Page 173 of Bad Bishop

Yeah, he was a waiter at the wedding, but he had worked on Crimson Key for years. He was known as a devout Catholic and a family man.

It seemed the real attacker greased Cardoso’s palm. Paid him to take the fall. Kill or get killed. Roger took it, likely because the overdue medical bills kept piling up. He sacrificed himself for the greater good of his family.

But even poor people like Roger didn’t do this kind of shit for a few bucks. He needed to make sure his family was taken care of, which meant whoever attacked Lila had money.

Fucking loads of it.

Lila was terrified and exhausted from this ordeal. I wasn’t going to share all of this with her. As far as she was concerned, this shit was over. Done. She killed her rapist and was happy about it.

This was her truth, though. Not mine.

I was going to find that sneaky asshole.

Even if it was the last thing I did.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

LILA

“What will you do with Harlem, now that it’s yours?” I asked as we drove to my baby shower at my parents’ house.

It was a last-minute gathering, but Mama insisted we should make up for some lost time.

She’d been the picture of a perfect mother since our talk at the hospital, dropping by with food and clothes, sometimes accompanying Tiernan and me to our weekly checkups at the doctor’s office.

I was excited to spend time with Tierney and Sofia. Really, I was excited to see everyone other than Vello.

I was relieved to find out he wasn’t my biological father, and unlike with Mama, I saw no reason to try to patch things up with him. It wasn’t my fault I wasn’t his, and it certainly wasn’t my job to make him love me. If he wanted us to be strangers, that was exactly what we’d be.

“Nothing,” Tiernan clipped out, his gaze unwavering from the road.

“You mean, you’re going to keep things as is?”

“I mean, I’m not getting Harlem.”

Rearing my head back, I frowned. “Vello refused to fulfill his side of the bargain?”

It wouldn’t surprise me. The man was a menace.

“He tried giving it to me. I declined it.”

“Why?” I asked incredulously.

“Because finding that asshole had stopped being about territory and prestige a long time ago.”

His veiny, big hand tap-tap-tapped the wheel impatiently. “And I don’t want you to ever doubt why I’m here. Besides, I’ve no interest in Harlem anymore. Alex and I have bigger plans. The Midwest is wide open, waiting to be claimed. Fewer feds’ eyes on it, too.”

“You should’ve taken what’s yours.” But even as I said this, I couldn’t deny the pleasure it gave me to know he gave up Harlem to show me his devotion. “I already know that you love me.”

“I have claimed what’s mine.” He ran his palm over my stomach, up my torso, thumbing my chin. “She’s sitting next to me, and I’m never letting her go.”

_______

Thirty minutes later, we parked in front of my parents’ house. The front lawn was decorated with arches of balloons in blue, white, and gold. The cobbled pathway leading to the doors was lined up with little stork signs that exclaimed:It’s a boy!

My heart pitter-pattered. Not only did Tiernan accept the baby, but Mama did, too. The two most important people in my life.

Tiernan rounded the car and opened the passenger door for me. He offered me a hand, keeping my palm in his as we made our way inside.