I don’t dare bring up Kyle. My older brother has hidden me away from some of the shit my father’s pulled years ago. I only just learned from Kyle recently that my father thought I had a different sperm donor. Which never made any sense to me. For one, I don’t look like Kyle because we share the same mother but because we share the same parents. For another, if Mom cheated on my father, why would she want him to raise her love child?
But if I can keep Mom safe, Kyle safe…
I don’t know if I can, but I’m so fucking pissed that my past has caught up to me. Somewhat. No one else knows he’s around, and no one needs to know.
It’s just that I know he will not leave me alone until I give him what I want.
Which means he’s going to be hovering around for a long while.
"How is it that you think you know about my mom having a bodyguard but you can't find out where she is?" I ask.
My father eyes me. “Maybe I don’t just want her back in my life. Maybe I want you and your brother too.”
“You’re involved with the mafia. You do all kinds of illegal shit, don’t you? Not that I want to know. Don’t want to be locked up in jail beside you. Just looking at you makes me sick.”
“Your mother has filled your head with all kinds of lies—”
"Don't. Erika had to deal with her shitty father, and if you think I'm going to walk down that same path as she did, no. I'm not getting involved, and I'm not going to try to take you down. Nothing like that. You go about your business and live your life without any of us, Mom included, and that'll be that. We'll live our lives separately. It'll be as if you found out that I was the milkman's, 'kay?"
“Believe it or not, but your mother really did lie about me.”
“So the Thunder Crows aren’t the mafia?” I ask, climbing to my feet and crossing my arms. “You and I both know that’s the truth. You and your goons, you’re all mobsters, and why you want Mom to be involved in your life, with all of that shit… No. No thank you. That’s not going to happen. You can return to one of the women you slept with and marry her after you divorce Mom, unless you want to do more illegal shit and try to be married to two women at the same time.”
“How about you listen to me?” my father snaps. “There’s more involved here than you know.”
“Oh, yeah?” I challenge, lifting my chin. “You act like I give a shit.”
“Maybe you should because the thing about a mafia is that there is never only one.”