Shit.
The front passenger window rolled down as I got closer, slowing my steps significantly as I discovered who was sitting in the driver’s seat. There was a subtle smirk on his face with his pair of aviators. The smugness contrasted his usual overprotective, conservative father alter-ego.
“Sarge.” I tucked the rag into the back pocket of my jeans and leaned against the roof of the car, ducking my head to peer inside. “Nice ride.”
The faux chuckle that he let out was anything but friendly. He lowered his glasses to the end of his nose. “Please, call me Mark. You’re dating my daughter. Formality isn’t necessary.”
“It is when I’m wondering why you’re here.” My turn for the fake fucking smiles.
Lily told me all about her confession to her dad after he discovered my photo amongst the debris of The Den. I didn’t have a problem with her getting it off her chest, but I was suspicious about why he had been willing to forget like either of us was ever involved with that place.
Mark’s eyes narrowed while his lips remained curved in a way that didn’t meet his eyes. “I think we need to have a chat.”
“Do we?” I frowned curiously. “I’m kinda busy right now. There’s a Honda Civic in the back that needs a tire change—”
“This isn’t really up for discussion.” The smile finally dropped as he reached down beside his seat.
I had expected him to reveal a gun — force of habit from experience with criminals. Instead, he dropped a pair of handcuffs onto the passenger seat in front of me. My eyebrow went up as I looked at them.
“Let’s not make a scene,” he said, casually checking his rearview mirror. “Put them on.”
“Why?” I asked darkly.
“You’ve collected quite the list of offenses since you were last arrested, Dean. Unfortunately for you, they’ve all caught up and you’re facing some very serious charges. Blackmail, death threats, murder.” His eyes flicked to me on the last word.
Fuck.
“Put them on,” Mark repeated.
My heart was like a sledgehammer, slamming against my ribcage as I glared at him. For a split second, I considered running, but I couldn’t do that to Lily, so I squared my jaw and pulled the door open. Taking the handcuffs and snapping them onto my wrists, I dropped into the front seat.
“Close the door,” he said too calmly.
I shut it firmly, breathing heavily through my nose before I rested my head against the back of the seat. It had been a long time since I felt that cold metal around my wrists. The only reason the arrests stopped was because of Antonio. He made sure nothing came of what I did in the past.
I forced my knee to stop bouncing. “Is this when you tell me you can make those charges disappear if I do somethin’ for you?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Why else would you come to me like this?" I lifted the cuffs for emphasis. "You coulda come in and arrested me in front of everyone but you didn't. Which makes me think this has a deal attached to it. But for me to accept that deal, you've gotta do somethin' for me. Somethin' that'll make me trust you. Like getting rid of those charges."
He barked a laugh that made my skin crawl. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
I dragged my eyes to him. “Am I wrong?”
His eyes flickered with irritation as he shifted in his seat. “I can’t make your charges disappear. But I can reduce some of them.”
“Uh-huh.” My smile was all sarcasm as I scoffed and shook my head. “How?”
“What can you tell me about Antonio Gimello?”
