But I know what those ugly knots of twisted scar tissue mean.
“You’re back,” he says as I take a seat beside him. The door slides shut, leaving me alone with the old man. I nudge Rosie on my knee, bouncing her up and down. His eyes slide to my daughter, and he genuinely smiles. “But you brought someone with you.”
“Elias, this is Rosie.”
“Hello, little girl.” He reaches a gnarled finger out for her. Rosie’s usually slightly shy with new people, but she happily grabs at him. “Strong grip for such a small thing, but I shouldn’t be surprised. You come by it honestly.”
I’m not sure what he means by that. I adjust Rosie as she starts squirming and let her climb down onto the floor. “I hope you don’t mind. She’s going to explore.”
“Not at all. The place isn’t exactly baby-proofed, though.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her.” I scoot my chair back to give myself a better view. Elias keeps staring at Rosie with a strange look on his face. It’s almost wistful and sad. “Should I have left her somewhere else? You seem unhappy.”
“Not at all.” He meets my gaze, smiling again. “She’s wonderful. I assume that’s Massimo’s daughter as well?”
“He’s her biological father, yes.” I don’t know why I have to specify that. Like I can still keep him at a distance or something.
Elias notices. His eyebrows raise. “But not more?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated right now.”
He nods slowly. “Yes, family always is. Never easy.”
“You have family?”
“Everyone does. I had a daughter too. Your Rosie reminds me so much of my Maggie.” His smile goes distant as the little hairs on the back of my neck start to stand up. A chill tingle runs down my spine. “I did my best to take care of my family. I hoped keeping my distance would protect them, and it did for a time. But nothing’s ever perfect.”
“Where’s your daughter now?”
“Still alive, if that’s what you’re wondering.” He sighs and leans back into his pillows. “I’ll admit I was never a good father. Massimo would shame me if he knew how many nights I spent away from home without my wife and baby girl. Despite the way he comes off, he’s a traditionalist at heart.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“I think that’s part of why we became friends from the start. I saw someone strong in Massimo. A man truly worthy of the Dragon title. But I was penned in by Medved and fighting a war of attrition. I was too busy fighting to maintain control over my empire to really get to know him. I still wonder why he saved me.”
“What happened?”
“Medved ambushed me and some of my top lieutenants. We’d gone to a meeting with several important African politicians to hammer out new mining rights and some export deals when a missile struck the building we were in. Most of my guards died on impact. I survived by pure chance. Massimo and his crew were in the region dealing with Somali pirate captains who were refusing to pay his protection price, and when he heard what happened, he dropped everything and flew hours in several choppers to get to our besieged location. My last remaining fighters and I were giving Medved and his people hell, but we were losing. We would’ve died if Massimo hadn’t pulled off an audacious rescue. But in the process, I lost my legs and nearly lost my life. Medved’s forces were severely weakened but not destroyed, and now here we are, years later, still fighting the same old war.”
I let that settle in my stomach. Massimo doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who would fly across a continent for a friend, but clearly, I’m wrong about that. Maybe I’m wrong about a lot of things when it comes to him.
I move over to Rosie and keep her from making a mess. She settles herself on the floor and plays with the remote as I sit on the couch. Elias watches very carefully.
“Your daughter,” I say, not looking at him. “You called her Maggie. Was her full name Margaret?”
“That’s right.”
“And she married a man, didn’t she? What’s her married name?”
Elias’s voice is very soft. “You know that already.”
I sit up very straight and turn to him. “Her last name is Russo now, isn’t it?”
Elias only smiles. He tilts his head, studying me. “You look so much like her. And your daughter has it too. The Thorne genes are strong.”
It strikes me like a hammer. A part of me hoped he’d deny it and laugh like this is all some absurd joke. But so much of what has happened to me suddenly clicks into place.
“You’re my grandfather.” I stand and face him. My hands are shaking and I feel sick. “She told me you were dead.”
