“He will expect a trap,” Angelo warned me as I stared at the phone in my hand. “No matter what you say, no one reaches the level Wilson has and still trusts people. Even family.”
It wasn’t completely true. Giovanni had trusted Angelo—to some extent—and that trust had gotten his entire operation either dead or behind bars. But I understood what he was saying. My father and I hadn’t seen each other in almost a decade, and he knew where my loyalties lay these days. But I would do this on the small hope that somewhere deep inside was still the man who used to take me to school when mom was too busy and who’d taught himself to braid my hair so I could wear it the same as other girls in my third grade class. The man who had said he loved me every single night as he tucked me into bed and sang me a lullaby.
It might have been a front, but I doubted anyone was that good of an actor.
Fuck, it was our only hope.
“I understand, but I have to try,” I finally told Angelo. “I think I know what to say to convince him, but I’m banking hard on parts of my old dad still being inside him. However deep, I need to dig it out.”
Angelo’s dark eyes bored into mine, holding me captive, and I could see his internal struggle. He didn’t want to have me anywhere near such a dangerous man, but I might be the only one with any hope of drawing Wilson out.
He was the last dark cloud hanging over our lives now, and I needed him dealt with.
“There’s no better time than during a change of leadership,” Grayson rumbled from his perch near the kitchen. “As much as I hate to admit it, because it requires Billie to step further into the darkness with us, this might be our only chance.”
We all knew it, even if none of us liked it very much.
“Do you want us to leave or stay?” Jace asked, his expression soft as he watched me closely. He did that a lot these days, watched me with a mixture of love and respect, and it really reiterated how much he had kept his word to me about changing. It had taken us a fucking long time, but we were finally growing up. Together.
“I think I might try it alone,” I said quietly. “If I have to say some nasty shit to convince him, I don’t want you guys to hear those words from me. Even when they’re fake.”
The three of them stood or straightened and made their way to me. They each kissed me and, without another word, left the room, and I stared down at the phone in my hand.
I’d gotten this number from Vee; it was Wilson’s last known contact information, which she’d found in her parent’s house. She was all in on our plan, and if anything, more excited than anyone to have a clear path to take out Wilson.
Knowing that if I hesitated any longer, I wouldn’t go through with it, I dialed the number. My hand trembled as I pressed the phone to my ear, and when he answered on the third ring, the quiver in my voice only added more legitimacy to my story.
“Yes.”
I sucked in a deep breath before I asked, “Dad?”
There was a pause, longer than I’d expected, and I wondered if maybe this number was no longer his. Then… “Billie…” He sounded hesitant, as if he wasn’t sure this was real.
It hurt more than I expected to hear that name from him again. There had been so much going on in Europe that I hadn’t really paid attention to him, but now, with nothing to distract us, it was like a blade to my chest. All of my months of compartmentalizing his existence, ignoring my feelings, and shoving him down into a box inside were destroyed in that moment.
A sob escaped me. A real sob.
His voice was sharper. “Are you okay? What’s happened?”
“Dad,” I choked out. “What happened to you? What happened to our family?”
He ignored the questions, though his voice sounded softer. “Are you okay, Billie Jean? Do you need me to come and get you?”
I nodded, even though this was not a video call and he couldn’t see me. Stupid frazzled brain. “I’m scared, daddy,” I whispered, reverting to the childhood name in hopes of reestablishing old bonds and memories. Of reasserting those protective instincts of a father to his child. “He’s out of control, just like last time, and I have nowhere else to go.”
I knew he was going to be suspicious, but he was also a man who believed himself smarter and more capable than anyone else. He trusted his instincts, and he had always hated Angelo. It wouldn’t take much to convince him that I needed help.
“Tell me what happened.” Wilson’s words were short. He sounded legitimately angry, and I hated how easily he could fall into the role ofdad. A dad who’d fucking abandoned me and killed my baby. One who’d never looked back, no matter how rough things had gotten for me.
“I’m pregnant again,” I choked out. “Angelo doesn’t seem to want this child, and I’m scared that I won’t survive this time. No one here believes me when I say that he’s unhinged, and I think it’ll be too late soon. You’re the only one he’s afraid of. The only one with the money and power to get me out of here.”
I gasped then, like I’d heard someone. “Dad, I’ve got to go. Shit.”
As soon as I hung up, I had to suck in a few deep lungfuls of air. This was the point where it could go either way. If he believed me and if there was enough love still there somewhere, he would figure out a way to get back in contact with me, and the guys and I could initiate stage two of the plan.
If he didn’t believe me, I’d have to cross paths with him a little beaten and bruised and hope that would do the trick.
I called the boys back into the room. “First contact made,” I said quickly. “He’s bound to be a little suspicious that I have his number, so we’ll see if he calls me back again.”
