A part of me blossoms every time I hear him profess his role as myprotector.
My father looks at Tristan, his eyes slightly narrowing. I’m certain that he’s dissecting his words and what they mean. I pray that he doesn’t suspect the origin. I would die if he ever found out that I was Tristan’s submissive. And then Tristan would die. Because Dad would killhim.
Dad, Nana, Tristan, and I move into the living room. I sit close to Tristan on the sofa, his hand possessively resting on my thigh. Our nearness and physical contact doesn’t escape my dad and Nana’s attention. I see it in the way they’re studyingus.
“Do you and Tristan’s father have some kind of badhistory?”
My dad breathes in deeply and sighs. “Not exactly. My history is with his younger sister,Lisette.”
“You knew my mother?” Tristanasks.
“Yes. I knew Lisette well. She was my girlfriend. My firstlove.”
Dad’s girlfriend? His firstlove?
I recall what Tristan said about his biological father—that his mother never named his father—and I immediately have a sickening feeling in mygut.
Please don’t. Please don’t say those words. Please don’t say that you are Tristan’s father. He can’t be my brother. Not after the things that we’ve donetogether.
Tristan’s hand grips my leg, and I know that he must be thinking the samething.
“Mom was a blackjack dealer at Broussard’s Vegas casino. That’s where I metLisette.”
I look at Tristan, but his eyes stare straight ahead. He won’t even look atme.
“I was practicing my card-counting skills at a blackjack table one night, and Lisette sat beside me. She threw some hundreds on the table and joined the game. I had no idea who she was or that she was onlysixteen.”
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
“Damn, she was gorgeous. That olive-tone skin and those pale blue eyes. She was the most beautiful girl I’d everseen.”
The Broussards. They are a beautifulpeople.
“A month went by before she told me who she was. But it didn’t matter by then. I didn’t care that she was the younger sister of the casino owner or that she was only sixteen. I was completely smitten with her. But Joseph cared. In fact, he cared a lot. The man cared far more than he shouldhave.”
Tristan fidgets next to me, unable to sitstill.
“Joseph was sixteen years older than Lisette and had been raising her for a couple of years following the death of their parents. At first, I thought Joseph was simply an overprotective brother, but as time passed, I began to see a very unnatural relationship between them. Joseph didn’t act like her older brother or even a father figure as one would expect. He behaved like a jealouslover.”
Tristan’s grip tightens on my thigh and when I look at him, I see that the carotid in the side of his neck is pumping likecrazy.
“Lisette didn’t tell anyone that she was pregnant with you. She was sixteen and scared to death… so she did what a child does. She lived in denial for months, pretending that the pregnancy wasn’t real, but there came a day when she was too far along to deny it anymore. Everyone thought I was the father, but that wasn’t possible. I never touched her that way. But I know whodid.”
I place my hand on top of Tristan’s, wrapping it around his tightly. He’s gone thirty-six years without knowing who his father was. And now he’s finally going toknow.
My dad moves to the edge of his chair and turns so he’s directly facing Tristan. “There is no easy way to say this to you.” My dad looks at Nana and then back at Tristan. “Joseph Broussard was sexually abusing your mother. And he is your biologicalfather.”
“No,” Tristan says beneath hisbreath.
“She confided in me when she could no longer hide the pregnancy. I told Mom and we reported the abuse, but Joseph had more than enough money to make his problems go away. He fired Mom from her job as a dealer and had some of his thugs beat me to within an inch of my life. They beat me to the point where I almost died. I imagine that this episode with him tonight stems from my knowing his dirty little secret. He wanted Emma Lia out of your life because he’s afraid of exactly what’s happening right now—his exposure. I don’t enjoy causing you pain, but nothing gives me more pleasure than exposing that sick bastard for what he did toLisette.”
“He told me she died in a drunk-drivingaccident.”
“There was no car accident. She overdosed on sleepingpills.”
