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“Yeah, I remember. I didn’t ask you to come back to New York with me because my father was… difficult around the holidays,” Brogan stated, his upper lip curling. “Plus, he was usually drunk over Christmas.”
“I get it. Bartholomew Durante also wasn’t around for holidays or to play ball. I didn’t know him and after a while, I just tried to please him to keep the money flowing into my bank account. Sad, huh? Both of you always seemed older. You had your shit together. I’d thought you both had a perfect life. Life is full of cracked mirrors.”
For the first time since we’d arrived, Daniel’s expression softened. “There isn’t a family who’s perfect, Alex. Just ask Brogan. Garrison would have told you that as well. His father never visited him in prison. Not once. My dad was married to his job. That’s why Mom left him. I respected him and what he thought, but honestly, I didn’t want to be like him. Here I am. Just like him.”
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s such a bad thing.” Daniel and I locked eyes for a few seconds, but in doing so, I sensed how much he cared about Dahlia. “We need Dahlia to trust us in order to provide the truth. I’m finished playing games.”
“Is Rocco making advances on your turf?” Brogan asked.
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I can’t prove it and I’ve tried, but I think he assigned the hit on Garrison. Did you ever wonder why Garrison never used any of the money he earned from the jobs we did?”
Daniel chuckled. “I never paid that much attention.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You were always the great observer. You knew everything that went on around us. While we purchased clothes and cars, he kept his old Dodge Ram running instead. I never saw him in anything other than the school uniform or faded blue jeans and tee shirts that had been around the block a few times. He never flashed a wad of cash either.”
Now Daniel laughed. “He was smarter than the rest of us, refusing to squander the money we earned by extorting innocent people.”
“Please. They weren’t all innocent. Hell, some of them were gun and drug runners, for fuck’s sake. We were doing the world a favor.”
“You can keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night,” he continued.
I fisted my hand around the glass, wishing I could crush it between my fingers. “Nothing helps me sleep at night, Daniel, but you’re right. He invested his money. Where do you think it went after he died?”
He snapped his head in my direction, narrowing his eyes. “I have no idea, but I guess you do.”
“I only know he instructed someone to deposit every dime into an account, an unknown account, and believe me, I was curious enough to try and find out the identity of the recipient. Which, of course, the bank refused to tell me. Unless I’m standing in front of the pompous bank manager and his staff, I doubt I’ll be able to change their minds, but I’m going to guess the name on the account belongs to Cassandra.”
“Still all controlling. Aren’t you, Alexander?” Daniel’s question reeked of anger. How could I blame him?
I walked closer, unable to keep the curl from the corner of my mouth. “That’s where you’re wrong, my friend. I was never in control. The three of you were. You kept me from going off the deep end, reminding me that I was still a human inside. Brogan, bring our guest into the dining room. We need to have a deep conversation.”
Neither one of them said anything, but there was no mistaking the anger on Brogan’s face before he turned, storming out of the room.
“Then we failed in our attempt, Alexander. You’re still the monster you always were,” Daniel said quietly.
A part of me wanted to be angry with him, to take out the rage that had trailed behind me since I could remember, but he was right. I’d become just like my father, brutal and uncaring. “We weren’t the four musketeers, Daniel. We were the four misfits.”
Another first. As I looked at him, I realized I had tears in my eyes.
