Amelia

 

Amelia looked up from the television show that she wasn’t paying any attention to when she heard the front door slam closed. Her heart began to pound with fear. She was supposed to be the only one home. She wondered if she could get to her phone quickly enough if it turned out to be a homicidal maniac.

 

When her father appeared in the living room, she was relieved, but only for a moment. His face was red with anger and his usually immaculate hair was disarranged. His suit was wrinkled and his hands were clenched.

 

“Dad, what’s--”

 

“Where were you last night?” he demanded, cutting her off.

 

Amelia felt the blood drain from her head. How could he have known? It just wasn’t possible! “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice wavering. “I was right here.”

 

“Don’t lie to me!”

 

Her father walked into the room and threw a picture down. Amelia saw herself in the parking lot of The Hole, her arms around Ethan. He was holding her tightly, one hand clasping the back of her neck and the other at the small of her back. Seeing it again made her whole body respond to the memory of the heat of his mouth and the firm muscles of his chest.

 

We look like we fit. Amelia shook the thought from her head. It wasn’t exactly the most important part. Suddenly she realized exactly what it meant for her father to have this picture. “Did you have me followed?”

 

“You promised me you were going to shape up,” Gregory said, his voice ragged with anger. “You said you--”

 

“Did you have me followed?” she asked again, her voice rising frantically, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking. This was the first time she’d been honestly afraid since the issues between her and her father had begun.

 

“Yes!” He spat out “I did. To keep you safe!”

 

“Taking dirty pictures of me is keeping mesafe?” Her stomach turned. Had she ever felt so completely violated before? “How could you do this?”

 

“How could you?” Gregorydemanded, looking back at the picture with derision. “Do you know who he is?What he is?”

 

“I...”No. The look her father fixed on her made her feel very dirty all of a sudden. She resented the feeling. What she’d done with Ethan wasn’t wrong. Her body was hers, damn it, and she could do what she wanted with it. At least for one night. She forced a laugh. “What are you talking about?”

 

“He’s the leader of a biker gang,” Gregory said. “It’s called The Angel’s Keepers. Don’t you know what biker gangs do, Amelia?”

 

She shook her head. She hadn’t thought to ask him what he did. She hadn’t cared as long as one of the things was her.

 

“They run drugs! They hurt people! They’re responsible for over half of the sex trafficking in Nevada!”

 

Amelia stared at her father. None of that even made sense. “That’s a lot of stuff for one group,” she said, trying to sound sarcastic. “The Angel’s Keepers must be a busy place.”

 

“Don’t be deliberately stupid!” he ordered, pointing his index finger in her face. “They’re all in it together. What do you think those rides are for? Why do you think they have meetings and headquarters?”

 

“Where did you even hear this?” she asked, shaken by his anger, but not cowed by what seemed to be insanely biased statistics.

 

“I heard it from people who give a damn about my campaign,” Gregory snarled. “The only serious financial backers I have!”

 

“What about Lauren Dorfman’s father? What about the Governor? What about-”

 

“Don’t contradict me, Amelia May!”

 

Amelia caught her breath, feeling lightheaded. “Stop shouting at me.”

 

“Stop whoring yourself out to gang members! I know you spent the night with him!”

 

Her mouth dropped open. Even Gregory seemed surprised at what he’d said.

 

“I am not a whore,” Ameliasaid, her voice shaking. “Don’tevercall me that again.”

 

“I...” But his temper overtook his remorse. “I told you I’d cut you off and I--”

 

“You can’t,” Amelia said coolly. “Not unless you want me to give Ethan a call. Ride off into the sunset with my gangster and spend the rest of my days spilling your dirty little political secrets.”

 

It was her father’s turn to be shocked. She hadn't even known whether or not her father had dirty secrets, but his sudden silence wasn’t encouraging. Amelia went on before she lost her nerve.

“I’m willing to play by your rules,” she said. “Date the men you want me to date. Be the respectable little daughter in public. But youwillrespect what I’m giving up for your campaign, or I’mdone.”

 

“Fine,” Gregory said, breathing hard, clearly trying to calm down. “As long as you behave properly, we won’t have a problem.”

 

“And I don’t want anyone following me anymore. That’s too far and you know it.”

 

“Maybe you should just stay home unless you have a proper chaperone,” he said and she resisted the urge to throw something.

 

“Perhaps you could make me a list,” Amelia said between clenched teeth. Wasn’t she already giving up enough? Now she had to have a chaperone? “I’m going to assume Ethan is off limits.”

 

“He already knows,” Gregory said, sweeping the picture off of the coffee table and ripping it in two. He finally looked in control again. “I stopped by and told him what I’d do if I saw the two of you together again. If he wants to hang onto his little club until the end of the year, he’ll listen.”

 

Her father tossed the shreds of the picture into the small wastepaper basket by the door and walked out of the room without a backward glance. Amelia dropped down onto the couch, her heart sinking down to the pit of her stomach. Her father had talked to Ethan? She could only imagine how that conversation had gone. Ethan didn’t look like a man who would willingly take orders. Maybe he’d show up just to prove a point.

 

Her traitorous heart pounded at the thought. No. He probably wished he’d never gotten involved with her. And she couldn’t blame him. In retrospect, it had been insane to drag him into this.

 

Amelia covered her face with both hands as hot tears burned in her eyes. Her father claimed to pay her way, she was suddenly fully aware that she was selling herself, piece by bloody piece.