“No, I don’t think a good father would do that,” I have to confess.
“And if a child was taken away from agoodfather…, do you think he would try and find his child?” she asks.
I nod. “Yes. I think he would look for his child,” I sigh.
She smiles at me. “My father might have been good to me when I was younger. I can’t specifically claim I had a bad childhood or a difficult time. But now, as an adult, I can see things differently, and while it’s difficult to accept, I won’t deny it. It seems like the people in my life just can’t be honest with me about things,” she sighs, and I get the guilty sense that she is stillpissed off with me about keeping my mafia ties hidden from her in the beginning. I wonder if she will ever forgive me.
“I think you’re doing well, Athena. You’ve been through a lot in the past month or so. A lot has happened, and your world has changed in ways you might never have imagined. Only a really strong person would be able to process and deal with all of that like you have.”
She smiles sweetly, her eyes softening.
“Thank you, Adrian. I appreciate that.” Her eyes lock with mine, and we stare at each other in silence for a moment. This is the moment when I would lean across the table to kiss her. Every cell in my body is telling me to do it. To touch my lips to hers. To feel the softness of them.
Of course, that is the exact moment the waiter arrives with our food.
***
Over the next few days, I can’t get the look in her eyes out of my mind. The way she spoke about her father, it was easy to tell she was hurting. The man broke her heart. He betrayed her in many ways.
The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
Finally, I can’t take it anymore, and I have to do something about it.
With the phone pressed against my ear, I wait for Antonio to answer.
“Boss.” His voice comes through the line.
“Ant, how are things?”
“Good, good, did you want an update on yesterday’s shipment?” he asks.
“Yes, but not now. That’s not why I called. I wanted to find out what the latest was with the guys who are tracking Ricardo Mendelez?”
“Ugh, it’s the same old same old, hey. He spends all his time at hole-in-the-ground bars. Gambling, drinking, hanging around with low lives. There really isn’t much to report, but we are still keeping an eye on him. Oh, shit, actually, one thing did come up yesterday, I can’t believe I almost forgot. He got into a deal with a guy name Frank Clessara.”
“Clessara… isn’t that man involved with trafficking!” I stammer in shock.
“That’s the one. Seems that Ricardo is looking to make some quick money, and he doesn’t care how he goes about it.”
“Shit. That fucker doesn’t know when to quit,” I grumble.
“No. If he’s willing to dirty his hands with trafficking, that means he doesn’t have a limit of decency.”
“Listen, do you maybe know if he’s made any inquiries into where his daughter might be. Or made any effort to try to reach her? Has he been asking about her?” I ask.
It’s not that I want him to reach out to Athena. I actually want him to stay as far the fuck away from her as possible, but I do need to know where his head is with regards to her.
“Nothing. He hasn’t mentioned her to anyone at the bars. He hasn’t asked about her. He doesn’t have people on the ground asking around either.”
“Nothing? Like fuck all? A father can really just forget about his own daughter like that?” I stammer in disbelief.
“I reckon I’d prefer it that way,” Antonio says.
“Yeah, man. I agree. It’s just… it isn’t right. A father should care for his daughter. Anyway, it makes it easier for me if he’s so willing to forget about her.”
“Look, just because he hasn’t asked in public doesn’t mean he has forgotten. Don’t underestimate the guy.”
“I won’t.”
