I rose to my feet staring down at Vic. “Just to be clear, I’m not taking orders from Parish.”
“No one asked you to. Jack’s guy will lead you to the guy in charge of my case and Jack will be the one who handles the matter. You, you’re my eyes and my ears, making sure Jack does what he has agreed to do” Vic said, as he stood up. “And if things get messy well, then you’re there.”
“You’re relying on Jack to do the hit?” I asked puzzled, trying to figure out why he was sparing me of the gruesome duty.
“You got a problem with that?” He asked raising an eyebrow at me. I didn’t answer immediately, so he continued. “You have one hour to get to the compound,” He glanced around the apartment a faint smirk playing on his lips. We didn’t speak another word to one another. He gave me one last look before seeing himself out knowing he had the final word. In one hour, I’d be sitting down with Jack “Bulldog” Parish at his dog pound.
I watched as he walked out the door, closing it with a soft click behind him, before turning to stare at the bathroom door.
“You can come out now he’s gone,” I said softly, dreading the inevitable. She didn’t open the door, so I walked over figuring she was probably shaken up over what she had overheard and knocked on the door. “Adrianna? Baby open the door.”
Silence.
I sighed, turned the handle on the door, and pushed it open to find the bathroom empty. I leaned against the doorframe looking around the bathroom before turning and looking over my shoulder into my bedroom at my empty bed.
I clenched my fists at my sides, realizing that Adrianna had left me, ran the fuck out on me the first chance she got. It was for the best but even knowing that didn’t ease the brunt of that blow. I didn’t know what I had expected or even what I would’ve said to her this morning but still, I’d like to have had the chance. After last night, after waiting to have her for so long, I didn’t like she had left without a trace, making it like last night meant nothing or worse making like it had never even happened at all.
I reached into my pocket, pulled out the delicate diamond earring she had left behind and stared at it for a moment. Instead of having her, all I had was her earring.
I told myself that I had turned my car around and was driving back to Anthony’s because I had left behind my earring. I rationalized that they weren’t just any pair of earrings but the ones my dad have given me on my sweet sixteen – when my dad was the first man I ever loved and I was just his little girl before our relationship turned to shit. Those earrings were all I had left to remind me that my father wasn’t always my enemy, he used to be the number one guy in my world.
It sounded good in my head, dare I say even sweet, but I wasn’t the little girl holding on to what was left of her daddy and none of the fancy little scenarios I drummed up in my head would change the truth. I turned the fucking car around because I didn’t want to walk away from Anthony. The earring was an excuse to crawl back into his bed and force him to give me what I wanted.
Him.
All of him.
Not just physically but emotionally too. I wanted him in every way it mattered and I was tired of running in circles. Life is too short to not go after what you want. Why have one night when we could have forever?
I pulled into the parking spot and got out of the car knowing I had already wasted too much time. By now Anthony would be awake already letting his head get the best of him. I half walked, half jogged towards the front door of his apartment complex, reaching to pull open the glass door only for it to fly open before my hand reached the handle. I looked up and froze in my tracks as I stared into my father’s eyes.
“Adrianna?” He spoke my name sounding shocked and confused then paused for a beat repeating my name in a more controlled voice. “Adrianna.” I had heard that tone a lot growing up, it’s the tone he used whenever he was suspicious of me. His perceptive gaze perused me and nervously I shifted from one foot to another, tucking my hair behind my ears as I normally did under my father’s uncomfortable scrutiny.
“Uh…I tried calling Anthony to see…,” my words trailed off as I watched my father cock his head to the side and study me.
“Your mother’s had Luca all night hasn’t she?”
“Yeah well after what happened with Vinny I was pretty upset, she offered to watch him so I could regroup.”
“Regroup,” he repeated before reaching out and touching my ear gently. “You seem to have lost an earring,” he said slowly.
I took a step backwards as I saw realization flicker in my father’s eyes.