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“So the whole travel agent thing…?”
“Was a cover.”
“Fuck,” I breathe, turning back around to face him. “This is insane.”
“I’m sorry, sweet—”
I shake my head and hold up a hand. “Don’t bother with apologies. They won’t help.”
“I don’t need your forgiveness, Taylor. I just need you to get in the car.”
“Why?” I demand. “I don’t know who the hell you are. Why should I trust you?”
“Because I’m your father. And because I still need to protect you. And, most of all, because Ilarion Zakharov is a dangerous man.”
“From where I’m standing, so are you.”
“Taylor—”
“You worked for him. You…oh my god,” I gasp, as another part of the puzzle snaps together. “You knew who he was when Celine introduced him to all of us.”
He swallows and nods. “Yes.”
“And he knew you as well.”
“Yes. He did.”
I exhale sharply. “So he must have known who Celine was. Which means the only reason he got involved with her was because…”
“I defected,” Dad fills in. His voice dips low with regret.
“‘Defected.’ That’s a nice word. But what you mean is that you betrayed him. You…”SNAP.Another puzzle piece. This one hurts like he slugged me in the stomach. “You choseBenedict Bellasio?”
He closes his eyes, and for a moment, I see the man who raised me. The suburban father who worked long hours at the travel agency and watched White Sox baseball in the evenings while he massaged his sick wife’s feet.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” he says at last. “And now, I’m trying to fix them.”
But I can barely hear him over thesnap-snap-snapof more puzzle pieces falling into place one after the next.
“He proposed to Celine to keep you loyal,” I whisper to myself. “He wanted you to be a double agent. Except that Benedict Bellasio stormed his property and stole you and Celine away.”
To his credit, he doesn’t bother denying any of it. “Benedict thought I had defected back to Ilarion. His engagement to Celine…it didn’t look good for me.”
“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
“I managed to convince him that it was a coincidence. Ilarion happened to meet my daughter by chance, the two fell in love, their feelings for one another were genuine. He bought it.”
“So, as far as Benedict Bellasio is concerned, you’re still on his team?”
He gulps. “Yes.”
I back away from my father slowly. “I’m not going with you. Fuck Benedict Bellasio. You may have sworn your loyalty to him, but I will not. That motherfucker killed my mother and—”
His eyes widen. “My god, Taylor! I’m not going back to him! I’m not going back to anyone. I don’t care about any of that anymore. The politics, the mind games, the fucking death. No. It’s done. The only thing I care about is keeping you girls safe. We’re leaving the state. The country even, if we have to.”
I consider that for a moment before I release a breath that comes out as a half-sob, half-laugh. “This is ridiculous. All of it. My father’s in the Russian mob—wait, no: hewasin the Russian mob, before he became an Italian spy.” I cackle madly, feeling more and more unhinged. “My sister’s engaged to man he betrayed, and I’m fucking carrying his baby!”
“What?”
