Novel Straight 151

GIANNI 

“Idon’t care that he thinks it’s charity. The man’s car was totaled,nd the least I can do is make sure he gets a new one. It’s not like I’m buying him a Mercedes. It’s a goddamin Acura, for fuck’s ske.” To think. Charles Cole, refusing my generosity. 

Who am I kidding? This is entirely the sort of thing he’d do. Then will cut off his nose to spite his face if it means accepting something from me. “I hope he enjoys driving a rental for the foreseeable future, then.” 

“I know, I know. You should talk to him about it yourself. He’s not listening to me.” 

Right, because that’s something I want to do. Arguing with Charles Cole over whether or not I owe him a new car. “I’m doing it, end of story. It he doesn’t like it, he can go through the trouble of turning it to the dealership.” 

“Okay. I’ll tell him and then I’ll be on my way home.” 

“Don’t take too long.” 

Her giggle warms my heart like tew things ever have. In the week since she blew Donovan Moroni away, she’s handled things better than I dared to hope. “Believe me. I love him, but spending the afternoon shopping, for the baby so he wouldn’t be here when the car arrives is more than enough time together.” 

“I don’t know how you do it,” 

I’m no fool. I’d be standing at Caterina’s grave if it wasn’t for his silltul driving. He did his damndest to protect the most precious thing in my life. I’d buy him a Benz if I thought I could get away with it. That doesn’t mean he’s not a stubborn prick when he wants to be. 

“Secretly, he loves it. He’ll come around.” She lowers her voice to whisper. “I love you.” 

“I love you. Now tell Nathan I want you back here pronto.” Because she’s going nowhere by herself. Not ever again. Even with Jack and Donovan out of the picture, I’m not taking chances. She has a driver now, 

Roger enters the office when I call for him and winces at the high pitched whine of equipment being used in the entry hall. “I’m popping ibuprofen like candy. Good thing they’re supposed to finish today.” 

“The car arrived with no issues.” 

“Good And Charles?” He snickers when I scoff. “Told you he’d be pissed.” 

“And Sebastian? Has he reached out to you?” 

“No. I can only imagine he’s on his honeymoon, if you can call it that.” He sighs, rubbing his temples while sinking into a chair. The strain of these past several days shows on his face the noisy construction work isn’t helping, “I don’t want to touch that situation. Besides, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.” 

Leaning back in my chair, I raise my eyebrows. “Shoot.” 

“That might be the wrong choice of words–you’re the one who may want to shoot me.” 

Dread takes root in my gut and starts to grow even as I try to fight off. Here I am, my problems solved. No more threats, no more plotting. I don’t even have to worry myself with absorbing Jack’s businesses. 

1 should know better by now than to think there’s such a thing as glaxation “Go ahead” 

“It has to do with Tatiana ” That does nothing to ease my dread from it. “She hasn’t wanted to tell you about it, but Jetterson Knight has been calling and testing her the past few weeks‘ 

Jeff Knight Son of a bitch, I wrote him off When he never called bak to ask about Christopher, I let him and his rapist son tade to the back of my awareness I had much bigger fish to fry then 

Now he comes rushing forward “He’s been harassing her?” I grow, picturing him in my head. The smug expression he always 

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wears, as if managing businesses left to him by his old man is som incredible feat. “For how long, exactly?” 

“Four weeks.” I turn at the sound of Tatiana’s voice. She’s leaning against the doorway jam, hands tucked into the pockets of her hoodie. “He’s been reaching out to me for four weeks, demanding I tell him what happened to Christopher and asking why he never came home.” 

“What the fuck” The widening of her eyes stops me from finishing the process of blowing up on her. Damn it. I’m practically shaking but somehow manage to control my volume. “Why did you wait until now to tell me?” 

“I was ignoring him at first. I figured he’d get tired of bothering me if he never got an answer.” 

“I want to see your phone.” Holding out my hand, I make acome hithermotion with my cupped fingers. “Let’s see it. Now.” 

“Here.” Roger taps on his phone. “I sent you the screen shots.” 

I fucking hate this. Sputtering, fighting to keep up. Learning there’s been secrets I wasn’t privy to. “Why the hell does he have screen shots and I’m only hearing about this today?” 

“Can we not make this a federal case?” she asks with an exasperated sigh. 

“Why?” Linsist. “Tell me why I’m the last to know.” 

“For one thing?” She waves a hand in front of me, scowling. “This whole thing you’ve got going on now. I didn’t want to deal with it. And you obviously had other things on your mind.” 

Right. And she’s developed a habit of suffering in silence. Regret lances my heart–I wouldn’t be surprised to find blood spreading across the front of my shirt. “Have you responded at all‘ 

She tips her head to the side, shrugging. “How can I, when I don’t know what happened?” Smartass. She suspects. She’d be a fool not to, and my daughter is no fool. 

“Good point.” I open the message app on my phone, and find a dozen screen shots from Tatiana’s app that Roger sent. In the beginning, Jeff was almost cordial. 

Jefferson: Tatiana, I need to speak to you. It’s important to have details of Christopher’s mental state and the people he was spending time with in Italy. You are my only hope. 

Jefferson: I would appreciate a phone call as soon as you’re free. My son is missing and I haven’t heard from him in weeks. Please, get in touch with me. 

It didn’t take long for him to drop the thin veneer of civility. After a week of being ignored, he got real, and each progressive message carried heavier threats. 

Jefferson: I have been as patient as possible. If I don’t hear from you shortly, I’ll have no choice but to take legal action. 

Jefferson: The fact that you refuse to engage with me only points to an awareness of something you don’t want to reveal. I have to wonder if there’s guilt involved here. 

Jefferson: Is that it? Are you guilty of something you would rather ot share? 

Jefferson: What happened in Europe??? 

“You were dealing with this on your own?” The man is damn lucky don’t blow his brains out this instant for harassing her like this. Threatening her with legal action. “Who the fuck does he think he is?” 

“Can you believe I actually considered telling him what he wants know? I mean, about what happened?” She laughs bitterly, though the sound is a little too high–pitched for my liking. Her neves are strained as it is. She doesn’t need this shit heaped on top of it all. 

“I doubt he would want to believe it.” 

“What, his precious little boy?” Again she laughs. “Yeah, right. There’s a reason he ended up the way he did, and it’s not because he was ever held accountable for his bullshit.” 

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“I could put an end to all of this very quickly, if you want.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“You should know better by now than to ask me a question like th. You might not like the answer.” 

“You can’t kill him. It would look pretty obvious, wouldn’t it?” 

The breath catches in my throat while Roger sounds like he’s choking at her sudden bluntness. “Oh, come on,” she sighs.” What else could you have meant? Let’s be real. If anybody knows he’s after me, it’ll look bad if he suddenly disappears.” 

“Last I checked, I don’t need you giving me advice on how to run sit around here.” 

“But you know I’m right.” 

“I wasn’t going to kill him.” Though I would like to shake him up a little. Show him what happens when you bully a defenseless girl. The apple didn’t fall very far from the tree, did it? If Jeff’s not careful, he’ll end up like his dead kid. 

Tatiana exchanges a glance with Roger–guilty, hesitant–before clearing her throat. “I think… it would be best for me to go the way we talked about before.” 

“You can’t be serious. If anything, this is exactly why you shouldn’t. What happens if you’re off on your own and he decides he’s tired of only sending messages?” 

“Dad, I can’t rely on you for the rest of my life. I can’t hide behind you. I need to face this on my own.” On her own, but something tells me she’ll be living on my dime the way she always has. The girl has never truly been on her own in all her life. She’s always been able to fall back on me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I would rather she lean on my generosity than, God forbid, rely on strangers who might not have her best interests in mind. 

“I can’t pretend the idea makes me happy.” I’m too busy pretending I’m not fighting the impulse to tie her up somewhere so I know she’s protected when I pull her in for a hug. “Where will you go?” 

“I don’t know yet.” 

“And how will I know you’re being looked after?” 

“Dad, I’m not a little kid anymore. I don’t need to be looked after.” We’ll only end up fighting if I remind her how much help she’s needed over the past couple of months. I would rather not permanently damage our relationship. 

“I’ll feel a lot better if I send someone to look after you.” 

“A watchdog?” 

“If I feel like it, yes. A watchdog. That’s actually a very good idea–hanks for putting it in my head.” 

“I don’t want to live that way.” 

“With all due respect, you don’t have a choice.” 

Finally, Roger decides to speak up. “If you don’t mind, I have an idea.” 

I turn to him, expecting him to back me up–and in a way, he does. “I could go, and watch over Tatiana.” 

Instantly, I’m bombarded with memories of the two of them at each other’s throats. “And run the risk of this one spending all her time coming up with ways to kill you in your sleep?” 

“This one? I have a name.” She extricates herself from my grasp and makes a big deal of brushing herself off and straightening out her clothes. “And I might have been like that before, but I’ve grown up a little. Maybe a lot. Also I’m not stupid. I don’t want to be walking around with a target on my back with nobody to protect me.” 

“It’s obvious you’ve already talked about this behind my back.” Otherwise, there’s no way she would accept the idea so quickly. 

“Come on.” She looks worn, tired, as she shakes her head. My little girl, so tired. “He has the screenshots. You think I didn’t give him any context? I knew you wouldn’t let me go on my own.” 

She’s got me over a barrel, a position I’ve never much enjoyed. She already wants to leave, and I can’t force her to stay, but it means losing my right hand in the process. At the same time, he’s the only one I’d trust alone with her. I doubt I would sleep a single night for fear of what she might be doing, seeing, or going through. I know I can trust Roger to provide regular updates and he’ll protect her with his life. 

“Maybe it would be for the best,” I have to admit even though it pains me like I can’t describe to think of letting her leave. “We’ll work out a way to get him off your back, and in the meantime, you can lie low.” 

“It would mean taking her somewhere secret,” Roger murmurs, as if I haven’t already realized that. 

“I know, and together we can decide where that will be.” 

“And you’re still okay with it?” 

“Do yourself a favor and quit while you’re ahead,” I advise my daughter with as close to a smile as I can muster. Besides, I have an idea of where she could go and be perfectly safe, somewhere I could find her if I needed to. “It’s for the best right now–that does not mean I expect this to be permanent. You will be coming home. This is where you belong, with your family.” 

“I know. And I’ll come back for the baby. I promise.” 

Roger and I have a lot to talk about, and the look I give him conveys this. That can wait until later. “You’d better,” I tell Tatiana, holding her a little tighter before steering her out to the hall with an arm around her shoulders. “Or else you’ll have to be the one to explain it to Caterina, because I’m not sure she’d want to hear it from me.” 

“Don’t want to hear, what from you?” 

Sound travels very easily in this place. It doesn’t hurt that Caterina stands at the other end of the hall, frozen stiff. 

Tatiana pulls up short, sighing unhappily. “Let me explain.” 

“Explain what?” Her head swings back and forth as she searches for an explanation. “I was just coming in to say hi and let you know I made it back okay. What did I miss?” 

Tatiana looks up at me, pleading silently. I have too much to do, making arrangements for her safety, but it looks like that will have to wait a while. “Tatiana is going to be leaving us for a little while–Roger, too.” 

She comes our way slowly, dragging her feet while her mouth hans open in disappointment. “What? Why? Where are you going? What about the wedding and the baby and all the things I was hoping we would do together?” 

I 

“It’s complicated,” Tatiana tells her, reaching out like she wants ug. Her arms drop when Caterina backs away. “Don’t be mad.” 

“Don’t be mad? You’ve practically been a stranger for weeks. I ke getting the feeling you resent me. Now you’re running off with no warning?” The color rises in her cheeks, darker with every word. “How am I supposed to keep from getting mad?” 

The quaver in her voice gives away the sadness hiding beneath henger. Something tells me there’s much more of the former than the latter. 

“At least hear her out,” I murmur. There’s a line between wanting to help and getting too involved. I’ve never been good at navigating this sort of thing but I can’t stand back and watch then hurting. “She has a good reason, and I’ve agreed it’s the best way to go.” 

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“Until things calm down,” Tatiana promises. “I didn’t want to worry you, but Christopher’s dad has been on my ass for a while now. I just need to get away from everything. Get my head straight 

Caterina’s mouth pops open. “So it’s not because you don’t want to be here?” 

“Not even close.” 

“You were supposed to be my maid of honor.” Tears fill her eyes. “I’m sorry. I know it’s selfish of me to bring that up but I’m disappointed. Damn that jerk, making you run away and miss everything.” 

“I think I know a way around that.” Not quite, but an idea begins to form. “Would you mind having a smaller, intimate ceremony at first? Something we could put together here, on the property?” 

Caterina’s eyelids flutter. “Oh. I—I don’t—” 

“You don’t have to go to the trouble for me,” Tatiana murmurs, watching her friend. “I know you want the whole shebang and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice that just to have me with you when you get married.” 

“No, no, I think that’s a great idea.” A smile begins to stir at the corners of her mouth. “I was surprised, that’s all. We could do a smaller ceremony here to make things official, and once things have calmed down and you’re feeling better, we could have a bigger party. 

>> 

I didn’t realize until this moment how much it would mean to have my daughter with me while I commit my life to the woman of my dreams. “That sounds wonderful.” 

“We have so much work to do!” Like magic, Tatiana snaps into planner mode. “We might be doing this here at the house, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be special. You need a dress and shoes, and we’ll need flowers and rings and you’ll have to get your marriage license, and maybe we could get something set up on the grounds–like a floral arch or something where the two of you can say your vows.” 

It’s the most life she’s shown since her return from Europe, and the dazzling–if dazed–smile Caterina wears tells me she sees, it, too. “I’m following your lead,” she tells Tatiana, who takes her by the arm and leads her down the hall while making lists of everything that has to be done. 

Something tells me even an intimate ceremony can end up costing an arm and a leg, especially when my daughter is involved. The price doesn’t matter. It’ll be worth every penny.