I brought my hands together, my knuckles starting to ache from the anger in my veins. “I kill bad men, Crow. I don’t kill random men who don’t deserve to die. I’ve killed more sex traffickers than any country’s law enforcement. I’ve killed men who’ve beaten their wives or tortured their prisoners. I’m not a hero by any means because I’m doing it for the money, but it’s not like I murder innocent people.”
“Spin it however you want, it doesn’t make a difference. Once your feet hit the puddle, you leave tracks everywhere you go. One day, you’ll take the wrong mission and wind up dead because of it. I don’t want Vanessa to be caught up in the middle of that.”
I understood his request, but that didn’t make me want to cooperate. “I run the business with my boys. They’re family to me. We met on the streets, and since we didn’t have anyone else in our lives, we became brothers. Asking me to leave is asking me to turn my back on them.”
“I don’t give a shit. If they’re really your family, they’ll understand.”
Maybe. But they wouldn’t be happy about it.
“So?” he pressed. “What’s it going to be?”
“I can’t give you an answer right now.” I wasn’t going to give one until I was absolutely certain I could commit to it.
He gave me a disappointed look. “Maybe Vanessa was wrong about you.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t like it.
“She said you would give it up if she asked.”
“I haven’t given my answer yet.”
“Because you don’t want to give her what she wants,” he said quietly. “What I want.”
“This is unfair. No one asked this of you.”
“Because no one had to,” he snapped. “I stepped up. I did the right thing for my wife and son. I shouldn’t even have to ask you this. Neither should she.”
“She’s never asked me.”
“My wife never asked me. A man never makes his wife ask for anything. He lives his whole life for her, even if she doesn’t see the sacrifices that he makes.”
“Fine,” I countered. “If I walk away, are you guaranteeing your acceptance?” I wasn’t going to leave my business without that reassurance. It was time for him to put his money where his mouth was.
He drank from his glass, silent.
“I asked you a question.”
The bottom of his glass hit the table. “Don’t push me.”
“If you want me to give up one of the most important things in my life, I want collateral. You give me your word that I’m accepted into this family, and I’ll resign tomorrow. You get what you want, and I get what I want.”
He stared at me, refusing to give me an answer.
“What’s it going to be? If Vanessa worth the sacrifice or not?” I was turning his words against him, putting him on the spot and forcing him to make the hardest decision of his life. It was disrespectful and risky on my part, but how could I earn the confidence of a man if I didn’t stand up to him? I had to show him I wasn’t afraid to stand up to anyone.
“You’re the one proving yourself to me, asshole. I’ve already proven my love for my daughter a million times over. The fact that I’m sitting here, sharing my prized scotch with a man I despise, is more than enough proof. If you want my daughter, you have to earn it. You may be rich and powerful, but that’s not enough. Nothing is enough when we’re talking about Vanessa Barsetti, the most amazing young woman on this planet. I want to see more than you’ve given me, more loyalty, more sacrifice.”
“I’ve sacrificed everything for her,” I said between clenched teeth.
“No. Not everything. Not yet.”
Just when I’d made progress with her father, that progress was destroyed.
He seemed to want to accept me, but he also wanted to sabotage me. He was looking for any reason to get rid of me, to find the smoking gun that could banish me from his life forever. He wanted to prove to his daughter that he was making a genuine effort, but he also wanted to prove that he was right.
I wasn’t good enough for her.
It was a stupid point to prove because it was obvious. I never said I was good enough for her. No man was. I just knew I loved her more than anyone else, would die for her in a heartbeat. That was good enough for me.
I worked in the warehouse for the rest of the day, moving heavy boxes everywhere and making sure none of the precious merchandise fell to the floor and shattered. The spring had brought heat into the land, and by the end of the afternoon, my t-shirt was soaked.
I stepped outside so the fresh air could blow over my skin and lick away the sweat on my arms and neck. The view of the vineyards was as beautiful as the paintings Vanessa made. Her art showed me what she loved about this land, and I recognized the view she’d stared at so many times. I felt like I was connected to her, having stood in a place she stood before.