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A single tail thump was all I needed. I yanked her closer, kissing the top of her head. “I love you, baby. God, I love you.”
“She’s a natural,” Wren said from behind us. “But she still won’t accept the job. You need to convince her otherwise, Maverick.”
I glanced into Amelie’s eyes and knew why.
She wasn’t staying.
“Shhh… He needs his rest. Go give him a kiss, daddy dog.” She followed behind me, keeping her hand pressed on the small of my back just like I’d done for her.
As I gazed down at my boy, I realized I was a lucky man. Even though I knew what she planned on doing, in my mind I had a family, and I would do everything in my power to keep them safe.
From monsters and men.
CHAPTER19
Amelie
Chicago.
Chi-town.
The windy city.
No matter the name, the place where I’d grown up meant nothing to me. Absolutely nothing. I hated the cold, the winters, the extreme wind.
And most of all, I hated my father.
I’d been taught the difference between right and wrong, my mother instilling it at an early age. I remember a few things she’d said, including about forgiveness.
Maybe I wasn’t that kind of girl. I couldn’t imagine ever being able to forgive my father for what he’d done. It was funny how memories were triggered, the last few days bringing dozens of them, most involving my mother. The happy times. The laughter. Her voice when she read to me and the look on her face when I colored a picture or picked a flower from the garden.
There were also the kind that nightmares were made of, vile acts I’d witnessed my father do, the anger that had always been his method of handling anything. I was willing to bet the man was eaten up inside with rage, but I had serious doubts he had any guilt whatsoever. He thought he was God.
I knew him to be the devil.
And I was here to drive a stake through his heart.
I’d known the minute Giovanni was killed I would need to return. I couldn’t pretend that the horrible events hadn’t occurred or that I didn’t have a responsibility to the people who worked for Rathbone. However, I wanted no part of the corporation and its ugly world.
But I was getting ahead of myself.
First things first.
I adjusted my new suit, smoothing down my skirt before walking into the lobby of my father’s building. He had a spectacular view of the river and the glistening lights of the city. He’d positioned himself in the most expensive, posh building right on the top floor. I held my head high as I walked past the receptionist. She didn’t try to stop me. She’d been berated by my father for years. I often wondered why she’d stayed with the firm.
Maybe out of fear.
No more.
I walked down the long corridor, catching the eye of several employees. They didn’t know me. I’d made only a few appearances to his office over the years, none by my design. But today was entirely different. I felt like I had the world captured in the palm of my hand.
Sadness would come.
Tears would flow.
Hatred would abate.
But not today.
