear, but I don’t owe this asshole a damn thing.
The silence stretches between us, growing heavier by the second…
Until he speaks.
“He comes around every couple of months. Begging for money.”
I tilt my head to look at him. “Well, if you didn’t give him any, he’d probably stop.”
Remorse squeezes my heart when I see pain flicker in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. That was really judgmental—”
“He was there.” His voice is a raw rasp. “Which is more than I can say for her.”
Never in a million years did I think I’d ever open up to Phoenix Walker again.