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Gone. “Your mum didn’t die in a boating accident, did she?” I ask. She fucking killed herself?
“It was sweet of Uncle Carlo to try and cover it up.”
“Fucking hell, Brad.”
He stands. “Danny, Uncle Carlo was more of a man and father than my dad ever was. You have your mom. Appreciate that. If I could have made mine happy, don’t you think I would have done anything?”
I blink, my heart squeezing. Pops was trying to make Brad’s mum, his sister, happy. He must have hated himself. Blamed himself. For the first time in forever, I don’t see Brad, my cousin, The American. I see an abandoned child. “Point taken,” I say quietly.
“I’ve got some shit to deal with at my apartment.”
“It’s finished?”
“Nowhere fucking near.” He leaves, and I try to process what Brad’s divulged. Pops was trying to protect Aunty Betty. I get it. No joke, I will kill every boy/man who comes near Maggie. It would be instinctive. “Fuck.” I look down at my mobile when it rings. And frown. “Alan?”
“Yeah, hi, I’ve been trying to get hold of you all afternoon.”
“Problem?”
“You could say that. Mrs. Black stopped by today to check on the work at the spa. She wants us done and out in two weeks.”
I laugh. “She’s something else, right?”
He laughs too, but it’s nervous. He thinks I might reinforce that. I won’t. In light of the bugged phones and bodies turning up all over the city with the Black family emblem carved into them, I’m even more passionate about the spa’s delayed completion. “You just keep going at the pace we agreed, Alan. I’ll drop the next payment round next week.”
“Thanks, Danny.”
“Welcome.” I hang up and dial Rose.
“Finally,” she breathes down the line. “I need you home. Now.”
She doesn’t need to ask me twice. I get up and head for the door to track down my baby. “Is everyone okay?”
“We’re fine. I just need you to come home.”
“I’m on my way.”
I walk through the door and listen. I’m not sure what for. “Rose?” She appears from the kitchen, a glass of wine in her hand. “I thought you couldn’t do that while breast feeding?” I lower Maggie to the floor in her car seat and take my jacket off.
“It’s small, and I really need it.”
“Why?”
“Daniel’s been thrown out of school.”
“Why?”
“He threatened to stab a kid with your fancy gold letter opener.”
I laugh. “What?” How the fuck does he know about Pops’s letter opener?
“It’s not funny, Danny.”
“No, it’s not.” I turn, jacket in hand, and leave the house again.
“Where are you going?” she yells.
“To solve the problem.” The fucker. He throws my kid out, after all the money I’ve invested into that school? I’ve paid for new flood lights, new sports equipment, landscaping. I can’t say it was all completely selfless.
