AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My father was already sitting at the head of the table, sipping from his glass. His dark eyes watched as I took the chair opposite his, and even though there was a long dining table between us, full of dishes of whatever food the cook had made tonight, it wasn’t enough space. The way he stared at me told me he’d already heard about my busy day.
He set down his glass, running a hand down the front of his black suit. Black on black on black; he must be really playing the role he wanted. Combined with his black hair and pitch-black eyes, he was as intimidating as ever.
But he was my father, and the only thing I felt toward him right then was hatred.
We began eating, neither one of us saying a word. I didn’t know if he expected me to tell him all about my day without being asked, but I decided I’d make him work for it. If he wanted to know, he’d have to break his silence and ask me.
And he did, eventually. It just took a while.
“I heard you had a few visitors today,” he said, eyeing me up over the table. “What was Father Ezekiel doing here?”
I swallowed what was currently in my mouth before saying, “I left something in the church the last time I went. He was just stopping by to drop it off.” That wasn’t all he’d done, though. Ezekiel had given me some information that, after the rest of the day’s events, I’d forgotten about.
Until now, that was.
The Greenbacks had followed us here, looking for me because someone had seen me leave the church that night all those weeks ago. Ezekiel had said he’d taken care of the two that had come sniffing around—whatever that meant—but more would come.
My father should know about that. With how much he hated the Serpents and their leader, it was all I should do: let him know what really happened that night in that church, how they wanted me for payback.
But, then again, that’d be doing my father a favor, so no thanks.
“I wasn’t aware you frequented Cypress’s church,” my father said. “I thought you decided against it.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Father Ezekiel is the Black Hand’s priest. He is very close to them. If I were you, I’d be careful of what you tell him… but I’m sure you were already aware of that.” My father gave me a tight-lipped smile. “I also heard Piper Lipman stopped by.”
“Yeah, she did.” I paused to cut another piece of meat off, stabbing it with my fork and lifting it to my mouth, not saying anything more for a while. I could tell my father waited for me to give him more details, and I relished in the feeling of being in charge of the conversation, at least for now. It was why I took my time in saying, “She actually wanted me to hang out with her and Shay—and Nix and Slade. Speaking of which, I talked to Nix last night. He’s… a very interesting person, isn’t he?”
That got my father to smile—a real smile this time, not a fake one. He took pride in knowing that I’d listened to him, did what he wanted me to do, and he was slow to say, “I’m glad to hear that. From what I’ve seen, Nixon Hawke has been alone since he turned eighteen. You think he’s Shay’s weakest relationship?”
“I’m not sure, honestly, but since he came to the party without Shay, I decided to test the waters a little.” I gave my father a smile of my own, and then I reached for my drink, taking a long sip before adding, “I was surprised Piper stopped by and wanted to hang out. At first, I thought maybe Nix told Shay about the parry, but I don’t think he did. Shay is…” I trailed off, remembering her.
Everything she’d said rose up in my head, the ticked off expression she’d worn, how we’d fought. Shay was the kind of person who didn’t take anyone’s shit. She’d been through a lot in this life already, and she knew her worth. I could respect that. It was also why I hated that my father had asked me to go after one of her guys.
“She’s different than everyone else,” I finished. “I suppose going through what she did made her stronger.” The strongest people in this world were often the ones who’d gone through a lot of shit and rose up over the ashes of their lives. Some people, on the other hand, simply drowned. I’d drowned, three years ago, but now I would not let the water push me down any more.
“Shay isn’t the only one who’s lost something,” my father reminded me. “You’ve lost your mother, Father Charlie… you’re just as strong as she is, Giselle.” He was quiet for a while, as we returned to eating. I thought that was it, that we could enjoy our meal in peace, but my father had other plans. “I had a meeting with Rocco Moretti today. He has some interesting ideas he wants to put into place.”
At the mere mention of his name, I tensed up, and the fork I held onto scraped against the plate a bit too hard. “Oh, yeah?” I struggled to sound neutral, to not sound hurt, like I wanted to run away from this table and hide.
If ever I dreamed of killing a man other than my father, it was Rocco fucking Moretti.
“He thinks there’s actually more to it than the story we’re being told.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
“He thinks Atticus is hiding something. If there’s dirt, he wants it, and so do I. We’re going to be teaming up, like old times. You wouldn’t have a problem with that, would you?” That question was meant as a test. “He’ll probably be over here a lot, along with his son. Luca seems to like you quite a bit, you know.”
I couldn’t say anything to that. Even if that was the vibe I got off Luca too, it wasn’t one I gave a shit about. After all, I could hardly look at Luca without thinking of everything his father had done to me.
“You should get to know Luca a bit more, I think. There’s no harm in playing the field, as long as you’re smart about it.” The look my father gave me grew in intensity, and he almost seemed smug, like he knew something I didn’t. “I’ve taught you to be smart, haven’t I?”
“Yes, Daddy.” There was only one way to answer that question, and that was it.
“Your whole life, I’ve taught you so many things. To be smart, loyal, and strong. Do you think your mother would approve of the woman you’ve become?”
I didn’t know why he felt the need to bring her up. This whole conversation felt like a test, and I didn’t know what to say, what he wanted to hear. So in the end, I said, “I hope so.” Honestly, at this point, I think my mother would cringe at the things I’d done in the name of loyalty.
