If anything had happened, Chris would have called.
The glare he put on Bishop had the man swallowing hard. “This will take less than five minutes,” Dare told him, “as long as you’re straight with me. If not … well, then, we can be here all fucking day.”
“Fine.” Trying to regain his aplomb, Bishop rested a hip on the hood of Dare’s SUV and attempted a cavalier pose. “Let’s get this over with, then.”
That Bishop kept trying to take charge should have sent Dare’s temper to the breaking point; instead it reinforced just how obnoxious and pretentious the man was.
How the hell did Molly stand him? Had she gained her incredible willpower through necessity, from dealing with such a cold, uncaring father? Dare thought of her mother’s suicide, and how Molly’s life must’ve been after that loss.
Molly’s choices had been to be strong, or take the same path as one of her parents. She’d chosen strength.
And damn, he admired her as much as he wanted her.
“You had questions?” Bishop prompted.
Shaking off his distraction, Dare said, “Molly’s boyfriend. What do you know of him?”
“Who?” Looking genuinely perplexed, Bishop asked, “Do you mean Adrian?”
Unwilling to give Bishop any guidance, Dare didn’t reply.
His silence impelled Bishop to continue. “They’re not together anymore, which is a shame, but to my knowledge that’s the last man she dated.” Bishop pretended to give it some thought.
Dare wasn’t fooled. “You’re pushing your luck.”
“I don’t know that much about him. He seemed pleasant enough. Successful.” Bishop shrugged. “He owns property, his own business.”
“He owns a bar, but he’s hocked up to his eyebrows—and you’d know that, too, Bishop. No way in hell would you have let your daughter date anyone without doing a background check. You’re too protective of your own interests to risk letting anyone seedy in the door.”
Provoked, Bishop snapped, “If you already knew, then why are you bothering me?”
“Judging your honesty—and so far you’re failing.”
Taking that as a threat, Bishop rushed to say, “Fine. He was a graspy little worm who no doubt dated Molly for my money. But I wasn’t worried.”
“Because even Molly won’t see a dime?”
In his own defense, Bishop said, “She does well enough for herself.”
But she hadn’t always. When she was a little girl with hopes and dreams, all she’d had was Bishop, and it broke Dare’s fucking heart. “You’re talking about the writing career that you scorn?”
“I did not raise her to indulge in vulgar means of entertainment.”
From what Dare could tell, Bishop hadn’t really raised her at all. “Like whoring, cheating and gambling, you mean?” Those were Bishop’s sins, and they had not been passed on to the daughter.
Umbrage darkened Bishop’s complexion. “Are we through here?”
Dare shook his head. “Tell me about Natalie.”
“What do you want to know?”
That Bishop didn’t even make a pretense of trying to protect his youngest daughter didn’t surprise Dare. The man would guard his own interests first and foremost. “Where is she?”
“At this moment? I have no idea. She teaches, so she’s likely home by now. Probably grading papers or some related tedious task.” He caught Dare’s impatience and rushed on to say, “If you’re asking me where she lives, then you’ll find her in an apartment complex not far from Molly. The two of them have always been thick as thieves. For as long as I can remember, if one of them lied, the other one swore to it.”
If they had lied, Dare would bet it was to protect one another. “And your wife?”
Bishop shrugged. “At this particular moment, Mrs. Alexander would be presenting a grant to the Historical Society in Cincinnati.” He waved a hand. “She’s very into her little clubs and charitable affairs.”
So far, Bishop was the sole unscrupulous family member. Not that Dare was done digging. “When did you realize that Molly was missing?”
“When you trapped me here. Before that, I had no idea. My daughter and I don’t keep track of each other’s social calendars.”
“Bullshit. You knew.”
“I knew she was out of touch. I knew she was likely annoyed at me and therefore not returning her stepmother’s calls. But she travels without alerting me, and she’s always been independent.”
Because she’d had no choice. “Didn’t Natalie notice?”
Bishop looked at his nails. “Natalie did call me, concerned, but I had nothing to tell her, and neither did Kathi. I haven’t heard from her since, so I assume she came to the same conclusion that I did, that Molly was off on business with her book contracts.”
“Or the movie deal?”
Blank-faced, Bishop asked, “What movie deal?”
Huh. So he really didn’t know about that. Dare had already determined that the man was a lousy liar; if he’d known, he couldn’t have hidden it.
“I’ll be in touch, Bishop.” Dare wasn’t about to share Molly’s news. If she wanted him to know, she’d tell him herself. “When Molly calls you, you fucking well better answer. I don’t care what you have going on. Understood?”
“Does this mean we’re done?”
“For now, yes.” Dare smiled again. “Don’t forget what I told you, Bishop. This never happened. Tell a single soul, and you’ll regret it.” Stepping around his SUV, Dare opened the driver’s door and started to get inside.
For a second or two, Bishop stood there, unsure what to do. Finally he hissed low, “Why the hell are you even involved in all of this?”
And Dare couldn’t resist. He knew it was a mistake, knew he was acting out of character, that if he was truly in control he’d stick with the plan and drive away.
But he couldn’t.
Slowly he closed the door and came back toward Bishop.
Sensing that he’d erred, Bishop tried to backpedal, but he wasn’t fast enough. Dare grabbed him by the front of his shirt.
The older man screeched when Dare slammed him up against the hood of his car. “You try my patience, Bishop. That’s a very dangerous thing to do. Don’t let it happen again.”
With that warning, Dare shoved Bishop from him, forcing him to stumble before he gathered his composure and staggered away, taking his temper
