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“‘Run’ by Snow Patrol. Funny thing is that song fit our life so perfectly. It was as if it was written for us.”
I took a sip of my bourbon while I continued to stare at her as she sipped her drink and watched Caleb’s band on stage. She didn’t say much the rest of the evening, or on the way home, and I could tell something was bothering her.
“I’m going to go upstairs and change. Any specific lingerie you want me to wear tonight?” she asked.
“It’s your choice. I’ll meet you in my room when you’re ready.”
She gave me a small smile as we stepped onto the elevator.
Chapter 23
Kate
Idecided to slip into a black halter baby doll piece with the matching v-string panty. Walking into the bathroom, I took my hair down and ran my fingers through it, letting it fall over my shoulders. A sadness that I’d been holding back all night pushed through all my strength and finally broke me. I sat on the edge of the bed with my face in my hands.
“Kate? Are you okay?” I heard Gabriel ask in a soft voice as he stepped into my bedroom.
I opened my eyes and looked up at him.
“My dad would always say, ‘It’s okay, Katie. Remember, we’re on an adventure. Just me and you. Father and daughter. We can conquer the world together and do anything we want.’ Except his conquering the world left me alone a majority of the time. He used to say ‘Light up, baby girl. One day, we’re going to have the life we always dreamed of.’ What he didn’t understand was that I wanted a normal life, with a house, and to stay in one place where I could set down roots and make some friends. Where he had a normal job and made an honest living.”
He walked over to the bed when he saw the tears fall from my eyes and sat down next to me.
“He conned people, didn’t he?” I asked.
I nodded my head and grabbed a tissue from the nightstand.
“Is that why he’s in prison?”
“He got involved with some high-powered people. When they found out he conned them, they set him up and made sure he went to prison. The FBI seized all his funds and he lost everything. A couple of days after he was sentenced to Rikers, a man knocked on the door of the hotel room I was staying in and told me that if I wanted to get my father out of prison, all I would have to do is pay them double of what he stole.”
“How much?” he asked.
“Ten million dollars.”
“For fuck sakes, Kate.” He shook his head.
“They said once his debt is paid off, they would make sure he was released from prison.”
“And they can just do that?”
“These people have friends in high places, Gabriel. You wanted to know why I do what I do. That’s the reason. I don’t like it. In fact, I hate it, but I need my father out of prison. He’s the only person I have in this world.” A tear fell from my eye. “Every piece of jewelry, designer clothes, handbags, and anything else those men gave me of great value, I sold. And whatever I take from them, I pay it towards my father’s debt. That’s the reason I don’t have thirty thousand dollars to give you.”
“How much of that debt did you already pay off?”
“Five million dollars. Samuel Coldwater was going to be my last job.”
“How certain are you that these people would get your father out of prison after you paid them? People like that never keep their word.”
“We signed a contract. I agreed to pay ten million dollars and they agreed to get him out of prison.”
“I see.”
He got up from the bed and paced around the room.
“He ruined your life, Kate. You have to know that.”
“He did what he had to do to support us. He told me that I was the only thing in his life that he’d done right. He quit conning after he met my mother and they got married. He sold used cars and they still had trouble making ends meet. Then I was born, she died, and I was all he had left. In his mind, he was doing what was best for us and doing the only thing he knew how.”
