Page 99 of Above ’N’ Beyond

He cracked a smile, again reminding her of Jamie. “I would. I’m a bit run-down.”

“Peggy, we’ll be in my office.” She nearly laughed. Technically, it was the U.S. government’s office now. She led the way to the office and indicated one of the chairs.

Kade helped Michael to sit, then rested his hand gently on the other man’s shoulder. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

“Thank you, Kade.” Michael watched him leave, then shifted in the chair, clearly uncomfortable.

Bella worried, since he looked rather pale. “Are you all right?”

“I will be.” He winked, then smiled. “It will take some time, but they tell me I’m on the mend.”

“That’s good news.” Something about the man exuded sincerity. Although, given the Pataglio track record for honesty, perhaps she shouldn’t jump to anymore gut-inspired conclusions. The anger she had toward Jamie might be gone, but in its place was a bucketful of emptiness and sorrow. Jamie’s father continued to watch her, scrutinize her, really. “May I ask why you’re here? Did Jamie send you?”

“Yes. And no.”

Bella sat behind her desk and shook her head. “I don’t understand. Are you saying he did or didn’t send you?” Her heart rate sped up just thinking Jamie had actually done that. Her gut said he hadn’t. Jamie would never send anyone, not even his father, to do his dirty work.

Michael gave her that craggy smile, leading her to believe the man smiled a lot. “Yes, you can ask why I’m here. And no, Jamie didn’t send me.” Her heart sank in a sea of disappointment. “I understand you lost something very special.”

Yes. My heart. To your son.

“Bianco’s Bistro. I’m very sorry about that. More than I can ever say.”

“That’s not your fault, but thank you.” It wasn’t Jamie’s fault, either. Not really. If anything, it was hers. For being naive enough to get caught up in Paola’s mess in the first place.

He held up a finger. “Actually, it is my fault, albeit indirectly. You see, I have an unusual form of leukemia.”

“I’m so sorry.” That explained why he looked so frail.

“Thank you, but I didn’t tell you that to garner sympathy. My illness is indirectly responsible for everything that’s happened at your restaurant.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.” Again, Michael shifted uncomfortably. “For the last seventeen years, I’ve been in prison. I did something stupid a long time ago. I’ve been paying the price, but what I hadn’t counted on was that my son would pay the price, too. He was in high school when I was sentenced to twenty years. The worst sentence I received, however, was knowing that what I did made him feel like he was a bad person, and he’s been trying to make up for it ever since. That’s why he became a cop.” Michael’s forehead glistened with perspiration.

“Can I get you some water?” Without waiting for a reply, Bella grabbed an unopened bottle of water from the desk. She opened it and handed it to him.

His hand shook as he held the bottle to his mouth and drank. “Thank you.” He cleared his throat and continued. “Until recently, Jamie and I were estranged. Then I was diagnosed with cancer. Unbeknownst to me, Jamie made a pact with the devil—the government. In exchange for helping them, they agreed to work their behind-the-scenes magic to get me paroled, so I could get into a hospital better suited to treat patients with my form of cancer.”

“Oh, God.” Bella covered her mouth with her hand. Jamie said he’d never meant to hurt her, but he’d had no choice. And when he’d said it was a matter of life or death, he hadn’t been talking about his own life.

He’d meant his father’s life.

“I told him he should come and tell you all this himself. He said you wouldn’t want to see him, but I think there’s more to it than that.” Michael smiled kindly, sadly. “Some part of Jamie’s soul will always carry the stain of what I did. He’s in love with you, but he doesn’t think he deserves you. A father can only say so much. There comes a point when a man has to find it within himself to believe he deserves happiness as much as anyone else does.” He paused, watching her speculatively. “Or perhaps it takes someone special to help him find his path to happiness.”

While Bella did her best to fathom all of what Michael was really talking about, the only words that kept blinking in her head were that Jamie was in love with her.

“Well.” Michael reached into his pocket. “I should be going. I’ve given you a lot to noodle over. I truly hope I see you again.”

Not likely, and a shame, too. In a few short moments, she’d formed an instant fondness for the man. Given that her own father was dead, it would have been nice to get to know Michael better.

When he pushed from the chair, he wobbled slightly, and she rushed around the desk, offering her arm to lean on. “Here, let me help you.”

Together, they walked to the front door. Peggy looked up for a moment, then went back to whatever she’d been doing. Outside, the rain had stopped. Kade and a beautiful black dog she remembered from the raid waited beside an SUV. Kade rushed over and held the door. He gave Bella a quick nod of thanks, then helped Jamie’s father to the SUV and into the passenger seat. He opened the rear door for the dog. Through the window, Michael Pataglio waved, and she watched them drive away.

As she processed all Jamie’s father had told her, a lump the size of a potato dumpling—a gnocchi—formed in her throat. Jamie had done what was necessary to save his family. If she’d had a father who loved her, she would have done the same.

“This came for you while you were in your office.” Peggy picked up a FedEx express envelope and handed it to Bella.