Chapter 20

Carina

“Fine, daddy. I will come. It is later tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, sweetheart. We have a dinner at our place and you know how much me and your mother love to have you around when these things take place. You help bring life to the room with your beautiful smile and your demeanor. It’s like you put everyone at ease.”

Years ago, I had done this for my family in the past. It was never anything more than just a dinner. No business was ever discussed. After desert was served, that was when my father and brothers always went out to the porch to talk while I helped my mother clean dishes. Once I was seventeen, I figured out what these dinners we really about and I hadn’t been to one since.

“I’ll think about it Daddy.”

“Just come tomorrow evening, sweetheart. For me? It will be the last time I ask you to take part in such a thing.”

I huffed. “Fine, daddy. I’ll go. But please let this be the last time.”

“Absolutely, sweetheart. Absolutely.”

I hung up the phone, then got up to find something to wear to dinner. As much as I hated what my family did, they were still my family. I was lucky that this was the only involvement I ever had with the family business. When I was younger, I told them that I didn’t want anything to do with the business side of it, and they somehow had agreed. As I grew up, they had helped me so much with college tuition and my apartment that I felt like I owed it to them to help out in these types of situations. It was harmless and besides that, it was the least that I could do for my family.

I thought about Harrison as I pulled a long, sleek black dress out of the closet and laid it on my bed. I wondered what would happen if I brought him to the dinner with me. I laughed thinking how daddy would probably have a fit that I brought someone outside the family to a thing like this. Besides that, I didn’t think it would be a good idea, especially if other members of the family, and other families were going to be there. All it would take was one person to figure out that he was a cop, and after that, I knew all hell would break loose.

Right on cue, I got a call from Harrison.

“Hey sweetheart? I was just thinking about you. How did everything go at the precinct?”

“Baby, I need you to be upfront with me, alright?” I could hear the distress in his voice.

Panic slowly started to course through my veins. “Sure, baby. What’s wrong?”

“Does your family have anything going on right now? Any deals?”

I lowered my eyes and pulled my ear away from the phone. I shook my head, thinking that his Captain must’ve gotten into his head and forced him to get some information out of me.

“Why, Harrison? Why are you asking?”

“Because, I just need to know. I need to know the details if you know anything.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me, Carina. Please.”

Why was Harrison asking me this, just as he left the precinct? Did they offer him his job back? I sat down on my bed as my mind raced. Harrison loved his job. He was willing to put his career on the line for me, but what if it got too much to bear? A dark thought crossed my mind and I clenched my jaw. Harrison was pulled back in. And now he is was trying to get information out of me.

“You know what? You think I am dumb, don’t you, Harrison? You think that I am going to give you information about my family right after you left the fucking precinct? Right after you spoke with your fucking boss? He probably called you in there to ask you about this information so they could have the upper hand whenever it happened.”

“What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me, Harrison! I know that you spoke to him yesterday. You left me at lunch to go and speak with him, and here you are asking me for information on my family.”

“Carina–”

“And not only that, but the first thing you ask is if my family has something going on, involving business. Really, Harrison? Really?”

“Carina, if you would just shut your mouth for a second and let me talk, you will see where I am going with this. I have been putting my ass on the line for you. I have been risking my freedom for you and your family ever since I found out that you were connected to them, so why the fuck would any of that change now?!” His voice boomed in the phone and for as long as I’d known him, I’d never heard him use that tone with me. Anger bubbled up in my chest.

“Look, I just got word that some shit is going down,” Harrison continued. “The deal that your family is getting ready to make is fucking bullshit. The guy who is leading the operation. His name is Ronald and he has gotten his foot in the door so he can set them up. I need to know what the fuck is going on so I can warn your family to abort that shit. It is all a trap.”

I thought about the dinner that my father wanted me to go to tomorrow. I glanced at the dress that I had just laid out on the bed and imagined what things would be like if Harrison was telling the truth. If everything really was a set up, and I attended the dinner, I would be directly involved with the family business. I would probably spend some time in jail, but my family would be ruined. Dismantled. It was the one thing I had feared since the day I realized that they were involved in illegal activity.

“Carina? Carina, babe, are you there?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m here. I’m here. I was just thinking.” I stood up from the bed and started to slowly pace around my room. “So, it really is a set up?”

“Yeah. O’Malley called me into his office to show me the man who was about to bring them down. He is a real fucking prick, but that is another issue. Listen, you have to tell your family to kill that meeting. You have to. I know it will be obvious that I tipped your family off, but I don’t give a fuck. I will figure that out when it happens. I am not working with your family, I just care for you, Carina. I care for you a lot and there is nothing in the world that I want to protect more than you. Please. I don’t want you to get hurt. Tell your family to cancel that meeting and end all conversation with that businessman.”

“Alright. Alright, I will tell them know.”

I hung up the phone with Harrison, and then quickly made a call to my father. I needed to tell him everything that was going on. He picked up on the first ring.

“Daddy, I’m coming over. We need to talk.”

“Is everything alright sweetheart?”

“Yes, I’ll explain when I get there.”

I hung up the phone before he could ask any more questions and sped over to my childhood home. I called Harrison on the way.

“I’m heading over to my parents’ house now. What the hell am I even supposed to say?”

“I will meet you over there, and we will figure out what to tell them together.”

I hung up the phone and continued down the road. Well this is one way to introduce Harrison to my parents. I just hoped he wouldn’t end up dead in the process.