Страница 274 из 349
His devastation seeps into me, touching every nerve.
“I couldn’t do a damn thing,” he snaps. “Not with that kid staring up at me. God knows he’s going to need a lifetime worth of therapy without having to witness his father’s murder.”
Puzzle pieces fall in place, but not enough to create a clear picture. “You didn’t expect the child?”
He bites out a bitter laugh. “I didn’t expect his existence, let alone his arrival.”
My stomach clenches. I’m pretty sure the reflex is instigated from pity.
It doesn’t stop me from despising the instinctual reaction and becoming a slave to it in the same breath. I’m torn apart. My sympathy and self-preservation collide.
“You made the right choice.” The comfort is whispered from my lips. “You’ll get another chance to deal with your father.”
He raises the bottle, the pull of liquid long and dangerous.
I inch forward, reach the end of the pier, and sit a foot away. A wall of darkness surrounds me, both visually and emotionally. There’s no hope. No confidence. Only black. “But drowning your sorrows isn’t going to help.”
“Like hell it won’t.”
“I’m serious.” I reach for the bottle, spreading my hand around the glass. “It’s just a minor setback.”
“Finding out I have a brother is a minor setback?” He glances at me, his eyes stark, the inky depths gripping in their intensity as he tries to reclaim the liquid solace.
“The shock will wear off.” I tug the bottle, pulling it from his grip. “The least you can do is share.”
I take a large gulp of my own and wince as the scotch burns my throat, searing everything in its path.
He doesn’t watch my struggle. Instead, he returns his stare to the water, letting me leisurely drink my fill until liquor warms my belly.
“How could I not have known?” His question is murmured. Barely spoken. “I had no fucking idea. All this time.”
“I think people rely too heavily on the bond of blood,” I whisper.
His uncharacteristic show of vulnerability gets to me. This criminal Goliath is on his knees, and I struggle to react the way an FBI agent should. “Some expect it will excuse any behavior. That despite betrayal and deception, all will be forgiven because they’re family.”
That’s the only reason I can give for my father’s actions. He must have thought I would let his criminal activity slide because we share DNA.
He thought wrong.
“Maybe you’re right,” he murmurs. “For once.”
I smile, seeing the thin layer of his humor through the pain.
“Just when I think he can’t stoop any lower.” He shakes his head. “Christ. He has a new fucking family and didn’t even think to tell the one he already had.” He shoots me a look. “That kid had to be at least five or six, right?”
“I’m not sure. Kids aren’t my schtick. But he did seem awfully young.”
“Young, but too fucking old to have been hidden this long.”
I wince. “Betrayal is always worse when it comes from someone you trust.”
He bites out a bitter laugh. “I wish I could say this is the worst thing he’s ever done, but we both know that’s a lie.”
“This is different. The crimes he’s previously committed are against other people. I understand how hard it must be to have something aimed at you this time.”
“Like I said,” he mutters, “this isn’t the first.”
The conversation dies on the breeze. He doesn’t offer more insight, and I don’t push for an explanation.
We remain there, silent, as we share the bottle of liquor until footsteps approach from behind.
“How are things going out here?” Luca walks down toward us, stopping behind me. “I gather you forgot my invitation to the party.” The words are somber, half-hearted banter to skirt all the doom and gloom.
“There’s no party here.” Cole holds up the bottle. “Only fucking resentment and a wealth of complication.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Luca sits on the side of the pier closest to me and dangles his legs over the edge. “Have you got any idea what you want to do from here?”
“No. But I’ll be taking Luther up on his offer to meet tomorrow. Any insight is good insight.”
“We,” Luca clarifies, handing back the bottle. “You’re not going anywhere on your own.”
I don’t move my attention from the water. I act unfazed by the change in schedule. “Where does that leave me?”
“On the jet, headed for home.” Cole’s response comes without pause.
“Excuse me?” I stiffen, caught in shock.
Hours ago, I would’ve been excited at the prospect of freedom. Now, I’m not so sure.
“I thought I had to be here.” I turn to face him. “What happened to me being a witness?”
“Things changed.”
“Like what?” Luca asks.
Cole throws back the scotch, his gulp audible, before he lowers it with a sigh. “He knows she’s here.”
That part isn’t a surprise. I already heard Luther talk about me. What I didn’t hear was a problem.
“We covered our asses on arrival,” Luca adds. “I thought we bound and sedated her for this exact reason—to stifle Luther’s suspicion.”
“That was the reason?” I narrow my gaze on Cole. “My traumatic introduction to the Greek Islands was done out of strategy?”
Not a blatant show of Cole’s power? Not for his sadistic pleasure?
“God forbid you ever think I do something for your safety,” he mutters. “If you willingly walked off the jet and word got back to my father, he wouldn’t have stopped until he found out every last thing about you. You needed to look like a random victim.”
“So why didn’t you tell me this to begin with?” I grab the scotch from him, the dark liquid reaching the middle of the bottle. “You made me believe you did it for fun.”
“No, I didn’t.” He snatches the liquor before I can raise it to my mouth. “I made it clear I didn’t mean to hurt you. You chose not to listen.”
With a few brief sentences I’m cast back to my arrival, seeing everything through different eyes.
“You heard the way he spoke about you. He doesn’t consider you a threat. He thinks of you as a toy, which isn’t something I considered. It means if he ever gets his hands on you, he won’t want to kill you; he’ll want to play.”
Luca huffs out a defeated breath. “If she goes home, who’s going to tell your sisters about Luther?”
Yet again, I’m confused.
“Tell your sisters what about Luther?”
Cole mutters under his breath, the words indecipherable as he pushes to his feet. “I’m done with this shit. We can talk about it tomorrow.” He stalks for the path leading to the house, taking the bottle with him.
“What is he talking about?” I rush to my feet, my head swirling with the sudden movement.
“Fucking hell.” Luca pivots, grabbing my thighs in a vain attempt to stabilize me. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Less than Cole.” I shove at his shoulders and struggle to get my bearings. “What do you mean about his sisters? What do they have to be told?”
His face hardens. “You heard him. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“No. We’ll talk about it now. I’m sick of fighting and clawing to get any sort of clarity. I want the truth.”
Luca crosses his arms over his chest. His mouth clamps tight. He’s preparing to play hard ball.
“Luca, please.” My tone is far from pleading. I can’t hide my frustration. “I thought I was here to be a witness for anyone who believes Cole isn’t capable of succeeding with Luther.”
“You are.” He speaks through clenched teeth.
“Then what does this have to do with his sisters?”
He crosses his arms over his chest. Unmoving. Barely blinking.