Gian
“Gianluca,” my dad croaked.
He looked like shit. His skin was ashen rather than the usual deep olive hue. His hair had started to grow back in uneven patches, and he couldn’t have weighed more than one hundred and thirty pounds. It killed me to see my once-strong father like this.
I settled into the sofa next him. “Dad, what happened tonight?”
He brought the straw of a clear plastic water bottle to his lips. “Alix Trincher and his son stopped by earlier tonight.”
“What the hell? Why did you let them inside the house?”
He jammed the water bottle between the sofa arm and his leg. “I didn’t want to scare your mom.”
“Alix is a loose cannon. He could’ve shot you or Mom or Carmela, and don’t get me started on his son. I’ve heard he’s worse than the father.”
“I sent your mom and sister on an errand.” He dragged a hand down the side of his sunken cheek. “And honestly, I wouldn’t have fought too hard if he tried to kill me. A bullet to the head is preferable to this slow death.”
My stomach dropped like I swallowed a brick. “You don’t mean that. Something could change.” Neither of us believed my words. Barring divine intervention, which wasn’t likely given my dad’s long list of sins, he was going to die sooner rather than later. The fact his death was imminent didn’t eliminate the feeling that someone had lodged an ice pick in my chest when I thought about never seeing him again.
He raised one eyebrow, drawing my attention to his eyes. They were dilated and cloudy from the liquid morphine he ingested regularly to keep the pain at bay. “I didn’t ask you to come here to talk about my death.”
Clearing my throat, I rubbed my hands down the fabric of my pants. “Then why am I here?”
“The Russians, Alix in particular, want access to your territory.”
I curled my hands into fists. The fucking Russians. First they tried to kill me. Then they hurled a brick through my front door, and now they thought they were entitled to special perks for being assholes.
“Tell him to take it up with Nico,” I snapped.
“He did,” my dad replied. “Apparently Nico wants you to work out the details with Alix and present them to him.”
“Really? And why does he think I’d be his advocate? He’s been fucking with me for weeks.”
He jerked his head toward me. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t want to get into it. I have things under control.”
He nodded absently. “Do Nico and your uncle know about this?”
“Yeah. Yeah.” I slanted forward, balancing my elbows on my thighs. “Like you said, Nico thinks I should make a deal with the Russians, but I don’t think it’s necessary. They’re pushing me because I’m new. In a couple of months, they’ll back down, and everything will go back to normal.”
“I don’t think so.” My dad shook his head, the corners of his mouth curving downward. “He said you have something of his, and he wants compensation, or he wants it back.”
“What the fuck? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Yeah, well, he wouldn’t elaborate.”
I stood and rubbed the back of my neck. “So what happens now?”
He took another sip of his water. “You’re meeting him tomorrow afternoon to discuss the details and see if you can work this out. You’re supposed to take that fiancée of yours.”
“Excuse me?”
“Take Evangeline.”
“No.”
Dad flinched from the sharpness of my voice. “It’s non-negotiable. Apparently, she’s wrapped up in this shit somehow, and if you don’t show up with her in tow, we might as well go to war. Nobody wants that. We’ve barely recovered from that bullshit with the DiTonnos and Rocco.”
Fuck! If Kevin had lied about his debt to Alix being satisfied, I’d rip him apart with my bare hands. It’d be totally like that self-centered ass to promise something that wasn’t his. Something to do with Evie.
“You’re keeping something from me.” It was a statement, not a question.
Dammit. High as a kite and riddled with cancer, and I still couldn’t get a lie past my father. He was a human lie detector.
“Nothing important, Dad.”
“Don’t hide shit from me, Gianluca.”
I bristled under his scrutiny. “Fine. I don’t know if it means anything, but Evie’s ex owed Alix a half a million dollars.”
“I assume he didn’t pay him back or you wouldn’t be mentioning this.”
“As I understand it, he paid some of it back and did him a favor.” I rested my chin against my chest. “He told me Alix considers the debt paid in full now.”
“What does Evangeline know about this?”
My head jerked up, a nauseated feeling swirling inside my gut. I’d never asked her anything, because I didn’t want her to worry about shit she couldn’t control. “As far as I know, she doesn’t know a thing.”
“Jesus Christ, Gian.” He yanked on the collar of his t-shirt like he couldn’t breathe. “Tell me you asked her about this. Tell me you aren’t in this relationship with her based on blind faith.”
I glanced to the side, avoiding his condemning stare. I’d been living on my own for close to a decade, yet he could make me feel like a five-year-old kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar in a matter of seconds.
“You checked her out, didn’t you?”
“She’s not some stranger off the street. She’s Carmela’s friend,” I answered as though it made a difference. It didn’t, not to my dad.
He shot me a glare, his lips trembling with rage. “You didn’t listen to a damn thing I taught you. I went to bat for you. I thought you had a good head on your shoulders. Now you’re gonna make a fool out of me.” He pushed to his feet, cringing with pain. He shoes clipped over the hardwood floor, each thud more ominous that the last. He flung open the door and it banged against the wood paneling.
“Helena!” he yelled, his voice cracking. “Send Evangeline in here.”
My throat bulged with resentment. “Dad, back the hell off. I’m not a kid. I’ll talk to her tonight and find out what she knows. You’re too sick to deal with this.”
“Sta ta zee.” He grabbed a fistful of my shirt. “I can’t believe you. I can’t trust you when it comes to this chick, can I? She has your balls in a vise. You aren’t thinking straight.”
“Um, hi.” Evie stepped into the room, her attention boomeranging between my dad and me. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
My dad released my shirt, his face red and his eyes like daggers. “You could say that.”
“Evie—” I slipped my hand into hers “—we need to ask you a few questions.”
“Cut the bullshit, Gian.” My dad pointed a shaky finger at Evie. “Tell me everything you know about Alix Trincher.”
“Alix Trincher?”
“Yes. Alix Trincher. Bloody Alix. Vor.” His voice dropped to a gritty whisper. “Do any of these names ring a bell?”
Evie tipped up her chin, her flame-colored hair dancing around her shoulders. “No. Why?”
I squeezed her hand and tugged her closer to me. “Did Kevin ever mention that name?”
“Not that I remember. Is he an artist?”
My dad barked out a laugh. “No. He’s a fucking psychopath who wants to meet with you and Gian tomorrow.”
Her eyes widened. “Me? Why would he want to meet with me?”
“Hell if I know.” My dad leaned against the wall, tiredness etched into every line of his face. “You two need to make an appearance at Carmine’s at two. My brother will join you.”
“He’s going too?”
“Yeah. Yeah. I think you’ll need someone with you. Alix is bringing his son.” He pushed away from the wall. “Now, get outta here. I’m going to bed,” he grumbled, exiting the room with an uneven gait.