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He sat silently across Kuzo, Tillie, and me, not quite glaring but not looking too happy either.
“You know who I am, don’t you?” I questioned.
“Yes,” he answered. “The motherfucker who caught us.”
“I think I have you to thank for that,” I said, and the boy remained quiet, neither admitting nor denying the allegation.
“Look, I’ll make this quick. Right now, you have two choices in front of you. Spend a long time in jail, or spend a few years, and then come and work for us as part of our cybersecurity unit.”
He frowned disbelievingly. “My dad put you up to this?”
“No. Your dad doesn’t even know we’re here.” I thought about it and then added, “He’s in the hospital. He hurt himself because he was so depressed about what happened to you.”
Randy gave a rough laugh. “Of course. Of course, he would find a way to make this about him.”
“Look, I know you’re mad at your dad, but the truth is that he never even knew you existed. And he’s broken up about it.” I sighed. “I don’t know if you know anything about your dad and my relationship, but he served under me. I’m the reason he wasn’t around.”
“And so fucking what?” the boy snarled. “My dad was out there running through jungles while mom was sick. She kept talking about what a great guy he was, yet he couldn’t be bothered to send a single fucking letter or reply to a phone call. He didn’t give a shit when I was out on the streets and had to do whatever it took to survive.”
“And I’m telling you he didn’t know about any of that. Otherwise, he would have been there.”
“Yeah, right. Get fucked old man.”
“Watch your mouth, you little bastard,” Kuzo growled, but I stopped him.
“It’s fine,” I said. “He’s just mad.”
“Don’t think you know anything about me.”
“My dad used to hit me,” Tillie said in a soft voice, and it rapped through the tension like a whip.
All eyes turned to her.
She stared at Randy. “He died a little while ago, and sometimes I wished he died earlier. He used to hit me and verbally abuse me too. And on top of that, I had to take care of him when he was sick. I hated it. Hated the fact that he was alive, and I felt like I was dying.” Randy’s face wrenched slightly while she continued, adding, “He never apologized. And then, when he died, I thought I would be relieved. I thought I would be happy that it was over. Until I realized his death didn’t make me feel any better. I was acting out, trying to punish him, but I was really drinking the poison and wanting him to suffer for it. It didn’t benefit me at all.”
Randy was quiet for a second, but he was looking at her carefully. “And what does that have to do with me?”
“All I’m trying to say is that you don’t have to forgive your father. You don’t even have to speak to him again. But don’t punish yourself just to get back at him. Trust me. It’s not worth it.”
The boy thought about it for a few minutes, frowning. And then he said, “What’s this job you’re offering?”
* * *
After the meeting,I wanted to take Tillie back to the hotel while I headed out to work.
To my surprise, Kuzo agreed to tag along, saying he wanted to make sure we got there safe. As if I would believe that. Like I couldn’t protect my own fucking self.
I knew he said that because he wanted to check her out some more or maybe talk to me.
“So,” he said as we stood alone while Tillie went to the bathroom. “Your girl.”
I was expecting it. “She’s not my girl.”
“Really? Because you could have fooled me.”
I shrugged. “It’s nothing serious.”
“And you’re full of shit. I saw the way she looked at you.”
