Page 69 of Waiting Game

I answered it, and the first words out of Antoni’s mouth were, “What the fuck?”

“What?”

“You put Robbie in a closet?” he snapped.

“No,” I said.

“No?” he raised his voice.

“It was a pantry.”

“You turn aroundnow,” he ordered, using his best boss-man tone.

“I’m sorry mate, you know that I can’t do that.”

He sighed, and I could hear the anger in his voice.

“You know that I’m loyal to you, and The Family. You know that if I could, I would be by your side right now - but since I can’t be, I need at least to make sure that she’s safe.”

“She’s fine, Ren. Turn around.”

“I need to see it with my own eyes. I don’t trust some random person keeping a distant watch on her, okay? If they’re coming for me, they’ll be coming for her too. And she doesn’t even know.”

There were a few beats of silence.

“You know that you’re going against a direct order right now?”

“I know, Toni. You can figure out what to do with me when I get back, but I’m going,” I said, and hung up. My father was right about two things now, that I would let Antoni down, and that Valerie would get me into trouble.

But I didn’t care.

None of that mattered right now.

I couldn’t sit in a safe house while others were preparing for a war, and while Valerie was a walking target. I didn’t trust the connections that Antoni said that he had. I couldn’t take the risk, I wouldn’t. Not with her.

I promised that I would keep her safe, and no one could protect her like I could.

I boarded the plane to Perth, and just hoped that I would get there before anyone had the chance to lay a hand on her.

21

Chapter 21

Valerie

“I’m fine,” I mumbled to myself as I drove to my little apartment.

I readjusted the rear view mirror so I could look at myself.

“Valerie, get your shit together,” I said to myself, wiping the tears from my eyes, “you will go home, you will shower, and you will pretend like the past week just never happened. Then, you will smile when you see Pete, and you will apologise and take him back because he is a good man and you deserve a good man.”

I was admittedly a wreck.

I had been fighting with myself out loud for an hour as I drove around, trying to clear my head. The two sides of me were at war with each other, and I didn’t know which one was being more logical.

“You will shut your fucking mouthfor once, and admit that you were wrong,” I tightened my hand around the steering wheel.

I pulled into the tiny driveway of my building and sat in the car for a while.

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