He scoffed, sounding disgusted with me. “Don't you know when I’m bullshitting you? I knew if I threatened you with a Russo or a Lombardi, you’d lean even closer to Sailor.”
“Stop saying her name!” I set my glass down with a snap, and the contents sloshed over the side. “I can’t forgive her for what she did!”
Rubbing his temples, he moved closer to me. “Get yourself the fuck together, Nero, or I’ll do it for you. Stop drinking like your life depends on it, and get your head out of your ass!”
So help me God, I wanted to punch my own father in the mouth to shut him up. “Do you honestly think you can order me to get over this? Do you think I can just pick up the leftover pieces and glue them back together?”
“A complete stranger made a deal in exchange for finding the answers she’d searched for her entire adult life. She didn't know you, didn't know me, and didn't discover anything important anyway. Yet you’ll continue punishing her for making the obvious choice?”
It wasn't just the deal she’d made that fucked with me. It was seeing how long it took her to give it up.
I’d made love to her before she told them she was done. I’d taken her virginity, being more gentle than I'd ever been in my life. She’d told me she loved me, though she wasn't surewhat love felt like. I had spilled my guts to her, and the entire time, she had reported my words and actions back to Special Agent Patricia Lauder of the motherfucking Federal Bureau of Investigation.
That betrayal ran deep.
How did I explain that to Dad, though? How did I manage to lay all of that out for him in a way that wouldn't embarrass the fuck out of me?
“I don't think you understand how far things had progressed before she called it quits with them.”
When he put his hand on my shoulder, I didn't hate it as much as I had lately. “The first date couldn't be enough to know her heart.”
“Or the second, or the third?” Peeling off the seal on another bottle, I avoided his gaze. “I’m supposed to be okay with knowing she slept with me for information?”
Dropping his hand, he said, “That’s not fair.”
“None of this is fair!” I shouted, desperate to throw the full bottle straight through the window.
“Surely you don’t believe she had sex with you for the sole purpose of hoping you’d talk in your sleep?”
I didn't know what I thought; I just knew the nagging voice in my head wouldn't let me rest. I knew I couldn't focus on anything, I couldn't eat, and nothing held my interest. Thankfully, we weren't working on anything new, or I would only be a hindrance.
“Have the men run their contingency plans for taking out Franco and Lombardi? We can’t have something going wrong at this point. They have to die.”
For a long minute, he didn't respond to my change in subject. “Both have gone underground, but the word is they’re planning a buy on the same day as the wedding.”
“Have you considered that it might not be a coincidence? Why pick that specific day to come out of their burrow?”
“We have, yes. We’ll bump up security even more than we’d planned, considering we’re all going to be in the same building at the same time.”
“They’re covering for something.” Swirling my glass, I stared down at the amber contents. I should have had an idea what they might be thinking, but my brain wasn't at full capacity.
“I know. Your sister’s safety is paramount.”
When I met his gaze, I had a hard time holding back the threatening tears, but I couldn't show my weakness. My sister would have the wedding of her dreams, the marriage of her dreams, and I would have the business.
My phone rang from the spot on the bed where Dad had thrown it. Without meaning to, I glanced at the caller ID.
The realtor.
“If you want, you can answer that and tell her I’m not buying a house after all.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I continued, “I would do it, but I’m afraid I’ll come off rude as hell.”
“You said you wanted to move out even before you thought it would be with—”
“It’s not worth it,” I interrupted loudly before he could say her name. “Maybe I’ll just stay here until you match me with someone.”
“I’m not fucking matching you with anyone, Nero,” he said in a low voice. “I will not sit by and watch you tear yourself apart from the inside, and I will not advocate for you marrying someone you don’t even know.”
“Then you won’t get an heir to continue the Costa line after I’m gone.”
