Newmar, Lola - Devlin's Beast [Scarlett Rose and the Seven Longhorns 5] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) (4 page)

The redhead shifted in her desk chair a little as if she were growing uneasy. “He didn’t call you?”

“No. Why?”

Margot cursed under her breath. “I’m afraid your father is forgetting more and more these days.” She then sat a little straighter and looked at Scarlett. “Your father told me he was going to call you to let you know lunch has been canceled.” She averted her gaze before continuing. “And he also gave me specific instructions to not pencil you into his schedule until further notice.”

Devlin stepped up to the desk before Scarlett had the chance to even try and stop him. “This doesn’t make any sense. She just talked to him this morning to confirm their appointment.”

“Then obviously something has come to his attention in the recent hours to make him change his mind,” Margot said to Devlin sternly then returned her attention back to Scarlett. “I’m sorry, Miss Scarlett, but I honestly have no idea what the reason for the cancellation was. All I know is that your father seemed
very
wound up about something.” Margot chewed on her bottom lip, concern apparent.

It felt like all the blood rushed to Scarlett’s throbbing head as she realized her evil stepmother hadn’t wasted any time in spreading the news of the night before. The pain in the ass must have talked to her father soon after they’d gotten off the phone. “Can I go up and see him, please?”

Margot’s thin eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she shook her head and laughed. “Are you feeling all right, Miss Scarlett? You’re Charlie Rose’s daughter. There’s hardly even a secret society in Dallas that would deny you access.”

Scarlett just rolled her eyes when she heard Devlin chuckle at that. “Thank you, Margot.” Margot waved goodbye after them before they made their way over to the elevator. Thankfully, there was a small standing marquee against the wall between the elevator doors that displayed the building directory.

Rose Public Relations-Suite 1222

“Twelfth floor,” Devlin said from behind her as he looked over her shoulder then pushed the up button on the wall.

A soft ding soon indicated the arrival of an elevator. Devlin held his thick, muscular arm out to make sure the doors remained open as Scarlett stepped in. Lame instrumental music played softly through the speakers just as Devlin followed and the doors closed. He pushed button
12
.

Scarlett stared at the elevator wall as she tried to get a grip on her anxiety, but she knew in her gut that the interaction with her father wouldn’t be going as smoothly as she’d prayed all night it would be. All too soon, the elevator doors split open directly in front of a sleek, frosted glass door with her last name etched in the middle. When they walked in, they were met with another receptionist, this one much younger and stylish than Margot. As they got closer, Scarlett realized that the pixie-haired blonde was much too caught up in typing what seemed like an extremely long-winded text message to even notice their presence.

Scarlett felt Devlin tug on the side of her waistband. He nodded to the back of the large office space, indicating a large, intricately designed wooden door. It was the same wooden door in the memories of her father’s study. They ever so carefully slid by the distracted young woman, although Scarlett was willing to bet their discretion was likely unnecessary judging from how intense her text conversation seemed.

She took a deep breath before softly knocking on the antique door then walking in. Devlin closed the heavy door behind her. “Father?” she called out in the empty study. Just like in her vision, rows of books began at the top of the ceiling and ended on the hardwood floor.

“What are you doing here, Scarlett?”

They both turned to find her father wheeling toward them. “Father,” she gasped. The look on his face already had her heart breaking. His eyes were narrowed on not only her but Devlin, as well. His jaw was clenched in obvious anger, and she could even detect a hint of hurt in his blue eyes. “Father,” she again attempted to continue, “some terrible things have happened, and I need you to listen—”

“Enough!” Her father slammed down his cane on the floor, the deafening noise causing her to flinch.

Suddenly, she was quickly pulled behind her mate, and she could hear the low warning growl rumbling from the back of his throat. His entire body tensed, and all of his muscles seemed to puff out a little more as if preparing for combat. “Easy,” she whispered behind him, placing a gentle hand on his upper back. She felt his body only slightly relax under her touch before stepping back between him and her father.

It didn’t seem like the expression on her father’s face had budged an inch. “You lied to me, Scarlett, and you lied to Alisa.”

Alisa. A name to a face.

“I looked through all our recent records,” he continued, “and we haven’t had a client in the Hamptons since last summer. Now explain yourself this instant, girl!”

The lump of sand in her throat grew more and more painful. “Daddy, it’s just all so complicated.” Emotion tightened inside her chest as an overwhelming sense of helplessness washed over her. It was obvious her father had made up his mind over quite a few things since talking to this Alisa person. It was hard to judge where to even begin with an explanation.

“Then explain it to me, Scarlett.” Her father rolled himself over to his desk. “Explain to me why I find out from my fiancée that my one and only baby girl has run off with not only one man but
seven goddamn men!
” Her father lifted and threw one of the snow globes resting on the desk, causing it to shatter in a million pieces on impact with the wall. At that point, she was willing to bet she knew exactly how that pathetic, unlucky snow globe felt at that moment. “Explain to me why you run off for over a week and then bring some stray back home with you.”

Devlin pulled her closer into his side as warm streams of tears glided down her cheeks. “With all due respect, Mr. Rose, I think we all need to keep our anger in check if we’re going to talk this out like civilized adults.” His words were calm and collected, but Scarlett could hear the unmistakable rage in her mate’s voice.

Her father glared at Devlin coldly. “Do you have a daughter, boy?”

“I don’t have any children, but—”

“But nothing! Until you know what it’s like to be the father of a young, impressionable woman, I’d advise you to shut the fuck up! My fiancée got an anonymous phone tip yesterday from one of your traumatized neighbors claiming they could see my own daughter participating in a filthy orgy from their bedroom window. My sweet, considerate Alisa was worried about my stress levels and chose to follow up without telling me. Then this morning, she gives me news that completely flips my entire world upside down.”

Everything was spiraling out of control more and more with each passing moment. It seemed all her anxiety was for something after all.

“Lover?” The purr of a feminine Russian accent had them all turning to the door. And there stood Alisa, the woman who had fed her the poisoned apple, and the man whose hand she’d almost shot clean off. Scarlett noticed the thick cast wrapped around his hand. It looked more homemade than anything, so she figured they hadn’t taken him to the hospital in order to avoid police questioning. When she looked back at Alisa, the disproportionate, blonde bimbo bore her evil brown eyes into Scarlett’s. If looks could kill, Scarlett imagined she’d be hamburger meat at that point.

Alisa’s glare snapped at Charlie. “What the fuck is she doing here,
lover
? You told me I wouldn’t have to worry about her until
after
the wedding on Sunday.”

Her father didn’t even plan on having his own daughter at his wedding? She swallowed, hoping the tears forming in her eyes from her hurt feelings at this realization wouldn’t spill over.

Her father held his palms up in surrender. “My darling Alisa, I didn’t plan on you walking in on this. You and your mother are supposed to be at the bridal boutique for another couple of hours.”

So these witches are actually mother and daughter, she thought to herself.

“I came back for to grab my iPhone from my purse. You know how I need to take a picture of every look I put on when I’m at the boutique.”

“Of course I know that, my dear.”

* * * *

With each person in the room talking over the other, Todd thought his head might explode as he struggled to keep up. The anger and spite in all their tones gave him a splitting migraine.

He used his forearm to wipe the perspiration he felt beading down his receding hairline and forehead as he reached in to his nurse’s scrub’s pocket to fish out his
real
friends, his pain killers. He’d recently swiped the little orange bottle of OxyContin from the old hag he often watched on Tuesday nights when her cold, indifferent middle-aged daughter played bingo with the other bluehairs from the strip-mall salon she frequented. They were only forty milligrams, so he was uncommonly grateful that Charlie’s vitals had taken longer than usual that morning, which had caused him to have to skip his breakfast of yogurt and a banana that always awaited him in the study’s mini-fridge. As he threw back what he guessed was around three, four—five, maybe—tiny yellow pills, he took comfort in the fact his empty stomach would eat the medicine more rapidly than if he’d eaten.

“Answer the fucking phone, Todd!”

His beloved bottle of pills almost flew from his trembling hand when all five of the other people in the room turned and shouted at him in perfect unison. He immediately heard the obnoxious horn Alisa called a ringtone blaring from her oversized white leather purse. Shoving the rest of the painkillers in his pocket, he used his free hand to fish out the expensive iPhone. Holding the phone directly in front of his face as he looked over the device in a quick panic for some sort of button that would silence the horrible noise, but the entire front of the phone appeared to just be a blank, buttonless black screen. His fingers pressed against every surface he could find.

“Now!” they all screamed again, and like before, his body jumped as they spooked him for the second time in a row. A flash went off at the same time the phone made a loud, photo camera sound, and then the phone suddenly stopped ringing.

As if he were nothing more than an annoying younger sibling, the five scowls turned away from him to continue their ranting and arguing.

He’d easily bet with confidence that his irritable sugarmama, her equally placid birth mama, his doomed yet trusting patient, his patient’s equally damned daughter, and the random yet handsome cowboy were all in on some cruel plan to gang up on him. Although he knew paranoia was a common side effect for his medicinal habits, they seemed much too choreographed to not be suspicious about. Breathing in a deep breath, he slicked back his sweaty hair with his sweaty palms as he took a seat to wait for the pills to kick in.

Hopefully, it really had been five OxyContins.

* * * *

“Oh, come the fuck on!” Devlin suddenly shouted out in the middle of the study. “Look, old man, we came to tell you that your fiancée tried to kill your daughter not just once but
twice
and that she’s fucking your lady nurse over there.” Everyone’s shocked face turned to him, and Scarlett’s jaw dropped.

“Devlin,” she growled through her teeth. “What the hell are you doing?”

“How dare you come into my business and accuse my future wife of such awful things!” Her father rolled from behind the desk and approached Devlin until his chair bumped Devlin’s long shins. “Todd over there is as gay as a unicorn dipped in K-Y and rolled in glitter. I even caught him making out in the supply closet with one of the bellboys at the last New Year’s Eve party.”

Todd groaned and dropped his chin to his chest as he shook his head back and forth. His face turned such a beet red it was almost purple. Alisa’s mother quickly placed a hand over her mouth, and it was obvious from her shaking shoulders that she was trying to cover up her giggles.

Alisa ran over and collapsed at Charlie’s feet. Her crocodile tears smeared her makeup dramatically and conveniently. “Oh lover, make him stop! They’re lying because they are angry with me for telling you what I saw. He’s only saying those things so that it doesn’t seem like Scarlett is the only whore in the room.”

“Watch your fucking mouth, lady, before I shut it for you!” Devlin snapped, his long finger pointing within a half inch from Alisa’s botched nose job.

Scarlett shrieked as she watched her father swing his cane in Devlin’s direction. It wasn’t until she heard a loud snap that she realized Devlin had caught the cane midswing and crushed it in half with a single hand. It seemed that enraged her father further, and he threw down the small stump of cane he still held in his hand.

“Right now, Scarlett!” Her father pointed at her, his hand shaking with either anger or old age, maybe both. “You choose one family right now.”