“Cain, your protectiveness of my niece gives me great pleasure, but I’m a little disappointed in you not telling me she was here. I had to hear it from Cecily, who you didn’t call, either,” he says reproachfully.

“I had no idea she was coming. The last damn thing on my mind was calling you when I first saw her. Besides, she’s safe here and you know it.”

“I have not seen my niece since she was two years old. You know as well as I do that pictures are not the same as the real thing. Her being here is not the kind of shit you keep from family. She needs no protection from us.”

He waves his hand dismissively, and if I didn’t respect his ass, I would pull the ‘I beg to differ’ card on him like Calla did me. They would never hurt her, but this lifestyle sure as hell could.

Salvatore has seen me at my lowest, and was one of the few who helped me see light in all this darkness I’ve been living in since she’s been gone. He’s the only man who told me that distance wouldn’t matter if we truly loved each other. Our minds try and overrule our hearts, but love can triumph over any obstacle, any distance, and any person who tries to take it away.

No one would help me find her six years ago. Not my father, not her parents. Everywhere I looked, there were reminders of her. I gave up. I stole a shit ton of money from my father, found Salvatore’s address, and forced a meeting with him. I will never forget what he has done for me. He gave me the strength and the wisdom to fight for what’s mine. And here I stand, challenging him in that fight. He notices the tension in my stance and raises an eyebrow.

“Don’t get all pissy with me, boy. I care about her just as much as you do. Now where’s my other son?”

The boss opens his expensive jacket, shrugs it off, and tosses it on the porch like it’s nothing. I bet that material cost near five thousand dollars. He wears Armani exclusively. He rolls up his sleeves.

“Well, where is he? I’ve got business to tend to.”

I back up to grab the jacket and place it on the post leading up the stairs.

“Business? Here? You hate this city.”

“Damn right, I do. It’s dirty. Full of drugs. Rats. Sewers. It smells.”

“And New York doesn’t?” I laugh.

“Anyway, smart mouth, Detroit has just become my new favorite city.”

I shoot both of them a narrow look.

“All right, you fuckers. Tell me, what the hell is going on?”

Before they can answer, I hear the sound of a car driving slowly up my path. We all turn to look.

“Jesus Christ, now what?” I exclaim.

I look from Beamer to Salvatore. Their faces stare blankly at John and Cecily, who are now getting out of the car. The three of us stand there and watch them approach. John’s fists are clenched at his sides, and Cecily looks like she’s ready to kill someone herself.

“You!” she shouts, aiming her finger at Salvatore. “You had the nerve to call me and tell me that shit on the phone.”

“Get your finger out of my face and give me a hug. Be thankful I called you at all.”

The two of them embrace, kissing each other on the cheek. My head goes back and forth between all four of them. This is some screwed up shit right here.

“What the hell is going on?” I ask loudly. “You people trying to kill her, or what? You’ve told her enough today, John. And you didn’t speak enough, Cecily. So what brings you back to my house?”

All four of them snap their heads in my direction.

“John?” Cecily indicates for her husband to speak.

“Cain. Beamer here found Kryder this morning.”

My blood starts churning. My hands clench so tightly into fists that I swear to Christ we all hear my knuckles crack.

“Where?”

“He’s been right under our noses this whole damn time, man. Fucking Brightmoor.”

I shake my head.

“Come again? Brightmoor? As in where Emerald grew up? As in where her parents still live? Dad’s old VP Monty? No motherfucking way.”

This can’t be. He’s been right here the whole damn time.

No one says a word. All you hear is the whistle of the breeze and the shuffling of trees until John walks back to the car, the crunching of stone heard with each thunderous step. He opens the back door, reaches inside, and drags out Monty. His mouth is taped shut and his hands are cuffed. He looks as scared as a cat standing on hot bricks.

I freeze. My throat constricts, the blood that was boiling through my veins moments ago turning deathly cold. That prick. After everything my father did for him. I may be going straight to hell, but this piece of shit is about to beat me there.

“You fucking bastard! How long, you fucking grunt ass motherfucker?”

I charge at him. He falls to his knees when my fist connects with his jaw.

“I’ve only got one thing to say to you, you coward.”

I rip the tape off his mouth and he yelps. Pussy.

With my hand fisted tightly in his hair, I jerk back his head. His eyes search me out.

“I didn’t know he was the one that p…put the hit out on Calla,” he snivels. “I swear to God, Cain! I was helping out Emerald. She asked me if he could live in the basement, that he needed a place to hide out from the cops.”

“Emerald?” I ask incredulously.

I thrust his head back and run my hands through my hair. I cannot believe this shit!

“I’m telling you Cain. We didn’t know. She’s just as innocent as I am. We’ve all been played here.”

“Aw, come on, Monty. You expect us to believe you didn’t have a fucking clue? You knew he killed my father. And you fucking know why? It’s because I threw his ass out of here. I don’t do drugs and you know it. You, on the other hand, do. You smoke that weed like fucking crazy. It’s fried your goddamned brain cells. And as for your daughter? Well, I guess she fucked up too, didn’t she?”

“No. Oh, God, no, you guys. That’s my little girl. She’s all I have left of my wife. She’s innocent, I know she is. She would never do anything to hurt you, Cain. You know this. She’s been in love with you for years. Come on, man. Not her.”

I look at him in disgust.

“As much as I would love to kill the both of you myself, my father-in-law is so much better at it. You see, he doesn’t blink. Doesn’t talk. He’s going to inflict so much pain on you, you will be begging him to end your lives. But he won’t. And do you know why, you stupid fuck? You’ve been harboring a man who has a hit out on his daughter. You are so fucked, man. I could almost piss my pants for you. After every goddamned thing my father ever did for you, you’ve been protecting him. He killed my father, you fucking dickhead. MY FATHER! The man who trusted you! Jesus Christ, you make me sick.”

Right then, the crack of the door slamming shut cuts through the sound of Monty’s whimpering. Six sets of eyes simultaneously set their sights on my wife standing on the porch with the same look in her eyes as her father. The intent to kill.

She looks down on Monty with contempt.

“My dad isn’t going to do anything to Emerald. But I sure as hell will.”

Chapter Fourteen

Calla

“I’m glad we talked. I can’t say I understand why everyone does the things that they do. The hardest part is coming to terms with what my dad does. It’s so hard to explain the feelings I have inside of me right now. I mean, how do you handle it?”

My voice nearly breaks sitting here talking to Manny about being a child born into the mafia. His mom wasn’t born into it. She was his dad’s high school sweetheart just like Cain and I, only they weren’t forced apart by those who should love you, like we were.

I’m not a damn idiot. I know my parents, or at least my father, had something to do with Cain and I splitting up. A fresh onslaught of tears wells up inside of me knowing he had a hand in my destruction. He stood by and watched me fall apart. I’m not sure if I can forgive either him or my mother for that.