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I picked up the picture of my father and smiled at it. He looked so young. I turned and saw Uncle Mathis staring at me.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“Basement,” he said.
“Is he hurt?”
“Not too bad.”
I nodded and hung the picture back up.
Luca came down a moment later. “Clear,” he said.
“Okay then.” Steven relaxed a fraction of an inch, though he didn’t completely lower his gun.
“I know how this goes,” Uncle Mathis said. “You kill my men and then you kill me. That’s how it always was going to end. That’s how it ended for Colleen’s mother here, and how it has to end for me.”
I felt a surge of anger. “Don’t talk about her,” I said. “Don’t you ever talk about her.”
Uncle Mathis smiled at me. “Your mother, she was the hottest girl in town,” he said. “Everyone wanted her. Hell, I wanted her, but my brother ended up taking her out one day, and the rest is history. I’m not bitter, but I am sorry. She didn’t deserve what she got.”
“You do,” I said. “You deserve it all.” I took a few steps toward him, my heart hammering in my chest. “I never betrayed you, you know. Not until the end.”
He made a dismissive gesture, waving me away. “Please,” he said. “Maybe you don’t think you did, but as soon as you were under this man’s control, you were betraying me. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“You didn’t have to take my father,” I said.
“I thought it was the right move.” He shook his head. “Unfortunately, it seems to have just pissed you off.”
“Damn right. You took my mother away, and after that I lost all my friends and all my connections. You’re not taking anything else from me.”
He looked surprised. “I didn’t make your father leave.”
“No,” I said. “But it was your violence and your greed that got him involved in the first place.”
“The Club was his idea,” Uncle Mathis said.
I stood there as surprise ran through me like a shot.
“What are you talking about?” Steven asked.
“Her father,” Uncle Mathis said. “The Celtic Club was his idea. I made it all happen and ran things, but the Club was her father’s idea. Back when we were kids, he came up with it, helped it get off the ground. He’s the founder of this damn monstrosity.”
I shook my head. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. Ask him yourself.” Uncle Mathis let out a breath. “I regret what happened to your mother. That’s why I let him go. And I should never have pulled him back into this.”
“You’re right,” I said, turning away. “You shouldn’t have. I don’t care what you have to say about my father or any of this, I’m not letting you tarnish it. I’m not letting you ruin it. You’re finished, Mathis, and there’s nothing you can do or say to change it.”
“You’re right,” he said.
Steven looked at me with stern eyes. He stepped closer and leaned in.
“Do you have anything else you want to say to him?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Just do it,” I said.
He nodded. “You might want to go find your father,” he said. “I’ll handle things up here.”
I reached up and touched his face. He smiled at me then leaned down and kissed me. I returned his kiss as my heart leapt up into my chest.
I broke off the kiss and walked down the hall. I remembered that the first door on the right led into the basement, and stopped in front of it. Steven turned to Uncle Mathis as I opened the door, switched on the light, and started down the stairs.
I shut the door behind me. I heard Steven say something and Uncle Mathis respond.
The wooden steps were painted gray. They felt slippery under my shoes and I held onto the white railing. The basement was finished with a mushroom colored burlap rug and plain white walls. I reached the bottom and looked right, at a pool table with a red felt top and gleaming wood rails. That was my uncle’s pride and joy. There was a bar beyond that, small but custom made with two stools in the front, lots of liquor bottles behind it, and a small TV in the corner.
I looked left, where the exercise equipment used to be, and found a single comfortable armchair. It was big and brown and padded, and my father was tied to it by several lengths of rope.
He looked shocked as I stood there. His big, brown eyes were black and blue and swollen, and his lip was split and broken. He stared at me, and I felt tears start to well up. I took a step toward him and he shook his head.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
“Dad,” I said. “It’s over. Uncle Mathis… it’s over.”
He blinked a few times then looked up. He let out a long breath then closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
