she tipped it to her lips, drank.
“Quite a place you got here, Shae girl.”
The bottle dropped from nerveless fingers as she swung around, her gaze sweeping the area for a weapon. She had her hand on the knife board before she recognized the voice. It was telling that even then, especially then, she had to force herself to release her grip on the weapon.
“What are you doing here, Da?” Her tone was flat, no welcome in it. She watched the tall handsome, man stroll down the spiral staircase from the loft, before posing theatrically at its base, arms spread.
“Shae, my girl, is that any way to greet your old man? Come over and give me a proper welcome.”
A proper welcome would be something between a knife in his heart and a boot out the door. She settled for uncompromising indifference. “Most people use the doorbell. Mind telling me how you got in here?”
One well-manicured index finger to his lips, Ryan O’Riley said, “Now, now. You know I never divulge my methods.”
“You don’t have to. You either broke in or bribed someone.” She bent down, picked up the bottle she’d dropped and grabbed a towel to wipe up the water that had spilled. “Knowing your basic lack of ambition, I imagine bribery was your means of choice.”
“You’ve grown hard, girl.” An expression of sadness settled on Ryan’s face as he heaved a sigh. “I blame myself for that.”
Rising again, she tossed the wet towel in the sink. “There’s plenty to blame yourself for, Da. By all means, don’t stop there.”
If age had caught up with Ryan McCabe O’Riley, it hadn’t dared to show itself. His six-foot frame was still straight, his red hair as bright as her own. His unlined face looked a good ten years younger than its fifty years. It was amazing, Shae thought bitterly, what living without care or conscience could do for a person.
“I wouldn’t say no to one of those bottled waters if you were to offer,” he hinted broadly, leaning against the counter.
It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse. But spitefulness wouldn’t solve anything, and it certainly wouldn’t get rid of him. When he wanted something, her father could be amazingly thick-skinned. And he definitely wanted something, or he never would have shown up here.
She got him a water, slid it over to him. “I’m not giving you any money.”
The stage had missed a born actor in Ryan O’Riley. The injured expression on his face was worthy of a Tony. “Can’t I just stop by and catch up with my only daughter? My eldest and the dearest to her father’s heart?”
Giving up, Shae propped a hip against the wall, watching him. There would be no rushing him. He’d take his own time getting to the point, and then use charm, guilt and familial loyalty to try to get his way. The combination had never worked on her, but he’d always refused to acknowledge that.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of you.” Few seeing the beaming paternal look on his handsome face would doubt his sincerity. “My daughter, the doctor. I can’t believe the little girl I raised is saving lives every day. The emergency room at Charity, right?”
She ignored his question, preferring to focus on his statement. “It would certainly be a stretch to claim you had any part in raising me. If we were to add up all the time you actually spent with your family, we’d probably come up with…what? Three years, total?”
His brows lowered. “Now, Shae, don’t go blaming me for things out of my control. I did what I had to do to put food on my family’s table, to provide for your mother, you and your brother. I know you always felt I could have done more, but—”
“You mean like hold a steady job? Bring a paycheck home? Be a father, instead of an occasional house guest?” With effort she kept her tone expressionless. Emotion was an ineffective weapon against him. He’d only wield it against her. “Any of those would have been a start. But you chose to take the easy route, running one scam after another in search of a quick buck.”
“Those were legitimate entrepreneurial enterprises,” he corrected her. “Each and every one of them.”
“Of course. And the police take such a narrow view of entrepreneurs, don’t they?”
“Apparently.” Nodding, he took another swig. Sarcasm was wasted on him. It was only one of his annoying qualities. “Because I understand poor Liam got caught up in their net.”
Rage, only recently tucked away, bubbled through her veins. “Poor Liam took a page out of his da’s book and looked for the easy life. He was caught red-handed with an apartment full of electronics. Where do you suppose he learned his skill breaking and entering?”
“I won’t be having you take that tone with me, Shae Kathleen O’Riley.” Ryan’s voice was stern. “I taught the boy better than that, just like I taught you.”
As quickly as the fury had boiled over, it vanished, leaving desolation in its wake. “You should have left him with me after Mam died. We were doing fine on our own. He was in a good school and making decent grades. Living with you ruined him.”
“Well, now, I know you’ve never forgiven me for taking him and leaving you alone, girl.” With a neat twist, he turned the words back on her, distorting the truth. “But what kind of father would I have been to leave my son to be raised by his sister, and you only twenty yourself?”
The kind of father, she thought resentfully, who hadn’t had his eye on the welfare check that could be applied for when an unemployed man had a dependent. She imagined the majority of it every month had gone to the track.
“We’d done well enough on our own for over two years.” Not for the first time, she considered the futility of this line of conversation. Ryan would never change. She’d known that since she was eight. Arguing about it was pointless. She spent as much effort as necessary to avoid thinking about him most days.
“Why don’t you tell me what brought you here today?” She hadn’t even known he was in the city. She hadn’t seen him since Liam’s eighteenth birthday.
“Can’t a father even…” Observing the stony expression on her face, he swallowed his words. “The truth is, darlin’, your old man is in a wee spot of trouble.” With the dimple winking in his left cheek, he looked like a mischievous rogue admitting to stealing a kiss from the neighbor girl. She’d seen the look too often to be swayed by it.
“Police or money?” she asked briskly.
He made a sound of dismay. “I believe the NOPD may be looking to have a discussion with me, but that’s just a misunderstanding. However, there are some people I need to pay if I want in on a new venture. I think you’ll agree that this is an opportunity I can’t afford to pass up.”
The buzzer sounded, which was just as well. Her temples had begun to throb, a sure sign that she’d been in her father’s company too long. Crossing to the front door, she pressed the button on the intercom. “Yes?”
“Let me up, Shae.”
She had no difficulty identifying the raspy tones, softened by a cadence of the South. But she did have difficulty responding to it. What could be so important that Cade Tremaine would seek her out here? That thought was quickly
