My head and my heart both fucking hurt.

So now the truth had finally come out. We knew what Barbara had been doing all those years, what Amanda had been so desperate to hide.

Kendall and I walked into the guest bedroom hand in hand, finding her sister in a corner, her knees pulled up and tears flowing down her pretty face.

God, I felt fucking guilty. For everything I’d done to her that day, for judging her like that, for making her pay for the actions of her mother. I’d never hated myself more, and I could only hope that with time, Amanda would learn to forgive me somehow. Whether I’d ever be able to fully forgive myself, I wasn’t sure yet. I’d painted this picture of Mandy in my head – a sweet but promiscuous young girl. I’d never known it was a fate her mother had pushed her towards, and I blamed myself for not noticing the warning signs sooner.

“Mandy,” Kendall said gently, her hand leaving mine as she kneeled down on the floor next to her sister. “I’m so sorry. I never knew… I swear, I had no idea.”

“It’s okay,” Amanda said dismissively, offering her a brave smile and sniffling as she looked up at us. “I promise, I’m okay. I’m just glad I finally got away from this whole mess. That things are finally going to be okay now.”

“They are,” I said. “They’re going to be perfect, girls, I promise.”

“What’s going to happen to us?” Kendall asked in a shaky voice, and I sighed, sitting down on the guest bed and burying my face in my hands.

“You’re both eighteen,” I told them simply. “So, you’re free to stay wherever you want. Your mother wields no power over you anymore. You can do whatever the fuck you want, and I want you both to know I want you to stay with me. I know… I know I haven’t been perfect. Fuck, don’t I know it. I should have noticed the warning signs before. But I want to help now. And you both know I love you.”

I glanced at Kendall, the unspoken words from before heavy on my tongue, and she smiled at me shyly.

“I want to stay,” she said gently. “I want to stay with you. But I’m going to do whatever Amanda wants.”

She turned her questioning eyes to her sister, and I watched a silent conversation go on between them as they looked at one another.

“I want to stay too,” Amanda finally said, and my shoulders sagged with relief.

Thank fuck she’d said that, because otherwise I would’ve had to insist. They had no money, no nothing, and I had everything to offer them. And I was going to take care of my girls, whatever it took. I was going to make sure they were both okay and well taken care of. I would never be able to forgive myself if I let them slip through my fingers now.

“Okay,” I said gently. “You can stay as long as you want to. If it were up to me, I’d keep you forever. But I want you both to know I’ll never force you to be here. Whatever happens, you can always walk away from this, and I’ll help you in any way I can. Both of you.”

I looked at Kendall, and then at Amanda, making sure they understood. They both nodded, seemingly pleased with what I’d told them.

“Good,” I said simply. “And girls, I’m going to make sure you’re safe. As long as you’re with me, you’ll have anything you want, and you’ll be safe.”

Amanda pulled Kendall in, and my girl let her. She burrowed her head in Kenny’s shoulder and cried openly, as if she were only now realizing her own mother had meant her harm, not good. It was fucking heartbreaking to see, but there was nothing I could have done to help in the moment. Amanda needed her sister, and I needed to take a step back.

Leaving them in the guest bedroom, I slipped out and walked into the living room. I poured myself a glass of Scotch and slowly sipped it, staring out into the city below.

God, what a fucking mess we’d gotten ourselves into. Poor Kendall and Amanda. My sweet girls… I couldn’t believe the things I’d heard not even an hour ago. The horrible things that Barbara had made Amanda do sickened me.

Just then, I heard a slamming door, and I looked up to find Kendall standing in the doorway of the room.

She looked wild. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her hands were curled into fists.

“What’s going on?” I asked, right away afraid of the worst.

Was Barbara back somehow? Had she done something again?

“You fucked her,” Kendall spit out, glaring at me. “You fucked my sister!”

I felt the color draining from my face as Amanda ran up behind Kendall. There were still tears streaming down her face and she looked desperately upset as she looked at me for forgiveness.

“It slipped,” she stuttered. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“I hate you both,” Kendall cried out, and before I could stop her, she dashed out of the apartment in a haze.

I stared at Amanda, my blood fucking boiling in my veins.

“How could you?” I snarled at her. “There’s a time and place to tell her, and it’s not now.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said defeatedly, and even though I could see it hadn’t been a malicious act on her part, I was fucking pissed as hell.

I ran after Kendall, getting into the hallway just in time to see the elevator doors shut with her inside. I cursed out loud. We were on the fifty-seventh floor – I’d have to wait for the next car, running down the stairs would be fruitless. But she could be gone by the time I got there.

I paced the hallway, panic rushing through my body as I realized just how bad this situation was.

Kendall wasn’t going to understand, and she was going to blame me. She’d never accept my apology, and she wouldn’t believe I hadn’t initiated whatever happened between me and her sister. But what the fuck did I even want? I was irrevocably in love with my little girl, but Amanda had a charm I was finding impossible to resist. And for the first time ever, I wondered whether I’d be able to fully keep my hands off her.

But I knew if that was what Kendall wanted, I’d do my fucking best.

I jabbed my finger into the elevator button again, and thankfully it appeared a few moments later. I stewed in the ride down, and as soon as I got out, I started frantically searching for my girl. I’d just gotten my hands on her, I wasn’t about to let her slip through my fingers.

I roared her name as I teared down the street, rushing into women who could never compare and men who gave me strange glances. I was desperate. I’d never been this fucking desperate in my life. I realized with a start how attached I’d gotten to her. Sweet, innocent little Kendall had taken hold of my heart, and she fucking owned me already, even if she didn’t know it just yet.

Then I saw her.

Just the back of her, her long, flowing brown hair and that ridiculous dress of Amanda’s. I rushed after her, my fingers wrapping around her arm just as she turned into an empty side street. I forced her to turn towards me and when I saw her tear-streaked face I felt guilty as fuck. What was I doing to this girl? Before she’d met me, she’d been innocent, fucking innocent. And now I’d messed her up completely.

“I’m sorry, baby girl,” I said. “I’m so sorry for what happened. I wish I could take it all back.”

She didn’t fight back, she just stared at me as if she didn’t know me at all, and that hurt most of all.

“Please come back with me,” I begged her. “Please, just come upstairs, we’ll sort this whole mess out, we’ll be fine, baby girl, please…”

“You always liked her,” she said, her bottom lip trembling. “You always liked Amanda.”

“Of course I did,” I said desperately. “But not like you, baby, never like you.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said, laughing bitterly. “I don’t believe you for a second.”

“Baby girl,” I said. “She wrote me a letter. The night I came into your room. She wrote me a letter asking me to fuck her. I thought it was you. That’s why I did it. I thought it was you…”

She stared in my eyes, finding nothing but the truth there.

“Mom made her write it,” she finally said. “She told me.”

“Fuck,” I cursed out loud, rubbing my temples. “Fuck, fuck.”

“And you still fucked her,” Kendall said roughly. Her voice was breaking. “You still fucked her, Levi!”

“Because I thought she was you,” I admitted miserably. “She fucking tricked me.”

“Why?” Kendall asked. “Why the fuck would she do that?”

“We should ask her,” I said. “Only she knows that.”

“But you still want to fuck her,” Kendall said matter-of-factly. “You still want her to be your girl, just like I am.”

“Baby girl…” I said placatingly. “I love you.”

“You didn’t deny it,” she pointed out, and I fucking hated myself.

No, I hadn’t denied it.

Why?

Because Amanda’s pussy had been on my mind the whole day. The way she’d squirmed, the way she’d begged for more. Jesus, any man would be going insane watching that. I couldn’t resist wanting her.

I looked up at Kendall and shock washed over me when I saw the expression on her face. Gone was the little girl, and in her place stood a devious young woman with a wicked smile and a body to kill for.

“Tell me, Levi,” she purred. “Tell me you want to fuck her.”

“She’s a little bitch,” I muttered.

“That you want to fucking pound,” Kendall mewled. “Tell me, Daddy. Tell me you want to.”

“I want to fuck her,” I admitted. “I really fucking do. But only if you let me.”

“Good,” Kendall giggled.

I stared at her incredulously. She came up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me right there, on the street. She didn’t give a fuck if anyone saw me, a forty-eight-year-old man kissing a girl that was thirty years younger. She didn’t give a fuck when she pulled back and called me Daddy.

“Do you want me to?” I asked her. “You want me to fuck Amanda?”

She pulled me in the direction of the building, grinning at me over her shoulder.

She didn’t need to give me an answer.

I was already rock fucking hard.