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He clears his throat, shifts his gaze away, and takes a deep breath in before turning back to me. “You mean you wanted to gloat? One down, one to go? Although can’t pin this one on you, can I?”
“My issue is with Sly, not you.”
“And I assume that is why you’re here. What do you want, Silas?”
I smile tightly and we sit in silence for a long moment before I finally say, “Information.”
“Of course.” He studies me. “I’m sorry about your mother, by the way. She was a good woman.”
I don’t thank him. I’d prefer it if he didn’t mention my mother.
An awkward silence falls over us. I’ve only had contact with Horatio Hart a few times in the last few years. I never felt the need to keep in touch.
I study his dark eyes, which look tired. His hair will need to be cut soon. He has a hint of a five-o’clock shadow. It’s not like Horatio Hart to be unkempt.
His gaze moves to the scar along my temple. It’s the one Daddy left me with the night he beat the shit out of me for punching his son, who was trying to get his dick into a sixteen-year-old girl.
Hart had come to the cottage the next day when the Foxes were out. Mom had called him. He’d seen what Sly had done, and he’d gotten his doctor there to stitch up what needed stitching, to clean what needed cleaning.It was too late for my nose but I count myself lucky I walked away with just a crooked nose and the one scar.
I never told him why Fox did it. I kept my word to Ophelia. That act of kindness on his part is the reason I’m here. It is the reason I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.
“Let’s cut to the chase. What are you doing here, Silas?”
“Saw Ophelia the other day.”
His gaze becomes alert. “Is she all right?”
“We only spoke for a minute. I was surprised to hear she hadn’t been to see you yet.”
He glances away. “Families are complicated.”
“Funny. She used that same word.”
He turns back to me, and there’s a long pause before he speaks. “It’s better for her to distance herself from me, and we both know that.”
“Bullshit.” He’s clearly surprised by my reaction, but after a moment, he smiles.
“You know what, Silas? No matter what you felt about me, you were always good at taking care of her.” The statement takes me aback. “At least when she was younger. I always appreciated that. But let me ask you this. Do you hate her too, now that she’s an adult?”
I grit my teeth, bite my tongue and remind myself why I’m here. What I need. Because Horatio Hart is collateral damage in Sullivan Fox’s game. I fucking know it.
“Why did you do it? Why change your testimony? Take the plea deal? They had Fox.”
“Are you disappointed Sly isn’t in here with me?”
“From what I know, he should be.”
He clams up at that.
“What happened at the last minute? Why the about-face? You destroyed your future.”
“My future doesn’t matter.”
“What about your daughter’s?”
“Phee will be fine. I made sure of that.”
“How did you do that?”
