Fucking hell, if I was undercover I’d kill every single fucker that was part of that network, there’s no way I’d be able to act as though I was friends with one of them. Fucking sick bastards. There’s no way I could listen to the shit they’d say. “Do it.” I tell Coby, the sooner he makes contact the better.
He gets to his feet, pulling his cell out of his pocket and makes his way out of the office.
“Son, I owe you an apology. I should have told you about Martin.”
“Yes dad, you should have.” I’m not going to lie to him, he fucked up.
“Your grandfather and I argued up until the day he died over it too. I told him that he shouldn’t have brought him into the family, your grandfather thought otherwise. Had he known the shit he was bringing into our lives he’d have done it differently.”
I sigh. “That may be so Dad, but I still don’t know why you didn’t tell me, I mean you made him my chauffeur and bodyguard. Don’t you think that was rubbing it in his face a bit?”
“Hindsight is a strange thing. Yes, I regret putting him as your bodyguard. I thought having him do that would keep him out of my business.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it now, what’s done is done. Why did you tell my mom about him?” I’m curious, Mom claims that Dad never loved her, but he told her about Martin, which says otherwise.
“Your mom and I had a weird relationship. As I’ve said, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, more with your mom than anyone else. Your mom thought our marriage was based on love, whereas I always thought of it as a convenience, your mom knew about our lifestyle, she knew the rules and obeyed them. I should have made it more clear to her about what I felt and what I wanted from the marriage.”
“So why did you tell her?” I ask again, my dad would make a great politician, he dodges questions like a pro.
He sighs heavily. “Your mom made me promise at the beginning that there would be no secrets between us. I told her about Martin along with every other stupid mistake I made while I was young.”
“So what changed, when did you stop being honest and faithful?” I’m fucking glad that I found Mia, I wouldn’t bring myself to marry someone I don’t love. Hell I definitely wouldn’t have had children with them.
“Your mom and I argued a lot, she knew that I didn’t love her, I never told her I did, I wouldn’t do that. She hated me for not loving her and I resented her for falling in love with me. The arguments turned violent and we’re both at fault for it. I should never have laid my hands on her but your mom gave as good as she got. I’m not justifying what I did, but giving you the entire story. You hated me because you thought I was a liar and a cheater. Your mom married me knowing that I didn’t love her and that I was with other women.”
Fuck, I didn’t want to know this shit, “Yes dad, I get that but you still treated her like crap, you made her cry every day.”
He turns away from me, “I know that, but what was I supposed to do? Pretend that I loved her? I wasn’t lying to her, I never lied to her.”
“Dad, you beat her until she was bloody,” I say through clenched teeth, the memory of her lying on the floor with blood over her face, a tooth missing, and a swollen eye.
Guilt is written all over his face. “I know, and that was the last time I ever raised my hand to her. I went too far that day, I knew that it was time to leave. Things between us got real bad, I left and went to Tina as I knew that it would be the only way we could move on. I never intended on divorcing your mom that was never on the cards. Until that day, I lost it, I couldn’t take the arguments, the shouting, the threats.”
I change the subject, nothing good can come from this. What dad’s saying makes me doubt everything mom has told me. Yes dad was violent, a cheater, and he was angry, but what he’s told me is mom knew about Tina and by the sounds of it, others. Their marriage wasn’t what she made out. I’m not going to delve into it any deeper. Right now, I get along with both of my parents and if I find out mom lied, I’m going to be pissed. “Dad, are you going to be able to kill Martin if the time comes?” It’s something I’ve been unsure of, even though he says he hates him, I’m not sure if he’d be able to kill his son.
“Yes,” he says without hesitation. “I understand where that question has come from, but my loyalty is to you, not only as the boss but because you are my son.”
I raise my brow. “He is your son too!”
He’s shaking his head, “No, he isn’t. Having sex with his mom was stupid, I told her to get a damn abortion but she didn’t listen. She thought that she would trap me by keeping it. Stupid fucking decision ever. She ended up crawling back to her husband and acting as though it was his. I never had anything to do with any of them again, until Martin began acting out, your grandfather thought he’d step in and help. Even when Martin joined our organization, I made sure that he was kept away from me. So no,
I won’t have any qualms about killing him. He is not my son, never was and never will be. That fucker killed my wife and raped my daughter. He’s a dead man.”
That makes sense in such a fucked up way. “Good, because I don’t want you to go crazy when I kill that fucking asshole.”
“You have no worries,” Dad reiterates and relief washes through me. I believe him, he’s not going to stop me nor is he going to give a shit.
The office door opens and Coby walks back in. “Spoke to my friend,” he says with a smile as he sits down. “Now my friend is a cop but he also knows me and knows about you.”
I cross my arms over my chest, glaring at him.
He tuts. “Not in that way asshole, I wouldn't do that. I meant he knows what you both did for me and he’s going to help us out. Martin is part of that network. He’s reached out in the last couple of weeks, he’s been using his contacts to stay hidden. Martin has given my friend all the information he needed to find out where they hide when the cops are looking for them. They help one another out so they’re not found.”
I shake my head in disgust, fucking sick bastards. “Where is he?”
Coby’s smile widens. “I know where he’ll be tomorrow. He’s coming back, he’ll be staying in Long Beach.”
“How accurate is this intel?” I question.