Page 90 of Property of Yak

Julie

My dad walks out of the kitchen with two cups of tea.

“You didn’t need to make that for me.”

He raises a brow. “Did you ever think I made it because I wanted it?”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. If there’s one thing I know about my dad, it’s that he doesn’t drink tea willingly. It’s not his drink of choice. When he has it, it’s because I am.

He’s doing this to try and calm us both down over the events that happened earlier.

They arrested Aragon, but now Dad is determined to sleep here tonight even though I don’t want him to.

“Dad, it’s three in the morning. You need to go home,” I tell him for what feels like the millionth time tonight.

Darn Aragon pushing his way in and making my dad freak out. I already got him to leave once, so hopefully I will be able to get him to leave again.

“Sweetheart, I can’t do that. Not yet,” he says, shaking his head. “You could have been hurt.”

“It’s late,” I say again. “I’m not hurt. He’s in jail. I’m fine.”

He hands me a cup and sits down. I watch as he runs his hand over his face. Something about the action makes him look older, more tired, and it makes my heart sink.

I did this.

I hate causing my dad worry. I go out of my way not to, but tonight that was taken out of my control.

I didn’t ask Aragon to barge into my life. He did that all on his own.

“When I got an unknown number texting me that someone was here, that a King was here, I swear my heart stopped, Julie. I didn’t know what I would find when I got here. I thought you would be dead. I thought about how Liz and I would have to plan your funeral, and it petrified me. I can’t live without you, sweetheart,” he says quietly, not hiding the quiver in his voice.

“I’m fine.”

“But I’m not,” he mutters.

“I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head. “You have nothing to be sorry about. In fact, I’m the one who owes you an apology.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as guilt hits me hard. I should spit it out, tell him the truth.

But I can’t. Not yet. If he knew, he would intervene before Yak could take care of whatever it is that he’s working on.

“Dad, that’s not true.”

“Yes, it is, Jules. I know it, and you know it. The only reason a King came here tonight was because of me. I don’t know what I did to piss them off recently to make them go after you, but I’ll figure it out. I won’t have them messing with my daughter.”

“The leader made it sound like the order didn’t come from him,” I point out.

He raises a brow. “You heard that?”

I shrug as I look down at my tea.

“That honestly makes it even worse. If he’s having problems internally, that means the club is unstable. Unpredictable. That means putting more people in danger,” he mutters. “They know where you live.”

“Are they really that bad?” I ask without thinking.

Dad shoots me a look like I’m crazy. “Sweetheart, they are a one-percenter club. From what I know, they run guns for sure, and I suspect drugs as well. Who knows what else happens. People have gone missing after associating with them as well. They aren’t good people. They aren’t like the clubs that raise money for charity and help escort women and children to court after being abused.”