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“Tanner’s not starting a war.” I didn’t know why I was defending him. I wanted to get away from Tanner after what I saw last night. I was too afraid to stay with him, especially if I was pregnant. I couldn’t let my baby grow up with a killer.
“I know it looks bad to you, but it’s business,” Dad said.
“Why’s your business have to get people killed?”
“It hasn’t yet,” he said. “Except for that hitman. So far, nobody else has gotten hurt.”
“That can’t be true. The Leone family wouldn’t come after me if you hadn’t hit them first.”
He hesitated then shrugged. “I guess that’s exactly what they’re doing.”
I looked away from him. I knew he was lying. I’ve known him my whole life and he’d been lying to be since I was a little girl. I knew the signs by now. The vague denials, the inability to look me in the eye, the defensiveness and anger. He was just one push away from getting pissed and yelling at me.
I didn’t have it in me to argue. I didn’t care if he lied to me. I didn’t care about anything at all. I had a baby on the way.
“Sure, Dad,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes. I could tell he wanted to explode.
He restrained himself instead.
“Stay here,” he said. “For a while at least. I can watch over you, assign some guys to the house. If you want to go out, they’ll shadow you, you know? Make sure you’re safe.”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“What else are you going to do? You left Tanner behind. Without him, you’re in real trouble.”
I smiled a little. “I guess that’s true. It’s hard to imagine that I need a killer to keep me safe.”
“But here you are anyway.”
“All right,” I said. “I can stay for a little. I don’t know how long. Maybe I’ll leave the city and go somewhere else.”
“Leone won’t chase you far,” he said. “I could set you up with some people out west. I know some guys in Arizona that owe me a favor, could get you a job out there. You might like it, real hot and stuff, but real pretty.”
“I don’t think I’m a desert kind of person.”
He waved a hand. “Nonsense. Nobody’s a desert person. You just go there and make yourself one with the lizards and the cacti.”
I smiled, sipped my coffee. Dad could be funny when he wanted to be. When he wasn’t busy being angry.
“I might take you up on that,” I said. “But I want you to do something for me, first.”
“What’s that, kiddo?”
“Leave Tanner alone.”
He shrugged. “I can do that. I’ve got nothing against him.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“What? You think I’m bitter he stole my baby girl away?”
“He didn’t steal a thing. He was sent to kill me because of you, but he decided to protect me instead. While you were starting this war and making it worse, he was busy keeping me safe. Without him, I’d be gone.”
“Without him, nobody would’ve come in the first place.”
“They would’ve sent someone else.” I stared at him. “Come on, Dad. You can’t really expect me to buy that crap.”
“Elise—”
“I heard your conversation with him. I know what you’re doing. You can pretend like you’re all innocent, like this war with the Leones is no big deal and the Leone family’s just taking things too far. But I know you’re pushing them and you’re not holding back.”
He stared at me, arms over his chest. I wondered if I’d gone too far and realized I didn’t care. I wasn’t that scared little girl anymore hiding in a corner in my room. He was just an old man now, his hair thinner, his chest sunken, his cheeks flabby and lined. His tan looked fake and baked on. My old man wasn’t the big, scary monster he used to be.
He got old. He got soft.
“Okay,” he said, nice and slow. “I hear you. I understand what you’re saying.”
“Promise you’ll leave Tanner alone.”
He held up his hands. “Fine. I promise.”
“And promise you’ll try to make a deal with the Leone family.”
He dropped his hands. His expression darkened. “Elise—”
“Dad,” I said. “People are going to get hurt, maybe killed. If you can’t sit down and make a deal, then nothing’s going to get solved here. You’re going to end up getting hurt yourself. This isn’t your city and I’m afraid you’re in over your head.”
He stood up abruptly. His chair legs ground against the floor. He paced to the oven and stood there staring at it. I could tell he was seething with anger. When he turned, his face was a mask.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
“Sit down with Don Leone,” I said. “Work out an arrangement. Hell, get him to buy you off so you can just leave this city.”
