Page 31 of Tormented Diamonds
He swings a pointed finger behind him where Gianni leans against the frame, his arms folded across his chest like the ringmaster of his own circus. “Because this lying, piece of shit manipulated me into letting him ‘save you.’” His bitter laugh scrapes across my already raw nerves. “What a line. I should’ve known the only thing a Marchesi cares about is saving his own ass.”
“That’s a littleunfair,” Gianni mutters.
“You want to talk about unfair…?” The tension between them escalates as my father gets in his face. “Eleven days, you kept me in the dark, not knowing if she was alive or dead. I let you walk free, and you couldn’t bother to pick up the fucking phone.”
“Believe it or not, I was protecting both of you.”
“You were protecting yourself. But I’m here now, and I’m making damn sure that whateverthisis”—he twirls his finger between Gianni and me—“is over.”
“Does this mean I don’t get to call you Dad?”
I grit my teeth. “Not helping.”
My father jabs his finger at Gianni’s chest. “The only thing you can call is a lawyer because I’m putting you away for the rest of your life, you sack of shit.”
“Now, that’s just poor planning, Georgie. I’m pretty sure that strategy is where the saying, ‘sinking the ship to kill the captain’ originated.” Gianni caps off the taunt with a condescending wink.
I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, and I don’t care. I’ve had it with their bickering. This is no longer a confrontation. It’s a testosterone-fueled clash of egos.
I slide the knife onto the table, then sprint across the dining room and step between them, my arms splayed out like a referee. “Enough, both of you!”
My father doesn’t take his eyes off Gianni. “I won’t let this criminal continue to manipulate and usemydaughter!”
“Then, it’s a good thing she’smywife, so you can fucking?—”
“I said, enough!”God, it’s like talking to children.“Dad, I’m willing to hear you out, but Gianni’s right. I’m his wife, and this is his house. If you can’t respect that, then you can leave.”
As my father sputters out an unintelligibleresponse, Gianni stands taller, a cocky smirk plastered across his face. “Well said, Doc. I believe that?—”
“I’m not finished,” I say, with a sharp glare. “You’ve got to meet him halfway. He’s my father, not one of your soldiers. If you can’t be courteous, then be quiet, or he and I will have this conversation somewhere less hostile.” I glance between them. “Are we all clear?”
“Fine,” my father reluctantly mutters.
Gianni dips his chin, but the fire in his eyes tells me I’ll pay dearly for this later.
“Good. Now, let’s go into the living room where we can sit and talk like civilized adults.”
Walking between them, I make my way down the hall, too nervous to look back and see if they’re following. However, after entering the living area, I turn to see them lumbering a few steps behind, sour-faced and silent. Not exactly how I imagined this going, but I’ll take it.
I sit on the farthest side of the couch, unsurprised when Gianni claims the space next to me. It’s a tactical move that forces my father into the wingback chair to my left.
Leave it to him to find a loophole in being a dick.
I scrub my palms up and down my jeans and try to piece together an approach that won’t incite a brawl. Considering my father’s entrance, I figure the best place to start is the obvious. “I assume you saw the newscast.”
His jaw tics. “You mean the national broadcast where I found out the man I entrusted to return my daughter to me had not only manipulated her into marrying him, but had also assumed control of the criminal empire that tried to kill her in the first damn place? Yeah, I saw it.”
“Dad, I’ve already told you he didn’t?—”
“Reese, listen to me,” Gianni says, silencing me mid-sentence. “When I left Providence, the only agenda I hadwas protecting Becca. But withLa Cosa Nostra, you can’t focus on only fighting the moment you’re in. Five minutes later, everything can shift, and you either shift with it or fall victim to it.”
It’s not just his words that steal my breath. It’s the fierce conviction in his voice as he delivers them and the assured, stern lift of his chin. I might have fallen in lust with the unserious, sarcastic man of five minutes ago, butthisis the man I fell in love with.
My father isn’t so impressed. “You expect me to believe you trapped my little girl into a lifetime of looking over her shoulder,for her?”
“Frankly, Chief, I don’t give a shriveled fuck what you believe. I know what you think of me, and I don’t care to waste my time convincing you otherwise. I’m Marcello Marchesi’s son. I’ve lived my entire life under a cloud of judgment.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel sorry for you?”
