Page 94 of The Pretenders of Copper County
“What?” I demanded, looking away from Reed.
Danny had managed to pull the fan away from Nicky, but Nicky was still out cold.
I was pretty sure I should have felt worse about that, but there was no part of me that did. I didn’t want any kind of relationship with Nicky ever again.
What bothered me now was the gun Danny still held, pointed directly at Reed. I noticed Reed keeping a keen eye on Nicky’s still form and the gun in Danny’s hand.
“You heard me. The things he’s saying? Lies.” Danny’s face was mottled red. “You say you’re in love with my nephew?” he demanded of Reed, waving the gun in an arc. “Ridiculous. You’ve known him for two weeks. That’s what these government people do, Christoforo,” he said, turning back to me. “They lie. That’s how they got me to turn myself in.Make a deal, Dante. Bah.” He spat. “Then once they had me in their clutches, they refused to let me go. Refused to even let me serve my time, when I heard that Robert Evanovich might go after you if I testified. Sign the paper and testify, they told me, and we’ll protect Chris. Refuse to sign, we’ll tell Robert Evanovich you’re testifying anyway, and let him come after your nephew.” He shook his head. “Lying, cheating snakes, that’s what they are. Don’t trust a word this man says.”
My fists tightened until my nails dug into my palms and I moved out of Reed’s embrace. Reed clutched at me briefly,but I gave him a look—a look that saidtrust me—and he let me go, though his eyes remained fixed on me with that same laser focus I’d felt back at the roadhouse.
I liked it a hundred times more now.
“Uncle Danny.” My voice vibrated with anger and I made no attempt to conceal it. “‘This man’ is Reed Sunday, and he has never lied to me.Youhave.”
Danny’s face looked almost comically surprised, maybe stunned that I’d disagreed. That I’dargued. But he recovered quickly. “I… yes. I know I have,” he admitted. He dropped the hand holding the gun to his side and had the grace to look ashamed. “All sorts of lies, from the time you were small. My father started the Cellar and took the business down a certain path. He raised me to take it over. I was already in it before I ever realized I had the option to say no. But Carmelita wanted a different life for herself. For you. If your Nonna or I wanted to spend time with you, she said, we had to promise not to tell you anything about the business—the real family business—until you were old enough to make the choice for yourself.” He sighed. “She never expected to die so young. To have your father follow her so quickly. But we honored her wishes. And then…” He broke off.
“And then?” I prompted.
Danny’s mouth opened and closed, his dark eyes beseeching me for understanding. “Then I saw how you were. My sweet boy. Heart of my heart. A person who always did right, even when it cost him. Who never wanted to hurt another living thing. I’d already told Nicolas the truth about the business. Given him the choice to join me. Witnessed how that choice… changed him.” When he looked down at Nicky, Danny’s face was drawn with shame and pain. “I couldn’t tell you the truth, Chris. Not after that. I lied to protect you. Protectoneof my boys, at least?—”
I stared at him wordlessly. If he’d told me this months ago, even weeks ago, I would have been incredibly moved. I would have forgiven him anything. But the man holding a gun on Reed wasn’t the uncle I recognized.
Reed’s arms wrapped around me from behind, supportive without restraining, and I leaned against him, taking the comfort and strength he offered.
Watching this, Danny shook his head again. “You see? You’re so trusting, Christoforo. This is why you needed my protection?—”
Behind me, Reed straightened. “You know what? No.” He gave me a reassuring squeeze, then stepped forward so we were side by side. “You do not get to say that to him. Not while I’m around. Yes, Chrisistrusting. He believes the best in people. But that doesn’t make him an idiot, Dante. It doesn’t make him less than. It doesn’t make him a child who needsyouto strip his choices away and decide what he should know. It makes him a goddamn miracle. A fucking angel on earth.”
“I never said he—” Danny began, but he shut up quickly when Reed talked over him.
“Chris treats every person he meets—every single one, no matter their circumstances—like they are good and decent and worthy of respect. So you know what it means when someone takes advantage of him? When someone lies to him and he believes them anyway,especiallywhen the people doing the lying are his family? It meanstheyare assholes. So if you were ashamed of who you were and what you’d done with your life? I get it. Youshouldbe fucking ashamed. You didn’t want Chris to know the truth? I don’t blame you. But don’t you make it sound like you kept thissecretforhim. Don’t pretend that decision was about protection when it’s mostly about your own fear of how he’d look at you if you told the truth.”
My eyes were wide and I was pretty sure Danny’s would be too, if I were able to look away from Reed long enough to check. Reed was magnificent. A broad-shouldered, glowering, avenging angel I wanted by my sidealways.
“You know how I know that, Dante?” Reed went on. “For fifteen years, I lied to my family about what I did for a living because it was easier to keep lying than to admit I’d lied in the first place. But this week, I started being honest… because of this man right here. Because when Chris sees the best in me, it makes me want tobebetter. To be seen. To tell the truth. To stop pretending. To be worthy of him. And if you love him,Dante, then own your choices. And do not insinuate that he needs to change one fuckingmoleculeof his personality in order to earn your respect. You hear me?”
The things Reed was saying, the emotion on his face, the light in his eyes was better than any declaration of love?—
Or, okay, no, but it was at leastasgood.
Because Reed had told me days ago that he saw me. That he couldn’t help but see me. And at the time, I hadn’t entirely believed him. Now I knew without a doubt that it was true.
I wrapped both arms around his waist. “Thank you,” I whispered, low enough that only he could hear.
He dropped a kiss to the top of my head. “No need to thank me, baby,” Reed said, making those words sound better than John Ruffian ever had, even in my wildest fantasies. “Never stop being exactly the way you are. I want you to fly like a butterfly. And I promise I’m strong enoughto handle the lifts and throws.”
A rush of warmth filled my chest and expanded outward, further and further, until every part of me tingled with a sense of security and belonging stronger than anything I’d ever felt before.
Making the worst day of my life into the best one.
“I’m sorry,” Danny said softly, drawing our attention. “I’m sorry, Chris. He’s right. I knew what I was doing was wrong. That’s why I never told you. I was willing to lose the house, my cars, my money, my business. But I didn’t want to lose your respect.” He looked down at Nicky worriedly. “I’ve failed both of my boys. I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll tell you what you’re going to do about Nicky,” Reed said, his tone daring my uncle to disagree. “He’s going to jail, Dante. He abducted Chris. He would have killed him, or had him killed, and if you let him go, he’ll try again. You know that. Besides,” he went on when it looked like Danny would interrupt. “It’s only a matter of time until the FBI gathers enough information on his crimes to make charges stick. Nicky knows that. That’s why he was desperate enough to try this.” He waved a hand to indicate the cabin.
Danny hung his head and nodded, his face more drawn than I’d ever seen it. He rubbed a hand absently over his chest. “I suppose that’s for the best.”
“Have you been taking your heart medication?” I blurted. Maybe it meant I was still naive, but I loved my uncle too much to stop caring about his welfare. Even if he’d lied. Even if I was seriously hecking mad at him.
