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She couldn’t tell if he was just trying to appease her or was being truthful “Proo to the hospital if the pain persists” She couldn’t help but fret about him since she wasn’t at home to see him for herself

“Don’t worry about ure out how to get you out of the situation”

Sadly, she wanted to say that threethat would resolve the issue completely, but kept the comment to herself

“Dadhow did you accu to know the how and why of it all since it was such a ht, there wasproblem—”

“Arabella, this isn’t soht now,” he said, his voice abruptly beco stern as he circumvented the question

She hated that he was stonewalling her, but it didn’t stop her fro a bolder questionthe one that Maddux had evaded earlier “Okay, then what did you do to Maddux and his faiven up for her father, knowing the truth would at least help her understand why Maddux and his siblings harbored so ainst her parent

“It doesn’ther with his e the price for his debt and whatever other misdeeds he’d possibly executed “What’s done is done and you don’t need to know the details It’s bad enough that Wilder has the one thing thatin his power to turn you against me with false accusations and malicious lies”

As she listened to her father rant without justifying his tirade against Maddux, it occurred to Arabella that if her father was so concerned about her captor filling her head with defaive her some kind of discernable ammunition to confront Maddux with?

Becausereally, really bad and he was attes around to make Maddux appear the villain

A knot of unease rose into her throat, and she sed hard, suddenly feeling as though her selfless actions last night had been nothing e of

So far, he’d offered no apology, no reassurances, and no explanationsand his disregard hurt when he should have been doing everything in his power to convince her of his innocence It also left her feeling very disconnected fro a narcissistic, duplicitous side to him that she’d been blinded to before now

Did she even know her father, and what his life entailed, at all?

It was a painful thought, and considering he’d e, the ansas a sobering one

Suddenly, she had no desire to talk to hier, especially when she didn’t knohat to believe “I need to go, Dad I love you and I’ll be in touch,” she said, and disconnected the call

Needing to distract herself, she stood up and gathered the clothing Maddux had worn last night She draped his tuxedo jacket and slacks over her arm, and as she picked up his white dress shirt, her senses were swarance that was uniquely his She brought the material up to her nose and inhaled deeply of the testosterone-infused scent and wasn’t surprised to feel desire swirl deep and low in her belly