Page 55 of Precious Legacy

Groaning, I turn and glare at my best friend. I know there’s no fighting her when she’s like this, though, so I heave myself out of my bed and grumble expletives as I let her drag me to the bathroom.

“There’s this new place that opened up downtown,” she tells me as I switch on the shower. “Everyone is raving about it!”

“Uh huh.” I strip off my clothes and slide between the shower curtain and the wall, absentmindedly running through the motions of washing my hair while Haven drones on about the club she wants to visit.

“They have these kaleidoscope lights, drinks todiefor, and ladies get in for free on Wednesdays!” she squeals. “It’s called Mosaique.”

“Cool,” I reply automatically as I comb my fingers through my conditioned strands.

“Alright!” Suddenly, the shower curtain is whipped back and Haven stands with her hands on her hips, glaring at me. “Talk! Roman hasn’t told me anything, but judging from his urgent message, I figured it had something to do with you leaving the fight the other night?” She stares at me expectantly, and even though I’m stark naked, it doesn’t bother either of us.

“Actually,” I glare back, reaching forward and snapping the curtain back into place. “My dad came over.”

“What?” The curtain swishes open again, Haven gaping at me all wide-eyed and shocked.

“He came here and…” I swallow back the stickiness that coats my throat. All of the sudden it’s hard to repeat those words my father said to me. They were so harsh and final that it dragged me into a slump and I’m afraid to go back there.

“Lani?”

“Dad knows. He knew all along,” I croak past the lump in my throat as a single tear slips down my cheek. Luckily, the shower masks it so Haven only sees my face grimacing slightly.

She lets out a loud exhale before stepping back and sitting on the lid of the toilet seat. “How did that go?”

I quirk a brow as I turn underneath the shower spray and rinse my hair. “How do you think it went? He pretty much disowned me.”

A long, sullen silence follows my statement, and I can tell Haven is trying to decide how to respond. I wouldn’t blame her if she had nothing to say at all because we both knew my father would take the news the hardest. But him knowing all along is like a twist in the gut. I know I’m just as much in the wrong here—I had ample opportunities to tell my family, but the prospect of knowing exactly how they’d react made it more difficult.

“Maybe you just need to explain why you’re doing it. Your mom will understand,” Haven eventually replies.

“My mom isn’t really the one I’m worried about,” I mumble as I squeeze the water from my hair. My mom is the most reasonable out of all the Bonannos, an attribute neither Alvaro nor I have inherited. She’d be the first to make my dad see reason, or at least back off enough for me to explain my side, but I don’t think I’m ready to divulge every detail. My dad isn’t exactly known for being patient when it comes to family.

Haven hands me my towel as I step out of the tub, and I wrap myself in the warm, fluffy material, tucking it in at the front. “She can reason with your dad and help him see things from your perspective.”

“Haven,” I huff. “How do you think my parents are going to respond to me telling them I was…”Fuck,I can’t even say it. Even after five years, I can’t bring myself to say that one word. It’s like tearing open an old wound; that single word is the knife that’ll slice me up.

A hand comes to rest on my shoulder and I realize I’m keeled over the sink, my knuckles whitening as my fists grip the porcelain edge. My breaths are sharp and shallow, my chest squeezing tightly. Every time I think about what happened over the weekend, I feel the sting of disappointment. I neverexpected my dad to be completely on my side, but I believed he would at least give me the chance to explain why I wanted to join the police force.

“It’s hard, I know,” she says softly. “But this might finally be the thing that brings you closer to your dad.”

“We’ve never been close,” I snort. “We’re always going to clash because we’re just too similar.”

“You’re both stubborn, you mean?”

I snap my gaze to my best friend, hating how right she is, but loving that she’s not afraid to point out my flaws. Especially when they’re getting in my way.

“I hate to break it to you, babe, but you need to make the first move here.” She chases her words with a stern look, her brown eyes narrowed on me. “Tell them. If not your dad, at least tell your brother.”

“At the moment, he’s not even talking to me.” I’ve sent him a ton of messages over the past few days but he hasn’t replied. Roman told me about Varo confronting him at the gym, but he’s made no attempt to actually speak tome.

“What about Roman? Does he know?”

I inhale deeply, turning to rest against the sink. “He knows.”Fuck,he knows. And he didn’t react the way I thought he would. He might have looked at me like I was broken, but he didn’t treat me with disgust or tread carefully around me. Obviously, the guy was pissed, but when I admitted that I blamed him—even when I know deep down none of it was his fault—he accepted it.

It’s about time. I knew better than to expect Roman to behave a certain way. So far he’s surprised me at every turn, even when his behavior has been questionable.

The look on Haven’s face is almost unreadable; like she’s trying to work out what exactly is going through my head right now, and fuck if I know. The past three days have been a blur,my mind and heart still warring with what to do. Do I save my relationship with my family and not join the NYPD, risking leaving a guilty man free to hurt someone else? Or do I push forward to seek retribution, but lose my family in the process?

Neither is an option, because I’ll do everything I can to take Ashton Greedy down myself. Which means Haven is right; I need to speak to my brother—because one way or another, I need to make things right. Not just with my dad, but in my own life, too. If anyone can understand, it’s Alvaro. I just need to get past his moody wall first.

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