“I was tired, and I shut my eyes.”
I suck in a breath and shake my head. “You didn’t.”
“I did. I hear everything you said after we had been together, and what’s more is that I told the other guys.”
“Fuck, Rob…”
“We all have our guns, and we’ll protect you. You don’t have to worry about your father or anyone else.”
“That’s sweet, but—”
“And for when we aren’t around…” Rob reaches behind him and removes a gun. “We got this for you.”
My jaw drops, and I’m left speechless.
“Are you going to take it?” he asks.
“I… You bought me that? But…”
“We all pitched in. We figure you won’t move in with us. Not that you’re supposed to, but… who’s going to stop you? But if you would consider it, we could keep you safe.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” I murmur.
He places the gun on my desk. Just seeing it makes me uncomfortable, and I open my top dresser drawer and shove it inside before closing it as quickly as possible.
“What else haven’t you told me yet?” he asks.
“My father… He’s in charge of a mafia. He’s been hounding me to find my mom, who is in Europe. I hired her a bodyguard so she can be safe—”
“Well, you have four bodyguards,” he says seriously. “Five if you count your gun.”
I smile wanly. “I don’t want you to have to deal with any of this. I really don’t. You and the others shouldn’t get involved. My father is a dangerous man.”
“How dangerous?”
I eye Rob. This is the point of no return, and considering he's met my father, there's already no going back now.
This time, I open my bottom dresser drawer. In the back corner, beneath all of my clothes, is a folder. I shove it into Rob’s hands.
He sits down on my bed and opens it. “What’s all this?”
"News articles I collected. I'm pretty sure my father, either directly or indirectly, had a hand in all of this."
“Missing people.”
“The bodies have never been found.”
“But what makes you think your father is involved?”
"The articles are all time-stamped after my father became the head of the Thunder Crows, and these are the only articles ever written on these cases. They're all dropped. I'm telling you. My father made those people disappear."
“Why would he do that?” Rob asks, clearly confused.
"One of the guys came over to our house a few times. Father wouldn't let my brother or me be around him much. They always had to talk business, but one time, he flirted with my mom, and my father took exception to that."
“I’m not surprised about that.”
“And you shouldn’t be.”