Striker: A Dark Bully Romance (Redwood Rebels Book 1) by Rachel Leigh (best historical fiction books of all time .txt) 📗

It won’t work. You can come, but I’m telling you, you’re gonna ruin your own plan.” I open the door and hop out, shutting it behind me.

Dry heat fills my lungs as I take a deep breath, suddenly parched. As soon as we walk in the house, I go straight to the kitchen and grab a bottled water. Talon stands by idly, watching me as I slam it.

Ruby, our housekeeper, walks into the kitchen. “Good morning, Ms. Thorn.”

I set the empty bottle on the counter. “Ruby, have you seen my father?”

She begins rubbing the rosary that hangs in front of her heart, mumbling something in Spanish as she looks Talon up and down in distaste.

“Ruby.” I snap my fingers until she shifts her attention to me. “My father?”

Rosary still in hand, she scoffs while eyeballing Talon. “Mr. Thorn is in his study.”

When she continues to glance back and forth from me to Talon, out of sheer concern for my safety, I excuse her. “You may leave.”

Ruby is extremely religious, and I get the feeling she thinks that Talon is part of some sort of cult and he’s here to take me prisoner. Actually, that’s exactly what is happening. Let’s hope her little prayer just now has spared my soul from the reapers.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell Talon, but he grabs my arm before I can even attempt to step past him.

With his face mere inches from mine, he narrows his eyes and shakes his head. His way of telling me that I will not be going anywhere alone. I huff, “Seriously?”

“You have no idea how serious I am.”

Jerking my arm away, I lead the way. “Fine. But remember what I said. He’s not going to be happy.”

“I’ll take my chances.” He smirks then slaps a hand to my ass.

I spin around quickly, giving him a shove. He’s lucky that I don’t slap him across the face. “Do not do that again.” I grit through my teeth. But he doesn’t even shutter, he just smiles. A sinister smile that trails goosebumps down my entire body.

His breath prickles my neck as he walks behind me. “My apologies. I was just remembering how much you liked it when I touched you last night.” Bringing my elbow back forcefully, I nail him right in the gut. When he lets out a grunt, I know I made my point.

Walking up the steep and winding stairs, he’s hot on my trail. Getting a perfect view of my ass. I’d love nothing more than to kick my foot back and send him flying down. I’m sure Ruby wouldn’t mind the mess of his blood; she’d probably sing one of her church hymnals with a smile on her face as she mops it up.

When we reach the top, I give him one more chance to change his mind. “Are you prepared for the possibility that in three point five seconds, my dad will have a gun to your head demanding your intentions?”

Reaching into his pocket, he whips out a sling blade. My eyes widen as I take a step back. “I’m always prepared.” With a flip, the blade goes back in and he sticks it in his pocket.

Ok then. Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that because Ruby would not be as inclined to clean up that sort of mess. Knocking on the door, Dad speaks before I announce myself, “Come in, Marni.”

Dad watches every move made in this house. He’s already expecting Talon and me. He has a monitor in his office with coverage of every camera in the house. The prison-like feel of my home has made sure that my high school days are anything but thrilling. My bedroom is the only place I get any privacy, and it’s not until I’m on the outside of this prison that I am able to fully unwind.

Dad is sitting all high and mighty—the king of his castle. A stern look holds tightly to his face as he glares at Talon. “Hi, Dad.” I walk over to his side and greet him with a kiss on his cheek.

“Where were you last night?” he asks. His words are directed toward me, but he is still staring at Talon.

“I stayed at Shay’s. I told you this before I left.” I didn’t really, but Dad doesn’t pay attention to half of what I say, so he’ll just play it off like he forgot.

Finally, he turns in his chair and looks in my direction. I pop a cheek on the edge of his desk and glance from him to Talon. “This is my friend, Talon. Blakley Porter’s brother.”

“I know who he is.” Dad picks up a cigar on his desk and sticks it between his teeth. Something he does often when he means business. The angrier he gets, the harder he bites down on it. I’m not sure I’ve ever even seen him smoke one.

Talon stands tall with his hands in his pockets and a blank stare as he glares right back at my dad. Being in this room with the two of them is actually enlightening. They are more similar than I thought. Both have this need for power and dominance. Only, Talon wants power over me. Dad’s goals are much bigger. He prefers to rule an entire nation in the black market, while also controlling me so that I don’t draw any negative attention to the Thorn name. Not that Axel hasn’t done that already.

“Dad, I’m here because I was wondering if I can stay with Shay for a couple of weeks. You’re leaving for Dallas in a couple of days anyway, and you know how much I hate staying here alone.”

Dad’s chair slides back so fast that you’d think his legs were on fire. He stands up and forcefully smacks both palms to his desk. “And what the hell do you have to do with this?” he snaps, looking Talon dead in the eye.

Still not budging from his position, Talon’s lips curl upward. Pulling his hand out of