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“You can get whatever groceries you want now,liar.”
He grunts again. “Fine. Maybe I feel a little better than I did on Big Macs and cheese fries.”
“Wow. Are you admitting I was right?”
“I’m a Dall. I’d never admit something so crazy.”
We both laugh, then I let the air simmer around us.
“He’s a good man, Dad.”
He pushes his lips to one side, his mind obviously not sure how to weigh that.
“Dad?”
“When this is over, if that man somehow lives through this, I’m taking him in.” He takes an aggressive bite of his salad and looks to his newspaper.
My brow furrows. “How could you even think that after what he’s done?”
“The man’s a criminal. He’s probably responsible for countless bodies if he’s cousins with Donny Valentino. Just because he got away with it and wants a little catharsis, doesn’t mean he deserves it.” His gaze tracks to me. “I taught you better than that, Little Bear.”
“Have you no gratitude? If he didn’t get away with it, you’d be dead—”
“Doesn’t change the facts—”
“Your daughter! YourLittle Bear, would bedead.” My eyes hold firm.
His lips curl in anger, and he finally stands to face me. “Listen to me, Quinn, and listen good.” He points a finger in my face. “When this is all over, you find a nice manyour agethat’s tough enough to handle you, and you keep it together. I almost lost you twice in this life now. Standing next to the devil will only make the third time a certainty.”
I shake my head at him and slap his finger away, leaning my chin up to his. “We tried the safe route. It’s boring. I’m sad. And I’mstuck. As soon as this is over, I’m going into forensics like I wanted to and I’m going to stop running from my fears.” I clench my jaw. “Oh, and as for a man? I already have one. His name is ArossoSilverValentino, and he’s better than anyone I’ve ever met before, including the fuckingcops.”
He huffs like an angered bull, but I don’t let up.
“You think you’re all high and mighty being a captain of Jersey PD?Then why the hell is one of your subordinates trying to kill us?There’s good and bad on both sides, Dad. Get it through your thick fucking head.”
“Here I thought you were becoming a flourishing adult.”
My veins feel like there’s fire coursing through them. I hate when we fight like this…
“But you’re acting like a teenager chasing the bad boy.” He shakes his head, lowering his voice.
“Aros had no reason to help us.”
“Oh, he had one, I think. You’re a target, Quinn. A target for a very dangerous predator.”
“I love him, Dad.”
“Stop acting like a child! He’s a dangerous man who’s obviously gone off the deep end.”
“So you don’t believe in his plan?”
“He’s literally trying to get himself killed.”
Tears well up in my eyes. “So, stop him!”
“He’s our martyr. We’ll be identifying crooked copsandgetting criminals off the street. And if it works? We can finally get back to our lives,” he says. “Best of a terrible situation for us. And if he fails. I’m going straight to the commissioner with badge in hand. I’ll get you in hiding and take my chances uncovering the depth of this mess.”
“Wow, congratulations, Dad. You’re colder than a fucking mobster.”