Page 33 of Stolen By the Hit Man
I bristle at the mention of Grady’s high-powered lawyer, though I can’t disagree with the logic. “Yeah, we’re gonna need a lawyer. But not the family’s attorney. I don’t want family involved in this situation in any way.”
The old man holds up his hands. “Casey’s gotten you out of enough scrapes. Surely, we can handle whatever comes next.”
“I can handle this on my own,” I say, ignoring the squeeze from Jasmyn’s hand on my middle.
“Joaquin,” he protests. “I don’t think you understand. Whatever you’re caught up in, in this…mob business you’re in, we can get you protection.”
I stop short at this. “Mob business? Who told you I was in the mob?”
Grady blinks at me. “I assumed. The secrecy. The obsession with revenge and settling scores. Spending your trust fund on firearms, bombs, and bulletproofing your cars.”
“I didn’t spend my trust fund,” I reply. “Most of it was put in real estate. Anything I bought to do my job, I used my own money.”
“I’m sure you got a nice tax write-off, too, for being a very legal, above-board, self-employed individual.”
I glance at Jasmyn, whose lips are tight. Turning back to Grady, I tell him his drollness has been noted.
“Look, I’m not in the mob. And anyway, that doesn’t matter anymore. I’m out.”
I could be mistaken, but Jasmyn seems to snuggle in closer to my side.
“How did you know what I spend my money on?”
“Just like you, I have income streams you don’t know about. One of them involving cybersecurity,” says Grady. “I know how to follow a digital trail.”
My stare earns me the only further explanation I’m going to get on that subject. He says, “Yeah, even on the dark web, son of mine.”
That look has my feet fidgeting under the table, like I’m getting lectured for not doing my fifth-grade homework.
“I want you to know,” Jasmyn says, her voice unwavering in the face of Grady. “That Joaquin is a good man. He helps people in need. He helped me. He’s not a bloodthirsty monster bent on revenge or whatever it is you think.”
I’ve faced thousands of villains in my career. Sometimes that villain is in the mirror. I’ve come close to death many times over. But never in my life have I looked Grady in the eye and told him he was wrong. I give Jasmyn a squeeze.
The old man gives Jasmyn a slight smile. “I’m wrong, am I?”
She nods defiantly.
I look deep into my father’s eyes, and I know those dark browns have seen a lot. He may already know the truth about me. If he’s been tracking me on the dark web, he probably has a better idea than he is letting on. Mentioning the mob could have been a tactic to get me to admit the truth.
“All you need to know, Dad, is I’m retired. I’m not interested in revenge anymore. I’m putting my energy into settling down and starting a family.”
Grady absorbs this information for a moment, his dark eyes glancing between Jasmyn and me, his face unreadable at first.
Eventually, he leans across the table, sliding his hands out to both of us. Jasmyn takes his offered hand, and I do the same with the opposite one.
“First of all, I want you to know that I’m proud of you, kid. Whatever you do from this day forward, I’m on your side.”
I let out a long, silent breath of relief.
“Second of all, don’t fuck this up,” he says.
I snort. “I’ve never heard you cuss once in my life.”
“Then you know I’m serious,” he says. Turning to Jasmyn, he says, “You remind me of my wife, may she rest in peace. There’s a reason I never remarried. No one on this earth could top the life I had with her. My only regret is that I wish I had worked less. You have an honest face and a backbone. I like you for my boy.”
“Thank you,” she half-whispers.
“But you should know that it’s going to be a tough road. We have to get you two cleared of charges. I’ve spoken to the county attorney, and the church has already begun covering its tracks. There are influential people in power who will take their word over yours. That Joaquin drove up and started shooting up the place.”
