Stealing Jia (Coletti Warlords #12) - Gail Koger Page 0,36
catered to children with special talents.”
My father gently touched my cheek. “If Salvatore Genovese wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him for what he did to you.”
“It’s okay, Dad. They taught me survival skills I needed when the Tai-Kok came.”
His face lit up. “Dad, huh?”
“Would you prefer father or pops or papa or pappy?”
Dad laughed. “Dad’s fine.”
Bey twitched.
“Merda! Cut me loose, Dad.”
Kneeling, he hacked at the sticky webbing. “Bey’s bad temper is legendary.”
“Color me surprised. Instead of a thank you for rescuing LeeLee and LooLoo, the jerk compared me to a frightened petka.”
“He did the same to Kaylee.”
“Seriously?”
Zarek teleported in and stared at Bey for a long moment. “I have been summoned to deal with the Tabor problem, but it seems you have it under control.”
Trayon bellowed his war cry.
“Or not.” As Zarek entered our quarters, a bowl of blood worms whizzed by his head.
An army of cleaning bots scurried down the corridor. “That’s not a good sign.”
Dad helped me up. “No, it isn’t. How about we catch up over some Merlot and chocolate cake?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter Eleven
I felt an instant connection to my father. I glossed over my life as a thief, the horrors of the Tai-Kok invasion, Adam’s abduction and how I became Trayon’s mate. “Enough about me. How did you meet my mother?”
Dad grinned. “Viola picked my pocket.”
My mother had been a thief too? “Did you get your wallet back?”
“Darlin’, I’m a cop, what do you think?”
“I think she led you on a merry chase.”
“Yes, she did, but I caught her and found out the hard way she was highly skilled with a knife.” Dad tapped his side. “I still have the scar.”
“She stabbed you!”
“More like a deep cut. I’ve been in a few knife fights and I quickly disarmed her,” Dad replied.
“I bet that pissed her off.”
My father threw back his head and roared with laughter. “She turned into a wild cat; biting and clawing me. But she was a little thing like you, I pinned her down until she wore herself out.”
I gaped at him. “How in the world did you end up in bed with a woman who tried to kill you?”
“Charm.” He winked at me.
“Charm?”
“Yes, ma’am. It works every time.” He smiled, revealing his dimples. “And I took her dancing.”
Holy Jesus! My father was a lady’s man. “That’s it?”
“No. She showed me Rome. We ate. We talked. We made love. It was the best week of my life.”
“Your affair only lasted a week?”
“A week from the day we met, Viola vanished. I scoured the city, but it was like she had never existed. I returned to the States and hired a private investigator to continue the search.”
“Did you go back to Rome?”
Dad’s mouth hardened into a grim line. “I hunted for Viola until the Tai-Kok came.”
“I wish you had found her.” I placed my hand over his.
His fingers curled around mine. “Me too.”
“Do I have any half-brothers or sisters?”
Dad’s eyes darkened with pain. “No. Voila was the love of my life. I never married.”
“Salvatore Genovese had ties to the Dragos clan. Viola might have been one of his thieves,” I said in a feeble attempt to solve the mystery of her disappearance.
“Which would explain how you ended up at Saint Michael’s Home for Lost Sheep.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Had my mother been fleeing Salvatore’s enforcers when the avalanche hit?
The mess hall doors swished open and Bey scurried in.
My alone time with Dad had just come to a screeching halt. Zzzzzt! A glowing green energy ball formed on my left palm. “Behave or I’ll put you to sleep again.”
He stopped. “I have come to apologize.”
“You have?” Consider me surprised.
“LeeLee and LooLoo are terrors. They get into everything. They throw tantrums. The only way to keep them out of mischief is to web them to the wall. I cannot get them to obey me, but they listen to you. I only wanted a little peace.”
“I feel your pain, but they’re babies who have been through a lot. We don’t know what they saw on Threll or how the Rodan treated them. You need to show the evil twins some love and then web them to the wall.” I patted the table. “Would a bowl of mealie worms help?”
Bey hopped up on the table. “It would.”
“I’ll get them,” Dad said and walked over to the food processor.
“Still think I’m a petka?”
“You have earned your warrior status,” Bey conceded.
“Thank you.”
The doors opened and Adoz flew in. Chirping loudly, he landed on my shoulder. “That bad, huh?”
He cheeped.
“Who’s this?”