“Then perhaps the school newspaper?”

I try not to grimace. Writing articles sounds more painful than sitting here at dinner. Actually, I take that back. This dinner is so uncomfortable that I’d rather be sparring with Jordan Carrington, so the school newspaper would be a welcome distraction.

“What did you do as electives?” I counter. Maybe if I can get him to admit he was a slacker in high school, he’ll ease up a little.

“I played football, basketball, and baseball.”

Great. One of those.

But hadn’t Callum implied that Steve wasn’t interested in running a business and preferred just having fun? Why can’t he let me enjoy myself?

“Maybe I’ll try out for the, um…” I think frantically of some girl sport—“soccer team.”

Steve smiles encouragingly. “That would be good. We can talk to Beringer about it.”

Ugh. I guess I can try out for it, and when they see how terrible I am, they’ll kick me off the grounds and ask me to never return. It’s not a bad plan, actually.

I pick up my burger and take a bite, even though I’m not at all hungry. But it gives me something to do with my hands, and it keeps my mouth full so I don’t have to make any more conversation.

As I chew, I think strategy for the best way to get around Steve. I need to pretend like I’m meeting his demands while actually doing whatever the hell I want—hanging out with Val, fooling around with Reed, and having fun with East and the twins. Besides, watching out for Reed and Easton is a full-time job. In the meantime, I can hunt down possible suspects. I think I might be the only one interested in finding the real criminal.

By the time I’ve arranged this perfectly in my head, Dinah returns with Steve’s latest drink.

“What did you do in high school?” I ask her, trying to be polite.

“I worked two jobs to support my family.” She smiles. “Neither of which required me to take off my clothes.”

I cough mid-sip.

Steve frowns again.

“Did you know that Ella was stripping when Callum found her?” Dinah asks her husband. Her tone is sweeter than sugar. “How unfortunate.”

“As I recall, you’ve never had any problems taking your clothes off in public,” he answers cheerfully. “And nobody had to pay you to do it.”

That shuts her up.

The hotel phone rings. Steve ignores it, and it rings and rings until finally Dinah gets up to answer. His gaze follows her all the way into the living room. When she turns her back on us, Steve shifts his attention to me.

“You think I’m being mean to her, don’t you?” he murmurs.

Faced with a choice between lying or finding out what the hell is going on, I opt for truth. “Yeah, kinda.”

“Well, try not to feel bad for her.” He shrugs. “I think she intentionally messed with my equipment and tried to kill me.”

My mouth drops open. Speechless, I watch as he slices into his steak and takes a huge bite.

After swallowing, he wipes his mouth and continues. “I can’t prove it with the guide missing, but I can torment her. Don’t worry. You’re safe, Ella. It’s me she can’t stand.”

Wrong. I still remember the threats she hurled at me when she found out I was heir to Steve’s fortune. Besides, I’ve seen Discovery Channel specials on snakes. They’re the most dangerous when they feel threatened, but I doubt Steve’s going to listen to any of my warnings. He’s going to do whatever it is he wants.

But now I have Dinah soaring to the top of my suspect list. Maybe moving in with them is a good idea. I can find not only Gideon’s stuff, but evidence that she killed Brooke.

Then common sense takes over. If the police, not to mention Callum’s investigators, couldn’t find anything that pointed to someone other than Reed, how am I supposed to?

Despondently, I shove the lettuce around my plate. “I don’t think you should poke a bear. Why don’t you just divorce her and move on?”

“Because Dinah always has a plan up her sleeve, and I want to see what it is. Besides, I don’t have proof.” He reaches out a hand to touch mine. “And maybe it’s foolish of me to bring you into this mess, but you’re my daughter and I don’t want to miss another day of your life. I’ve missed too many before. I know you don’t like the decisions I’m making. And hell, maybe they’re all wrong. In my defense, I’ve never had a daughter before. Will you at least give me a chance?”

I sigh. It’s pretty hard to be a bitch in the face of that.

“I’ll try,” I tell him.

“Thank you. That’s all I ask.” He squeezes my hand before drawing back and resuming eating. A moment later, Dinah joins us at the table again.

“It was the furniture store. The police aren’t allowing them to deliver the new bed you ordered.” Dinah’s face is red and she sounds like she’s choking on something.

Steve leans toward me with a feral smile. “Dinah was using our current bed to screw someone who isn’t her husband, so I’m having it replaced.”

Wow.

Just…wow.

He turns toward his wife. “Have the building store it, then, until we all move in.”

With that statement, the rest of dinner is a stilted, awkward affair. Dinah goes off to relay Steve’s instructions, and when she returns, she’s ordered around shamelessly. She meekly obeys every command, but still manages to throw a cutting remark my way here and there. And every time Steve turns his head, she flashes me an evil smile, which goes a long way to proving my theory about not trusting snakes.

“Mind if I go?” I ask once Steve puts away the last of his meal. There’s only so much of this I can take, and after thirty minutes of it, I need a break. “I’ve got homework.”

“Of course.” As I walk past his chair, he grabs my wrist and tugs me down to plant a kiss on my cheek. “I feel like we’re really a family tonight, don’t you?”

Um. No.

But I can’t diagnose what’s going on inside me. The kiss on the cheek from my dad feels odd. He’s a stranger to me in all the ways that count, and the urge to escape rides me hard.

When I hurry into my room, the expensive leather suitcase tempts me. I could take it and leave. Be done with this weird family and not have to face the emotions that Steve’s existence brings out in me.