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After a few minutes, I knew that I needed to handle the situation. I had done everything in my power to get away from my dad’s bullshit, but as usual, he plopped me right back into the fucking middle of it.
I called Roman. I started speaking as soon as he answered.
“What is this bullshit about Tony getting Mom’s property or he will come after my family?”
“Whoa, hello to you too, bro,” Roman said dryly. “Let me guess, you talked to Dad?”
“Yes. So what the hell are we going to do?”
“You don’t have to worry about a thing, Gabe. I’ve got it covered.”
“With Tony?”
“Yes,” Roman said.
“Then how come Dad doesn’t seem to know this?”
“Because Dad is no longer involved in the deal. He’s too sick for it. I’ve taken over negotiating with Tony and we are looking at other properties, so you can relax, you don’t need to worry about anything.”
My fists unclenched, as did my jaw. My brother seemed in control and confident, and if there was one thing to be said about Roman it was that he could handle some messy shit if needed.
“You sure about that?” I asked.
“Absolutely, I have it covered,” he promised.
“Good, because if anyone even thinks about coming after my family, there will be fucking hell to pay.”
Roman let out a low laugh. “There’s the Gabe I know and love. Welcome back, brother.”
“I’m not back,” I reminded him.
“No, of course not, not in that way. This is my deal, you’re not involved,” he said.
As much as I hated that my brother was tangled in the same illegal bullshit as our dad, I was grateful that it was Roman on the job. We might have had a falling out years ago, but I knew that Roman knew what he was doing.
“Do you trust me?” my brother asked me.
Normally, the answer would be “Hell, no,” because I knew not to trust him, Dante, or anyone else working under my father’s thumb. But instead of answering, I hung up the phone and left the question hanging in the air. As much as I wanted to trust my family again, I knew there was no way we would ever be close. Which made my heart ache. I wanted my kids to know my brothers, at least the guys I had grown up with. Not the men they had grown up to be.
15
Bella
Ihad told Charles I would call him that afternoon. Although I knew he was expecting me, the idea of calling my potential father and hearing his voice was more nerve wracking than I expected.
Finally, I just did it.
He answered pretty quickly.
“Hi, Mr. O’Connell, it’s Bella.”
“Yes, Bella, thank you for calling,” he said. His voice sounded so gentle and kind. I knew you couldn’t tell much about a person just from their voice, but right away, I liked him. “I think I told you already that we called my daughter Bella, so it’s a bit strange to be calling you that.”
“You can call me Isabella, if you prefer.” It made me wonder if my mom had kept my name as Bella since that’s what I’d have known but changed it just enough to try to hide my identity.
“Oh no, it’s fine. It’s actually nice,” he said. “So how are you doing today, Bella?”
Tears welled up in my eyes, but I managed to push them back. “I’m doing well, how about you, Mr. O’Connell?”
