Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
After an hour, the air’s thick with cigar smoke and competitive bravado. I let Gerald win a few hands, just enough to keep him happy, and then rake in a huge pot on a straight flush that makes them all groan. Brent fake-pouts and throws a fistful of chips at me. Ken slaps the table and howls, “Goddamn, Jack, you cold-blooded bastard.”
I raise my glass. “You boys make it too easy.”
The table erupts in laughter, and for a moment, I let myself relax. I almost forget that I’m dating my best friend’s daughter, and that he has no fucking idea. But then, in the lull between hands, Gerald says, “Hey, Jack, quick word in the kitchen?”
He makes it sound casual, but there’s an edge in his voice that reminds me of the night before a big deployment. I nod, wipe my hands on my jeans, and follow him.
The kitchen is colder, quieter. The hum of the fridge and the faint pop of glass settling in the dishwasher. Gerald goes straight to the counter and leans on it, back to me, staring into the depths of his beer like he expects an answer to rise up from the foam. He stares at the floor, thinning strands of brown hair unable to fully cover his shiny pate.
“What up, bud?” I ask in a mock-cheerful voice. “Something going on?”
He pauses before glancing up at me.
“You notice anything off about Eliza lately?” he asks, voice low.
I feel the knot in my gut tighten a notch. I play it smooth, grabbing another beer from the fridge. “What do you mean?”
Gerald turns around, mouth twisted in a frown. “She’s… I don’t know, different. Out late. Not telling us where she’s going. She’s always on her phone, but never says who she’s texting. Nancy’s convinced she’s hiding something.”
My heart races, but I make myself stay calm on the outside. I pop the cap on my beer and take a long, slow sip. “Your daughter’s twenty-one, G. Not a teenager. She’s got her own life.”
He shakes his head. “Yeah, but she’s still living at home. That means I have a right to know what’s going on.”
I shrug and smile, but my heart’s doing double-time. “You want me to talk to her?”
Gerald huffs crankily. “She won’t tell you any more than she tells us. You’re just the ‘cool uncle’ now.” He makes air quotes, like it’s a joke, but his eyes are sharp.
I lean back against the sink, arms crossed. Obviously, Gerald suspects something, but I’m not sure what he suspects exactly, so I play it cool. “Eliza’s a good kid. Never gave you a reason not to trust her.”
He grunts. “It’s not her I don’t trust. It’s the world. You know what’s out there? These apps, these… these men, looking for girls who don’t know any better. Hell, Nancy showed me a news story last week—a girl from St. Paul, good grades, sweet kid. Turns out she was seeing some married guy, letting him pay her for… you know.” He trails off, expression disgusted.
I keep my voice even, but every word costs me. “You think Eliza would do that?”
Gerald doesn’t answer right away. He stares out the window at the dark yard, then says, “I don’t know. But I can’t take that risk. I’ve been thinking of putting one of those tracking apps on her phone, just to be sure.”
I bristle, instinctively. “That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
He shakes his head slowly, still staring at the floor. “No, I don’t think it is. You don’t have a daughter, Jack, so you have no idea what it’s like to have a young girl under your care. You’d do anything—and I mean anything—to keep her safe.”
Oh shit. The fact is that I do spend my time with a delicious young woman— his daughter, in fact. But I hold his gaze, refusing to blink. “Eliza would hate you for it.”
He shakes his head. “Better she hates me now than hates herself later,” he says in a grim tone.
I exhale, slow. “I think you’re overreacting.”
Gerald squints at me, and I know it’s coming. “You know, Jack, sometimes I get the feeling you know more about what’s going on with Eliza than you let on. What do you know?”
I let that hang in the air, keeping my face neutral. “Nothing. She comes to me for advice sometimes, but it’s the usual stuff. Just her job, managing her boss’s expectations, and that kind of thing.”
He steps closer, voice dropping to a growl. “You’re sure? Because if there’s something you know—anything—that could help me protect my daughter, you better damn well tell me.”
I shake my head, keeping my expression neutral. “She’s not in any danger. She’s not hooking up with a married man. I’d bet my life on it. That was just a random article in the paper. It’s not your daughter.”