Page 46 of Dark Encounter
"No. I like her, yes, but I know what type of danger she would be in if I brought her here." I tried to play it cool, but my insides were a jumbled mess, my heart racing. What the fuck had my father been up to? Was Cole in with himbeforeNate brought the bastard over to my place?
"The day your mother died was the last time I took a full breath of air in my lungs." He turned back to the window. "We were driving home from church because God forbid we missed it." He chuckled, and I sank farther in my chair.
"Dad. Grace isn't-"
"Shut the fuck up," he barked loudly and pointed a finger at me. "Sit still and listen to this so you'llunderstandwhy you cannot be with this woman. If you love her, you have to turn away, Erik. Death will come for her."
I nodded and pursed my lips. There was no talking back to my old man, no matter how old I was. He was still in charge of all of us, and always would be.
"We were in the car, me driving, your beautiful momma in the passenger's side seat. You kids were in the back." He brushed his hand down his face and stared out the window. "It was a beautiful day, and I thought everything was settled between me and the Coopers, between me and the Castalettas. They were the only threats on US soil, and we'd made a pact to keep to our territories and remain respectful of each other."
I stood up and walked to stand beside him. Where he scared the shit out of me, he was still my father. I loved him deeply and hated to see the pain on his face. It had been there, hiding out behind a mask of indifference or rage for as long as I could remember.
He continued. "The truck that hit us came out of nowhere." His voice softened. "It hit your mother's side of the car and broke her back, her legs and fractured her skull in several places. The jolt knocked your sister out, but you sat in the back, wide-eyed, not saying a word, but your little mouth was in an 'O' like a silent scream." He choked on emotion.
It was the first time I'd seen him have any type of emotion over our loss. "Dad." I reached out and slid my hand up his arm to cup his shoulder. "You don't have to do this. I'll walk away from Grace if that's what you want. I don't need to hear this-"
"Yes, you do." He gripped my arm and pressed me with a hard stare. A million demons lived in the depths of his dark eyes, and for the first time in a long time, standing before him as he towered over me left me scared of who he had become. "We rushed her to the hospital, and she died the minute we got her there. I stayed in that room with her corpse for hours, screaming my guts out." He lifted his hand and wiped at his eyes. "She's the only woman I have ever loved. And someone took her from me."
"Who?" I whispered as emotion pressed against the back of my throat. Mysteries from my childhood were unraveling before my eyes, and where I didn't want to bathe in the painful emotion of our loss, I needed to know what happened to my mother.
"I thought it was Terrance." He released me and walked back to his desk to drop down into his chair. "Terrance Cooper. That old bastard." He chuckled low in his chest. "I should have checked into it. I was young and dumb."
"What did you do?" I walked back toward his desk and stood beside him.
"I took a flight to California and strangled his beautiful wife with my bare hands as she lay sleeping in their bed. She reminded me of your mother, which made it hard as fuck to do, but he had to pay for what he'd done to me." He glanced up, his face looking so much older than it had a few minutes before.
"And? Was the score settled then?" I forced back the torrent of emotion flapping around in my chest.
"No." He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, covered his face. "It was just the beginning, Erik. Terrance didn't kill your mother. It was a true accident. The guy that hit us was high and running from the cops. Had I paid attention at all, I would have known that."
"Fuck." I walked around the other side of the desk and sat down. "And Terrance knew it was you that killed his wife."
"Oh yes." He nodded. "I made sure he knew."
"What does this mean? Was he involved in Delany's death? Was that his payback to you, Dad?" Ice water ran through my veins.
"What it means is that you have no right to bring this woman into our lives. I'm sorry that your birthright gives you this place, this chair," he rubbed his chest as his face darkened, "this responsibility, but when I die, and God, I hope it's soon, you will lead this syndicate. The first thing they always come for is your woman, son. I pray you're not the selfish bastard I was. Leave this girl alone. Walk away."
I held my tongue. I didn't want the syndicate, but I had no choice in the matter until my father passed away, which would be a long time coming. He had too much protection from the outside world, including mine.
"Alright." I stood up. "You're not going to tell me about Delany's death, are you?"
"Nothing to tell." He shrugged. "She was next on the list, and they broke me by stealing my little girl and violating her. I learned my lesson, and I'll never love anyone but you again. Period."
I nodded. "And Cole is watching me."
"He is. It's for your own good." My father stood. "You have to understand that as your father, I'm here to protect you when you cannot seem to protect yourself. Now is one of those times. You have no clue what's headed your way."
"Then tell me." I reached for the door, forcing my anger back down. To lash out at my father would get me nowhere.
"No. It's a moment of growth for you, Erik. Beautiful women like Grace who have a good heart and a safe world to live in willneveraccept what we do. She will ask you to turn your back on what we've built here."
"I don't think so, Dad."
"I don't care what you think." His voice boomed, the sound of it slapping me into silence. "She will ask you to choose her over this, over us, over family. Your answer is no. Do you hear me?"
I nodded and walked out. My whole body shook as I walked back to the bedroom and dropped down on the edge of the bed. My father was right. If she belonged to me, they would take her first. To find her missing would be the end of my humanity.
