There were more than I expected. He had gotten national coverage too; and his mafia connection was mentioned in both national stories. No doubt it was the reason for the articles in the first place.
My throat thickened, just thinking about him, about the reason for those articles in the first place.
My mother.
It still hurt. I thought I was over it, that everything had been pushed into the right categories and boxes and I was this professional, no-emotions operative. But that wasn’t the case. It all swept up in me again.
I usually felt the hatred. That was never far away when I thought about my father, but today, looking at his face, his name, and remembering that time, I felt mostly just pain.
By the time I left and went back to the B&B, I had a plan formulated, and I picked up the phone in my room. I dialed the number at the house we’d most recently stayed at since I didn’t have any other number on hand.
“Hello?” Tanner answered.
“You have my number?” I didn’t introduce myself. He would know. I didn’t wait for a response. “I’m going to hang up.”
There was no hesitation. “Okay. Brooke’s ankle is fine, by the way.”
I paused, then put the phone back on the base.
I didn’t know how long it would take, but I watched the clock and began counting.
It took twenty-three minutes.
Knock, knock! “Let me in. Now.”
I let out a sigh, stood, and opened the door. I stepped back, seeing Kai’s tight features glaring back at me.
I pressed my hands together. “The door wasn’t locked.”
He moved inside and shut it with a kick.
I’d expected him to come to me, to reach out, touch me. He did nothing. He remained just inside the door.
“It has to be your decision,” he growled. “Everything has to be your decision.”
His eyes were hard, his mouth pressed in a flat line.
He. Was. Pissed.
“How long have you been here?” he asked.
Oh boy.
His eyes were locked on me, unmoving.
I swallowed. “A day.”
He shook his head. “A day. You’ve been here a full fucking day?”
Well, it was closer to a day and a half with the traveling included, but I didn’t think he cared about that.
“How did you get here?”
I gave him a look. “Are you kidding?”
“No, I’m not! I’m not fucking kidding. How did you get here?”
“My job is to help people disappear. That is what I do, what I’m good at. You do mafia shit. That’s what you’re good at.”
“I’m good at keeping my family safe. That’s what I’m good at.”
“Come on. I mean, did you really think I wouldn’t get here? You really thought I would let you confront my father without me? He’s my dad. Mine.”
“And he deserves to die.”
He was growling, nearly shouting, but he rubbed a hand over his jaw. He was trying to calm down. He looked down. “You flew, didn’t you?”
Aw shit. “Yes.”
“Goddammit, Riley!” Back to shouting.
I had to take a step back.
He wasn’t moving, but it didn’t matter. The air writhed around him, his words like punches. Everything was tense and riddled with fury.
Stark shadows fell over his face, making his cheekbones prominent and unyielding.
“Why are you mad?” I asked.
“I’m mad because I give a shit about you.” His hand went to his hair, running briskly through it. “Maybe it’s irrational, but my loved ones don’t fly. It’s my rule. It’s the one thing I held on to when I took my father’s position. Everything else I gave up. Everything. People I cared about, friends, girlfriends. School. A normal life. All of it was gone the second I took the head council position. It fucking matters, and it’s one small way I’m reassured my family members are alive. You have a shot at living if your car is tampered with. There’s no shot with a plane once it’s in the air. No shot.”
He cared about me.
His loved ones.
And his girlfriends.
It was petty of me, but…girlfriends? More than one?
His hands went to his hips, clearly frustrated. Bent, broken, but still here. Still standing. Still in the room with me.
“Brooke thinks our mother died from an illness. She didn’t.” His now-tired eyes flicked up to mine. Pain flared there. “Our father killed her, and he didn’t act alone. I’ve never told anyone in the family this.”
“How’d she die?”
“With her lover.” His nostrils flared. “With Cord’s father.”
Oh—OH! My mouth fell open.
Kai sat on the edge of my bed, resting his elbows on his knees. He stared at the floor. “I was told by