Page 38 of Tormented Diamonds
Not even close. After everything that’s happened, I need time alone to decompress. Plus, I’m not prepared for the inevitable fight Gianni and I will have once Leo rats me out.
“Actually, I think I’m going to sit here a little longer.” When he starts lowering into his chair, I gently grab his wrist. “I meant alone.”
He darts his eyes around the restaurant. “I don’t think?—”
“Don’t worry.” I smile. “Leo is right outside. I’m perfectly safe.” I wrestle with what to say next. I know Gianni wants to keep information contained, but I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him. “But I need you to promise you’ll dosomething for me.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
I inhale deeply and hope I’m doing the right thing. “I need you to get out of Providence and lie low for a while. Take a leave from the force if you have to, but promise me you’ll leave Rhode Island. Don’t ask me how I know this,” I say, shutting down any demands before he can make them. “I can’t tell you. I’m risking a lot by telling you this much, but there are people after you, Dad, dangerous people who want to hurt you. Gianni is doing everything he can to keep them stable, but…”
“He’s one shield holding back an army,” he says flatly.
I’m a little blindsided by his mechanical acceptance, but I’ll take it over combative denial. “Pretty much.”
He pulls multiple twenty-dollar bills from his wallet and tosses them on the table. “All right, I’ll leave Providence. Marvin owns a cabin in the Poconos. I’m sure he’d let me use it for an ‘unscheduled’ vacation. But only for a little while; you understand?”
I nod because that shift in tone means it’s the best I’m going to get. “Yeah, I got it.”
“Good. Now, you have to do something forme.”
“What?”
“Get a gun.”
I let out a shrill laugh that I immediately choke on when I see the stern look on his face. “Oh, God, you’re serious.”
“Becca, did you hear anything I said? Your new husband’s family trafficks women.” He holds up his hand before I can argue. “I’m not accusing him of being aware of it. I’m simply stating a fact. You’ve voluntarily immersed yourself in a world that places very little value on female life. I’ve witnessed it firsthand. You claim Gianni loves you…”
“He does.”
“I hope that’s true, but there are far more like him who don’t. You want to stop being a victim? Start thinking like apredator. If you don’t, you’ll never live a moment of peace.” He stares down at me, his expression softening. “Trust your instincts, Becca. They’ve always been right.”
I fight against the burning behind my eyes. “I’m not so sure about that.”
This trafficking revelation has tanked my trust in my instinct. Finding out Marcello sold women as a part of the Marchesi business model scares me more than any threat from the Authority. Not because I think Gianni could’ve had a hand in it, but his tendencies toward sins of omission make me question his depth of awareness.
Did he really not know, or like my father, did he simply look away?
However, arguing will only prolong this battle, so I don’t.
“I’ll think about the gun.”
“I hope you will.” He tilts his chin in that know-it-all way that infuriates me. “I know you want to stand by the ones you love, but you can’t if you’re dead.”
It’s not that simple. I’m in a no-win situation.
“You don’t get it. I’m under a microscope. Everything I do reflects on Gianni.”
“If Gianni is the man you keep trying to convince me he is, he’ll agree with me. If not…” A wistful look crosses his face as he taps the bridge of my nose with his finger. “Then, maybe there’s too much tint in those rose-colored glasses of yours.” With a kiss on my forehead, he turns and walks away.
Something inside me tightens, and my mouth opens before I can stop it. “Dad?” Glancing to the side, I find him paused at the door, his chin cocked over his shoulder. “For what it’s worth … I forgive you.”
The tension coiling his body eases, and he offers a smile that finally meets his eyes. “It’s worth everything.”
Andthen he’s gone.
I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting replaying my father’s words in my head, but it had to be long enough for the server to get antsy, because she appears at the table out of nowhere, her tight smile canceled out by her tapping toe.
