“Yakuza. Like in the movies Yakuza?”
“Aye. I was placed as security within her family, which is how we met... and, ultimately, fell in love. I was supposed to be the eyes and ears inside her father’s circle, but instead, I found myself looking for a way to get us both out.”
“And you got out.”
“We did. But they found her, love.”
I bit back tears. “When I was six.”
“Aye.”
“So you lied,” I whispered. “Again.”
“I had to protect you.”
I wiped the wetness from my cheek. “Maybe when I was six, but later, you could have told me the truth.”
“I don’t like that you know any of this shit now, Indigo. Your mother’s family is still a threat.”
“You can’t really expect that they would come after me,” I said in total disbelief.
“They are capable of anything, mo stoirín. I expect anything from them, particularly if they knew they had access to a piece of your mother.”
“Even more of a reason to fill me in, don’t you think? But, no. You’ve chosen to leave me unaware, exposed, and unprotected.”
“You haveneverbeen unprotected,” he argued.
“Really? How do you figure?”
“Just trust me on that.”
“This is the problem, Dad. Idon’ttrust you. You’ve lied to me. My. Entire. Life!”
“If you take a few minutes to think on why, you’ll see I had no choice.”
“That’s your answer? Fine. I’ll take a few minutes in the form of decades to think on it. I do not want to hear from you until I’m done thinking. Got it?”
“Indy, honey...”
“I’m hanging up now, Dad. Bye.”
