After filling half the bench with his backside, Tobias locks his eyes with mine. I tighten my core, anticipating a painful knock.
The prompts of my body are odd, but spot on when he asks, “Do you recall the time your father came home with a bloody nose? He had veered to miss a deer and lost control of his car, resulting in him hitting his head on the steering wheel?”
I nod, not trusting my voice not to squeak. I remember his accident very well. I thought it was lucky his car didn’t sustain any damage. Only now am I realizing I have everyone fooled. I’m not intelligent—not in the slightest.
“He didn’t hit a deer, did he?” Disappointment rings in my tone. I’m not disappointed in my dad; I’m disappointed in myself. My intuition knew something was amiss that night, but believing my dad had already overcome his darkest days, I ignored it.
“No,” Tobias answers with a shake of his head. “With Axel aiding in our investigations the past six months, we discovered your father was assaulted by members of the Petretti crew that night.”
I vault out of my chair like my ass is on fire.
“It wasn’t me,” Axel swears, recognizing I’m five seconds from smacking him into next week. “I had nothing to do with it. . .”
His words stop when my open palm connects with his left cheek.
“You may not have done it, but you knew it happened. The entire time we were together, you hid this from me. If that doesn’t make you scum, I don’t know what does.” My hand burns when I slap him for the second time.
Before I’ve disbursed one tenth of my anger, Tobias wraps his arms around my waist and drags me toward the stairwell. Fury floods me when I spot my mom’s shocked expression. She is disgusted by my unladylike behavior. I shouldn’t be surprised. She went from cutting hearts into my sandwiches to handing me twenty dollar bills when my dad’s wealth went from a peasant to a king.
Within months, she transformed from a loving, caring mother and wife to a greedy, narcissistic bitch. If I hadn’t adored who she was before money sparkled in her eyes, her betrayal wouldn’t have hurt as much. But since I loved her just as much as my father, it stung—it stungreallybad.
“That is how you protect someone you love,” I snarl at my mother, ignoring the crocodile tears in her eyes.
This is just a game to people like Axel and my mom. One sick, fucked-up hoax.
When we reach the den at the bottom of the stairs, Tobias releases me from his grasp. I pace the polished marble like a mad woman—because that is precisely what I am. I’m too shocked to absorb the facts. I’m too stunned to do anything.
I freeze like a statue when Tobias says, “I’m not saying Thorn’s assault aided in his diagnosis—”
“But there is research that indicates traumatic brain injuries can increase the risk of developing dementia,” I interrupt, my words nearly a sob.
I’ve read every bit of information I could get my hands on about dementia and Alzheimer’s. I know the chances of my father’s assault being the catalyst of his condition is low, but it is still possible. He was a brilliant man, who just like me, didn’t have the APOE-e4 risk gene. There has to be more to his disease than just bad luck.
I argued with specialists for weeks that there was something iffy with my dad’s diagnosis, but since I was unable to present a plausible reason, my worries were brushed off as an overbearing daughter. God, I wish my shock hadn’t swallowed my stubbornness.
My lungs inhale their first breath in what feels like minutes when Tobias discloses, “For the past twelve months, we’ve been deep in operations to have the men responsible for your father’s assault brought to justice. But when you shake feathers, some are bound to come loose. That is why I am here, Savannah. I want to lessen the ripple effect about to impact you and your father.”
I stare, breathing but not speaking.What does he mean? What ripple effect?
Tobias knocks the wind straight out of my lungs when he advises, “I want to put your family in witness protection.”
My head shakes so uncontrollably, I look like I’m having a seizure.
Acting like he hasn’t spotted my blatant refusal, Tobias says, “Let me do what I should have done years ago. Let me protectallof you.”
I stare at him in shock, certain he didn’t admit what I just heard.
The hits keep coming when he mutters, “I thought your mother’sconnectionswith associates in your industry meant she was the only one in danger. I was wrong.” The way he mumbles “connections” leaves no doubt as to what he means. Clearly, Ryan’s father wasn’t the only man she was sleeping with.
Ignoring the bile racing to the back of my throat, I ask, “You helped her leave?”
I don’t know why I’m asking a question when the answer is staring me straight in the face. Tobias has one of the most honest pairs of eyes I’ve ever seen. There are only two men who can compete with their candor: Ryan and my dad.
“Why would you do that, Tobias? Why would you help her abandon her family?” I grit my teeth, loathing the anger in my voice. Tobias isn’t culpable for my family’s demise. That blame lies solely on my mother’s shoulders.
Tobias takes a step closer to me before smacking me with straight up honesty. “Because I underestimated your father. I thought he’d handle her decision to leave like a normal man.”
“By treating her like she treated him?” I ask, my tone lowering to match his. “My father is a good man, Tobias. He doesn’t believe in tit for tat.”
