His Declaration

[Thad’s POV]

“Great first day! Cheers!”

Grayson’s voice booms around us as everyone clinks their drinks together. It’s a fucking mess of voices and music invading each and every one of my senses, and the fact that I’ve barely gotten any sleep just makes things that much worse.

Lifting my beer, I take a sip while I let my gaze travel around the table until it comes to rest on Brielle, who is sitting between Mr. Rogers and Grayson. Just from the look on her face, it is clear that she is uncomfortable with her position, but she politely smiles as each man speaks at her.

Once again, I’m reminded of how innocent she is, and I can’t help but wonder why my father wants her dead.

Dammit, I needed to stop obsessing over this whole situation, especially since I already decided that I was going to take care of her instead of going through with my father’s request. Speaking of that, I still needed to sneak away and give Darlene a call to let her know that our dad was back.

With this thought in mi