I raised a hand and hesitated before I knocked on the door. What was it about coming home that always made me pause? I sucked in a breath. Every alarm bell rang.
I should turn around and leave.
If my father wasn't threatening to go to my Sargeant about the missing files, I would have. There was no way to get around what I'd done.
My knuckles rapped against the screen door. I stood up a little straighter, staring ahead. One ounce of weakness, and he'd be on my ass even more. The door creaked open. I stared down at my mother. The older I got, the tinier she looked.
"Hey, honey." She smiled, but the look was forced. "What are you doing here?"
"Is Dad around?"
I already know he is. When does the old man leave?
"Yes, he's in the living room." She opened the door and let me in. "What's going on with you two? He won't tell me anything."
My lips pressed together. I didn't know what to say to her that wouldn't make her look at me with disappointment in her eyes.
"Nothing," I said shortly. "I'll go talk to Dad."
"Oh. Okay." She frowned. "You two play nice."
I suppressed the scoff that threatened to break free. Nice. There was never any nice when the two of us were left alone. One of us always ruined it. I walked into the living room, and he looked up, a sneer twisting his lips.
"What the fuck were you thinking?"
Ah, we're starting already.
I shoved my hands into my pockets. "I asked you—"
"I know what you asked me," he snapped. He grabbed his cane, pushing himself onto his feet to glare at me. He always did that when he wanted to be intimidating. Had he forgotten I'd grown up since then? "I told you to stay the hell away from the Kims."
"Yeah, I know."
He sneered. "You don't know shit, or you wouldn't have ignored me and did whatever the hell you wanted to do."
I stared at him. Did he think I was still a child? Okay, stealing from him wasn't right, but did he have to talk to me like that?
Rolling my shoulders back, I clenched my jaw tightly until pain shot through it. Sharp pinpricks of pain focused my attention.
"I needed it for my investigation," I said. "There's a whole task force revolving around the Kims, and that wouldn't have happened without me. I have people watching my back."
"That doesn't mean shit," he grumbled. "You want to be some kind of hot shot, that's what this is. Wanna play hero? All you're going to do is get yourself killed."
I scoffed. "Like you? From what I've heard, everyone says you were a hero, but the truth is you were just as bad as me. Charging in head first, getting yourself shot. How can you get on my back when I'm your exact carbon copy?"
He stared at me. I glanced away, toying with my fingers.
Shouldn't have said that.
I hadn't meant to let it slip free, but the hypocrisy of what he was saying smacked me in the face like a ton of bricks. As the silence grew between us, I shifted from one foot to the other. He stayed silent until I looked up and met his angry gaze.
"What did you say to me?"
I willed myself not to take a step back. My father ran over me backward and forward when we were together, but I wasn't in the mood for that shit right now.
