Force of Temptation
Page 71
It was then that Jesse realized he’d passed some kind of test.
“Lily will never stop trying to lure Harley back there,” Clive told Jesse, “but it’s not a good place for her. Tess saw that too. Have you met Tess?”
“I have.”
“A delight, isn’t she?”
Harley almost snorted. The only thing Clive found “delightful” about Tess was that he could manipulate her. “The extremists who targeted me . . . did my cousins find them?”
The humor left Clive’s face. “They found their hiding place, but the humans had already left. They’re on the run now. No need to worry, sweetheart. They’ll be found. And they will pay. Clearly they believe it will not come to that or they would never have targeted you in the first place. But then, crazy people do crazy things.”
Well, he’d know. “You have contacts on the outside.” People who admired him so much they would happily do his bidding, like watch over Harley. “So why did you send my cousins after the extremists?”
“Since they care for you, they would be much more rigorous at hunting the extremists than others would have been. I need to know you are safe.”
“She will be,” said Jesse. “She has me.” Another father might have felt comforted by that, but Jesse could see that Clive saw it as trespassing.
“She also has me. It’s a father’s right to love and protect his child.”
Love? Harley inwardly snorted. “You’re not capable of that emotion.”
Clive slid his gaze to her. “Maybe not. Or maybe I just process the feeling differently than others do.” He looked back at Jesse. “She was the sweetest child you’ve ever known. Used to draw me pictures and write me stories. I treasure them. She may now look at me differently and not show me that same unconditional love, but she’s still my daughter and I’ll always love and protect her.”
“But you don’t regret what you did that got you locked up, do you?” asked Jesse.
Clive blinked. “Why would I? Did those humans not deserve what they got?”
“Your son deserved justice. You didn’t seek that. You sought revenge.”
“Sometimes revenge is the only thing we can seek. The human justice system would not have seen to it that those men paid for what they did.”
“Maybe not. But in doing what you did, in getting yourself locked up, you left Harley vulnerable. That’s not loving or protecting her.”
“I left her vulnerable, yes . . . and I regret that. But think of all the things that may not have happened if I wasn’t a free man. Lily would not have broken and Harley would have had both parents—good things, true. But then she wouldn’t have needed Tess; she would have remained part of the pride. And if I had been around when your old pack targeted Harley, I would have challenged your father for blaming her for your sister’s addiction. And he would be dead now.”
“And The Movement might never have been formed,” Jesse added, very tempted to ask him outright if he had indeed formed it.
Clive’s smile widened. “Don’t ask questions that you don’t really want the answers to.” He rose to his feet and called for the guards. “Don’t forget it’s my birthday in two months, Harley. I’ll expect to see you then.”
As they walked across the prison’s parking lot toward their SUV, Jesse took her hand. “Do the guards often leave you alone with him?”
“All the time,” Harley replied.
“Well, they damn well shouldn’t. I know he’s your father, Harley, but he’s also a convicted killer.”
She puffed out a breath. “Yes, he is. And he’s worshipped by the other shifters in that place, so you can imagine how easy it is for him to start prison riots, can’t you?”
Jesse stopped in his tracks. “You’re telling me he starts riots if they don’t give him what he wants? Like a little kid who throws a tantrum to get their own way?”
“Yep. Giving Clive what he wants is a win-win situation for the guards. He can keep the other shifters in line, making their job much easier. But he can also make that job hell. If his requests aren’t unreasonable, they agree to them.”
Jesse brushed her hair away from her face. “You know it’s very possible that he formed The Movement, don’t you?”
She swallowed. “Yeah. But I don’t want to know if he did or if he didn’t. I’m just going to pretend it’s a dumb theory.”
Jesse couldn’t blame her for that. “Although he’s accepted our mating, I don’t think he likes that you have another male in your life. By protecting you, I’m imposing.”
“He protects me the way someone would protect a prized possession. He sees me as something that belongs to him as opposed to an actual person.”
“Yet, he gave you to Tess.”
“Yeah, but there were a lot of conditions involved.”
“Such as?” he asked as they resumed walking.
“I couldn’t change my surname. Tess had to take me to see him twice a month and allow him to call me once a week, whether I liked it or not. She had to agree to send me to the school and college of his choice. She also had to send him photographs, copies of school report cards, and stuff like that. She couldn’t take me on vacation or send me on school trips without his approval. The list goes on.”
Well, fuck. “Giving custody to Tess allowed him to control you.”
“Lily will never stop trying to lure Harley back there,” Clive told Jesse, “but it’s not a good place for her. Tess saw that too. Have you met Tess?”
“I have.”
“A delight, isn’t she?”
Harley almost snorted. The only thing Clive found “delightful” about Tess was that he could manipulate her. “The extremists who targeted me . . . did my cousins find them?”
The humor left Clive’s face. “They found their hiding place, but the humans had already left. They’re on the run now. No need to worry, sweetheart. They’ll be found. And they will pay. Clearly they believe it will not come to that or they would never have targeted you in the first place. But then, crazy people do crazy things.”
Well, he’d know. “You have contacts on the outside.” People who admired him so much they would happily do his bidding, like watch over Harley. “So why did you send my cousins after the extremists?”
“Since they care for you, they would be much more rigorous at hunting the extremists than others would have been. I need to know you are safe.”
“She will be,” said Jesse. “She has me.” Another father might have felt comforted by that, but Jesse could see that Clive saw it as trespassing.
“She also has me. It’s a father’s right to love and protect his child.”
Love? Harley inwardly snorted. “You’re not capable of that emotion.”
Clive slid his gaze to her. “Maybe not. Or maybe I just process the feeling differently than others do.” He looked back at Jesse. “She was the sweetest child you’ve ever known. Used to draw me pictures and write me stories. I treasure them. She may now look at me differently and not show me that same unconditional love, but she’s still my daughter and I’ll always love and protect her.”
“But you don’t regret what you did that got you locked up, do you?” asked Jesse.
Clive blinked. “Why would I? Did those humans not deserve what they got?”
“Your son deserved justice. You didn’t seek that. You sought revenge.”
“Sometimes revenge is the only thing we can seek. The human justice system would not have seen to it that those men paid for what they did.”
“Maybe not. But in doing what you did, in getting yourself locked up, you left Harley vulnerable. That’s not loving or protecting her.”
“I left her vulnerable, yes . . . and I regret that. But think of all the things that may not have happened if I wasn’t a free man. Lily would not have broken and Harley would have had both parents—good things, true. But then she wouldn’t have needed Tess; she would have remained part of the pride. And if I had been around when your old pack targeted Harley, I would have challenged your father for blaming her for your sister’s addiction. And he would be dead now.”
“And The Movement might never have been formed,” Jesse added, very tempted to ask him outright if he had indeed formed it.
Clive’s smile widened. “Don’t ask questions that you don’t really want the answers to.” He rose to his feet and called for the guards. “Don’t forget it’s my birthday in two months, Harley. I’ll expect to see you then.”
As they walked across the prison’s parking lot toward their SUV, Jesse took her hand. “Do the guards often leave you alone with him?”
“All the time,” Harley replied.
“Well, they damn well shouldn’t. I know he’s your father, Harley, but he’s also a convicted killer.”
She puffed out a breath. “Yes, he is. And he’s worshipped by the other shifters in that place, so you can imagine how easy it is for him to start prison riots, can’t you?”
Jesse stopped in his tracks. “You’re telling me he starts riots if they don’t give him what he wants? Like a little kid who throws a tantrum to get their own way?”
“Yep. Giving Clive what he wants is a win-win situation for the guards. He can keep the other shifters in line, making their job much easier. But he can also make that job hell. If his requests aren’t unreasonable, they agree to them.”
Jesse brushed her hair away from her face. “You know it’s very possible that he formed The Movement, don’t you?”
She swallowed. “Yeah. But I don’t want to know if he did or if he didn’t. I’m just going to pretend it’s a dumb theory.”
Jesse couldn’t blame her for that. “Although he’s accepted our mating, I don’t think he likes that you have another male in your life. By protecting you, I’m imposing.”
“He protects me the way someone would protect a prized possession. He sees me as something that belongs to him as opposed to an actual person.”
“Yet, he gave you to Tess.”
“Yeah, but there were a lot of conditions involved.”
“Such as?” he asked as they resumed walking.
“I couldn’t change my surname. Tess had to take me to see him twice a month and allow him to call me once a week, whether I liked it or not. She had to agree to send me to the school and college of his choice. She also had to send him photographs, copies of school report cards, and stuff like that. She couldn’t take me on vacation or send me on school trips without his approval. The list goes on.”
Well, fuck. “Giving custody to Tess allowed him to control you.”
