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“She died because of me.”
There was so much pain in his voice that I shifted my attention toward him. The memory seemed to have broken him. “What do you want me to say? That we’re the same?”
He threw a hateful look in my direction, snarling like the big bad wolf he’d tried to make himself out to be, but there was a difference this time.
There were tears in his eyes. “She was the love of life, a beautiful flower who was considered forbidden fruit. But I had to have her.”
The vehemence in his voice was surprising. I finished making my drink, still uncertain why he was sharing anything from his past. “I’m sorry.”
“Just let me finish!” He took several deep breaths, throwing back the rest of his drink then immediately heading for the bar. “We kept it secret for almost a year. She was underage and I wasn’t. I was the powerful prince of the Giordano family. She was the daughter of a stable hand. There was no way we could be together. When my father found out, he beat me to within an inch of my life. But it was nothing in comparison to what her father did.”
I took a deep breath, remaining quiet. My father’s hands were shaking, which never occurred.
“I tried to get to her, but she was gone. I found out later she’d killed herself. Not long after that, my father made arrangements with the Don of the Trevillian syndicate, contracting with the man for his daughter’s hand in marriage. There was nothing I could do.”
While the story was haunting, I wasn’t certain if all he was trying to do was ease his guilty conscience. That mattered nothing to me. “Yet you would insist your daughter be treated the same way.”
“I don’t know any other way, son. And do you want to know why?” He tipped his head, his eyes rimmed in red. “Because the day I found out she died was the day I died too. Don’t get me wrong, I do love your mother, but she’s lived with a shell of a man her entire life. My children have suffered because of what I did, the sin I committed. All I wanted was for none of you to ever go through what I did. Somehow, fate forced you, my talented second son, to go through the same thing.”
Only Mary didn’t kill herself. She was gunned down because of the life I’d been born into. “So you’re telling me to toss aside the woman I love, finding someone who could benefit our world and nothing else. Right, Pops?” I tossed back half the scotch, this time the smooth liquor burning my throat.
“No, son. I was wrong. What I’m telling you is that I wasted my life suffering, forcing my family to face consequences of something they had no party to. If you love her, then don’t let anything get in the way of sharing joy. You deserve to be happy.”
I had no idea what had gotten into him, but before I had a chance to respond, we both heard a knock on the door.
Happiness. There was that word again. I’d been taught that happiness had to be forfeited for the greater good of the family. Now this.
“I need to know this. Does Mother know?”
His exhale was ragged, full of bitterness. “She knows something happened in my past. I spared her the details and I’d prefer if you’d do the same.”
Secrets and lies.
They’d been a part of my family my entire life, whether I’d known it or not. What I did know is that my mother deserved to enjoy her life without another burden.
“Yes, Pops. I’ll honor your request.” I glanced at the door and sighed. “Come,” I said, taking a deep breath. My father was never this animated. Something else was wrong.
As Nico and Joseph walked in, one of their soldiers behind them, it was apparent the tension would be palpable. Nico narrowed his eyes, glaring at me as he’d done inside the bar. What I didn’t expect was the half-beaten man he dropped onto my conference room table.
“I told you I’d find the asshole who beat up your beautiful sister.” Nico snarled and slammed the man’s head on the wooden surface. “Tell him what you told me.”
While the man’s face was almost unrecognizable given the beating he’d already received, I knew he was a low-level player with no particular loyalty. It was all about the cash.
The asshole tried to struggle, and Nico repeated the harsh action. “I’ll cut your nuts off one at a time if you don’t tell me the same shit you spouted off to me.” Nico was red in the face, more so than I’d ever seen him. He jerked the man’s head at an awkward angle, forcing him to look me in the eye.
“Fine,” the son of a bitch hissed. “I was paid to do it. Okay? Is that what you want?”
I almost flew over the table. “By whom?”
“I don’t know. Okay? Some dude with twenty thousand in cash.”
Twenty thousand to rough up a woman. That had all the markings of the Bratva, the pigs they were. “Name.” I had a feeling the asshole was lying, but not about being paid for the deed. He’d likely been threatened that if he divulged his source, his family would pay the price. It was typical Bratva behavior, something I despised.
“I told you,” the dude said then coughed. “I don’t know.”
“Give me something.” I glanced at Nico who wore a smug look on his face.
“I swear to you that I don’t know. He talked in riddles. Some shit about jungles. I had no idea what he was talking about. Some jungle, a snake. Just shit.”
