A smile slants the corner of her sinfully delicious mouth.
“I told you. You aren’t as much of a badass as you think you are.”
“I’m well known as a hard-ass and a bastard to all of those people out there. I may have pushed you a little too hard when you first got here. Said shit to you I didn’t mean. But I can’t be that with you,” I say solemnly. “Just don’t tell any of them, or you’ll really get that spanking I warned you about. Now, I think you need some time to yourself.”
She doesn’t protest when she gets up on her feet and I follow.
“Go take a shower. I’ll bring you your girly stuff and leave the rest on the bed, okay?”
I slide my hand down to hers, the one where her wedding ring should be. It’s bare. It shouldn’t be. My rings should be there. It pains me knowing I never got the chance to properly put any on her finger.
We married so hastily, so damn tired of everyone trying to keep us apart, especially our fathers.
But what she doesn’t know is that John knew about us the entire time. It would kill her even more if she knew he was the one that told my dad to do whatever the hell he needed to in order to get her away from here.
I hook my fingers through hers and bring them up to my lips, casually kissing each knuckle, lingering a little longer on her ring finger. If she notices, she doesn’t say anything.
I let her go and watch her retreat down the hall.
I’m a fucking sinner. An advocate to organized crime. Even so, each and every one of us would give our lives before we let anything happen to her. When she comes to terms with the situation, she will realize her identity hasn’t changed. She’s still their daughter. My wife. And the cold, hard fact of the matter is, there isn’t a damn thing she can do about it.
***
Both Manny and Bronzer are here while Calla cleans up. As soon as she left the room, I called Priscilla and asked her to bring me up a bottle of Johnny. I needed it after what went down today. Hell, I need about five more bottles of the shit.
“Fuck, man. I don’t even know what the hell I’m supposed to say to her when I see her now,” says Manny, looking distraught.
“Tell her the truth like the rest of us did, fucker. It’s your turn to take her wrath. She’s been through the meat grinder today. You grew up knowing who your family was; she grew up thinking her dad worked for a fucking bank. That every time he would leave for a few days, he was off doing business, when what he was really doing was blowing someone’s brains out. She’ll be glad to have someone to talk to about this. You know her better than most; she’s going to trust you and the things you tell her more than she will trust anyone else.”
He looks like a scared puppy who just got taken away from his mother. Bronzer pats him on the back and slides the bottle over to him.
“Damn, dude. She’s a chick, and on top of that, your cousin. Chill the hell out, you fucking *.”
I throw back my last shot and glare at Manny.
“Did you call your father yet?”
“Yup.”
He slams his shot glass on the table.
“And what the hell did he say?”
“He knew already. Cecily called him the minute they left here. He wants to meet her. Said to find a way to get her to New York, and get her there today. You know how he is. When he says do something, you do it. It doesn’t matter if you’re family or not.”
“Do you two realize how fucked up this is? We’ve got some crazy fucking sick bastard out there threatening to kill her. Even one of the world’s best assassins can’t find this sicko. Call him and tell him no. She’s not leaving here until we find Kryder. If he wants to see her, he’ll have to come here himself. Now that we’re back together-”
“Who says we’re back together?”