“What the fuck’s the matter with you, you stupid, fucking bitch?” he asked in an enraged shout, his spittle landing on my face. “Christ! How have you not learned? It’s simple,” he yanked my hair with the last word and then again with each successive one, “you…do…as…you’re…told.”

My head jerking with each tug, my neck stretched taut in a reflexive effort to fight the jolts and beginning to ache, my scalp in agony, I tried to gather a single thought.

All I could do was notice that my sister was approaching.

I also vaguely noticed Tommy was there, not too far away.

And incidentally—so Tommy—not intervening.

“Dad, back off,” Georgia said in a calming voice.

Dad glared at me a moment before he yanked my hair one last time, like he was pushing me away from him, before he let me go and straightened.

I swayed with the wrench, flinching against the pain, and righted myself. But I didn’t move further because my father didn’t shift away and both Georgia and he were fencing me in.

Hazily, my attention drifted to my sister.

“Dustin Culver, Liv,” she said.

“What?” I whispered, that being the absolute last thing I expected her to say, not thinking I actually heard her say it and wondering if I was unconscious and hallucinating.

“Told you to date him, sis. Not break up with the fucker,” she stated.

I blinked up at her.

“The man’s running for state senate next term,” my father spat, and I looked to him. “Way he looks. Money he’s got. Brain in his head. His pedigree. His education. His ambition. He’ll be in Washington in four years, if he doesn’t run for governor. He could even fuckin’ make a play for the White House. That kinda future ahead of him, you get him addicted to your snatch, leadin’ him around by his dick, what’s that do for the Shades?”

I wasn’t certain I was hearing what I thought I was hearing.

“You wanted me…” I shook my head. “What?”

“Boy got your stepfather out of some shit, because your stepfather is more of a stupid fuck than you are,” Dad bit out. “Payback, Culver saw you out to dinner with your mother, he wanted a fixup. Your mother saw the benefits of such a union. She chatted with your sister, your sister chatted with me. We all agreed. You see him. You fuck him. You get him wrapped around your finger, you own him,” he jerked his thumb at himself, “then I own him.”

I felt something coming off of Georgia, it was not nice, and since I didn’t need more not nice in the present situation, my gaze darted quickly to her only to see her aiming a sour look at our father.

She rearranged her face when she noticed my attention and looked down at me.