Tyrant Daddy by Isabella Starling

Chapter 7

Willa

I get a second message from the mystery daddy on the app. It's only a location with a time for today, and an amount of money that makes it impossible to swallow.

"Fuck," I mutter to myself, pushing my feet off my bed. Who is this guy and why is he so eager to meet me?

I spend my morning the way I usually do – with Dove, Nox and the boys. Scott and Kellan are adorable, but they're driving me crazy with their antics today. After they prank me by switching the salt and sugar and pouring some into my toothpaste, I've had just about enough of the two rascals.

"I'm going out later," I tell Dove as she does the dishes.

"Oh?" Nox embraces her from behind, kissing her cheek. "Where you going?"

"To meet up with Mercy," I lie smoothly.

"Give her our love," Dove says with a faraway smile. "She has to come for dinner sometime soon. How's the situation at home with her?"

"Not good," I mutter. "But she doesn't talk about it much."

"Is she still with that boy?" Nox knits his brows together.

"Unfortunately." I grab an apple off the counter and wave them off as I head to my bedroom. They invited me to come to the zoo with them, but I turned it down. While I'm totally aware going to the zoo with your parents and siblings isn't the coolest thing to do when you're freshly turned eighteen, I do want to go. But I can't – I need the privacy to decide what I want to do about my second date.

I go through my hidden stash of savings in my bedroom. With Raphael's money and the promised cash for today's meeting, I'd be pretty much set to leave LA – with Mercy in tow.

But Raphael told me not to see anyone else from the app.

And besides... I'm not even sure anymore whether I really want to leave LA.

Not now that I’ve met Raphael.

My phone pings with a message and I look down, furrowing my brows when I see it.

If you show up today, I’ll give you an extra ten grand.

It’s from the person I’m meeting today.

Nervously, my teeth dig into my bottom lip as I question my decision.

There’s something Raphael doesn’t know about me yet, but it’s something he’s about to find out.

I’m a fuck-up. I’ll never be anything more than that.

This belief, ingrained in my head and hammered there by my stepfather and my mom, will never leave my mind for long. I’m acutely aware of the downfall of thinking this way, but there’s nothing to be done about it – it’s only the truth, after all.

I send a text back even though there are tears burning my eyes and I feel sick at the thought that I’m already starting to lie to Raphael.

I’ll be there. See you soon.

I’m running late again, but this time it’s seriously not on purpose.

I had the best intentions of showing up to this bar early, but the pricks at the front door wouldn’t let me in, not even with my fake ID. I argued with them for a solid ten minutes before looking for a back entrance. And of-freaking-course, now it’s raining too.

It’s only a light rainfall, nothing unusual for this time of the year, but my makeup’s already running and my hair is a mess. My three hours getting ready have been in vain.

Now, I’m standing on the pavement in front of the bar. The bouncers can’t tell me not to be here, as I’ve hissed at them a few times. But that doesn’t stop them from trying.

I’m still waiting for the guy – how the hell am I supposed to recognize him, anyway? – when I hear a familiar voice calling my name.

“Willa?”

I look up through the rain, my blood instantly going cold as it runs through my veins. I see his face then for the first time in years. He looks older than he used to, with a complexion that’s just as tan is it always was. His hair is mostly gray now, but his cold, hard blue eyes are exactly the same.

“D-Davis?”

He smirks, drinking in my sorry form on the pavement. “You’d better come inside for a drink with me, Willa.”

I don’t want to obey him.

Years ago, I swore to myself I would never do that again, no matter what he threatened me with. There’s nothing Davis Roanoke can threaten me with to make me obey him. Mom’s dead now. He can’t use her against me anymore.

Nevertheless, I find myself nodding, following my once-stepfather into the bar. I nervously scan the patrons, wondering which one of them is the one that called me here tonight. But I don’t get a chance to contemplate it any further – I freeze as Davis’ meaty palm wraps around my forearm and he sits me down at the bar.

“We’ll have two whiskey neats, double,” he nods at the bartender while I digest my shock over seeing him again. The guy gives me an uncertain look, but as Davis slides a fifty-dollar bill to him, my age is quickly forgotten. He pours the drinks while Davis turns to face me again with that billion-dollar smile. “Are you okay, Willa?”

No.

No, I’m not okay. I haven’t ever been okay. And it’s because of you.

All those words melt on my tongue, dissolving into nothing. I’m too afraid to say a word. Too stunned to find an appropriate reaction.

“I take it you’re in shock,” he grins. “I figured you would be when you saw me again.”

I drink the whiskey the bartender hands us in one go, throwing it back and making a face as it burns my throat.

“What are you doing here, Davis? You left years ago.”

“I’m back,” he shrugs. “Got re-married to a rich bitch, got a divorce... Left with a thick alimony payment I get monthly.”

He winks at me and I feel bile rising in my stomach. This man makes me so fucking sick, pretending like he never hurt me, pretending like he never fucked me up as bad as he did.

“Aren’t you happy I’m back?”

A feeling of sickness lingers in my stomach. I shake my head no, but I’m powerless to do any more than that.

“Such a little brat,” he smirks. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

I can’t possibly tell my stepfather the truth, so I come up with some bullshit excuse about my friends bailing on me. He makes a sad face at me before suggesting, “Why don’t you come to my hotel with me? We can reminisce. And I have something of your mother’s.”

This has my attention. I don’t have any mementos of Mom – all those years ago, the very man sitting next to me made sure of it.

“What is it?”

“Some old necklace of hers,” he shrugs. “A gift from your father, apparently.”

I remember the one, nodding eagerly. Mom never took it off. It’s one of the things I remember as clearly as if I just ran my fingertips across it yesterday.

“I shouldn’t,” I manage to get out. But I’m a marionette in Davis’ hands, just like I always was. He can shape, mold and manipulate me all he wants. And judging by the confident smirk on his face, the man is clearly aware of it.

“Come on.” He cocks his head at me. “Your friends bailed anyway, right?”

I glance around the bar again. But surely, if the mystery man from the app was here, he would’ve come up to me now. I guess he was the one who chickened out this time, not me.

“Okay,” I whisper in a small voice.

“Good girl.”

I wince at the sound of those two words on his lips. He’s the one that made me hate them.

I regress when Davis is around. I’m back to being the helpless little kid who couldn’t fight him. Who couldn’t say no. Who’d been taught to be a good girl and obey an adult she trusted. And I did, I obeyed. And Davis proceeded to ruin my life.

But his gaslighting didn’t stop there. He twisted his hold on my mind and my body until he broke me. It’s only because of Raphael that I feel I’ll be able to trust another man.

Wordlessly, I follow him. We walk on the rainy street to his hotel that’s only a building to the left. I guess that’s why he was in this bar in the first place. My heart beats into overdrive as we get into the elevator and I feel his leering gaze on me.

But unlike in the past, Davis doesn’t make a move the first chance he gets this time.

No, this predator has grown smarter and even more murderous.

He invites me into his room after unlocking it with a keycard. It’s a penthouse suite, several rooms overlooking the city. I guess that alimony check is paying for all of this.

It makes me fist my hands, remembering the hell he put Mom and me through when I was a kid. We couldn’t dream of luxuries like this. We were lucky if we got to eat.

“You want a drink?”

I give a non-committal shrug, and he’s quick to start mixing an intoxicating cocktail from the mini fridge.

I fight with my desire to leave and the old methods of obeying that were hammered into me. I don’t want to stay here. The thought of Davis touching me again makes my skin crawl. But I can’t bring myself to leave, not until he hands over my mom’s necklace.

“So, you had something for me?” I ask, pretending I don’t notice my own voice shaking in his presence.

“Oh?” He cocks a brow at me as he hands me the boozy concoction.

“The ne-necklace,” I remind him, flushing. I hate how weak I am in his presence.

“Oh, right.” He shrugs. “It’s gotta be around here somewhere. You should help me look for it later. After we’re done.”

“After we’re...” I knit my brows together, staring at him. “Done with that?”

I take a sip of the drink as he winks at me.

“Come on, Willa, don’t play dumb.”

“Dumb? I don’t get it.” I stare at him, wide-eyed. “What’s this about?”

“Come on, Willa. You don’t think it’s coincidence we met tonight, do you?”

“You...” I glare at him my fingers tightening around the tumbler in my hand. “You followed me?”

He pulls his phone out of his pocket and types something. A moment later, my phone pings with a message.

From the guy I was supposed to meet tonight. The one I thought stood me up.

Don’t pretend you didn’t know it was me all along.

My mouth drops in shock. I never thought he’d do this. Take advantage of me like this. And he’s given me so much money... I have an obligation to him now. I promised him something. And now he’s going to take it. Just like he did when I was a kid.

“N-No.” The glass drops from my hand, the carpet under my feet softening the fall as the liquid seeps into it.

“No?” He laughs, cocking his head to the side again. “You never used to say no, sweet thing.”

There’s his nickname for me again, the one I always fucking hated. I want to kick him. I want to spit in his face and tell him he ruined my life. That I’m still too broken to tell anyone what he did to me. Even Dove or Nox, who would surely hunt him down and punish him.

“Don’t call me that,“ I whisper.

He just laughs at me, knowing he holds all the power. He’s still older, stronger, and smarter. And I’m still just a fuck-up.

“What are you going to do about it, sweet thing?”