Page 74 of Mob Princess

25

Israel

I hadthis feeling I couldn't shake, a feeling that changed the course of everything happening. I walked up to my father’s residence intent on straightening this out once and for all. I was getting Bonnie back.

“Dad!” I slammed the car door closed as I marched up to his front door. “Dad! Open this door now!”

I banged my fist against his front door before it fell open, and I found my father standing on the other side.

“We need to talk.” I didn’t give him time to usher me in before I brushed past him.

“What is it, son? What’s going on?” he asked, closing the door behind me.

I whipped around. “Don’t act like you give a shit about me right now.”

“Care to inform me where this attitude is coming from, then?”

I narrowed my eyes. “A hitman attacked Bonnie in the grocery store.”

“Oh, my word.” His eyes rounded, but he didn’t look sincere. “That sounds horrible. But does it really shock you?”

“I recognized him as one of the men who’d broken into my home and tried to kill Bonnie and me while we were in bed a few weeks back. He was the guy who dragged Bonnie out of bed and down the hallway.”

“That sounds terrible. But again, does it really shock you?”

I took a step toward him. “I only caught two of the intruders that night. The third one got away. And while the two I interrogated admitted that they worked for Pava Moretti, I never did find the third one.”

“Sounds like you’re slipping, Israel.”

“Dad, did you hire that third hitman that night? The one who came after us in the grocery store?”

He blinked. “Is this a serious question, or…”

“It’s as serious as it gets, Dad.”

He sighed. “Why in the world can’t you just let that woman go? Can’t you see she’s causing you more heartache than she’s worth?”

“Answering a question with another question isn’t good, Dad.”

“And neither is accusing your father of trying to murder some woman and the heir to his throne! But you’re here doing it.”

“Just answer the question.”

“Let me ask you this, son. Why are you so stuck on this woman? She provides nothing for you. We didn’t get an alliance of any sort out of the deal. We didn’t get money or protection. We got a war out of her, Israel. Why can’t you see that?”

I hovered above him. “I could still have Pava’s empire through her.”

He chuckled. “Is that really what you think?”

My eyes danced between his. “I think it takes some serious balls to try and kill your own damn son.”

He snickered. “I’ve never done anything of the sort.”

“And yet, here I am. Inclined to trust Bonnie more than my own father.”

“You’ve been inclined to trust her from the beginning. She was raised by Pava, and we know how strong his psychological game is.”

“What reason other than that do you have for not trusting her?”

---