Page 47

Chapter 47

Constantine

“I’ll be fine,” I promised Juliette. “We have to work together to figure this out. I have no choice.”

Would it be awkward to get on FaceTime with her brother and the man who hated me? Yeah, but what choice did I have? Carter Dominick would have to deal with it, just like I would. We were all officially mixed up in this with Colin’s girlfriend binding us together.

“I’ll go talk to Easton. Give me a few minutes.” She squeezed my hand, then left the room.

I quietly signaled to my mother to go with her, not wanting Juliette to be alone. Ever again, in fact. And definitely not until this situation was officially just another skeleton in my closet. Although, I’d racked up quite a few more bodies tonight.

“We’ll get Lennon back,” I told Colin when he peered at me with a distraught expression. “Someone’s gone through extraordinary lengths hoping to get their hands on this device, and they can’t back down now. They realize their only way out is to see this thing through to the end. They have no choice but to try. Keyword: try .”

His gaze shot around the room to my family, still hanging out like protective shadows. “Is Daniel still alive, or was he just a means to an end, too?” he asked in a shaky voice. “If he’s obsessed with her, and if he sets a hand on her, so help me.” His fingers curled into his palms, fisting at his sides as his jaw strained.

I really wanted to tell him Daniel was dead and nowhere near Lennon, but I didn’t want to lie to him. Because my gut told me that animal was still out there. “Whoever Daniel’s been talking to is more than likely the one pulling the strings. There’s no way Daniel could pull any of this off on his own.”

The man-child had pissed his pants when Hudson strung him up last week. Nah, he didn’t have the balls to go up against us, not on his own.

“Someone else forced Jamie to meet with the Sicilians in an attempt to execute their plan to use you as leverage for the cyber wallet,” Hudson spoke up, standing next to me.

“Lennon trusted Daniel,” Colin snarled. “When we first met, she said he was like another brother, promising me he was a good guy and not to worry.” He dropped a few F bombs that I ignored. “I should never have trusted him.” He tsked , nostrils flaring, ready to go to war himself. “Daniel must really hate that he was the one who accidentally brought Lennon into my life.”

“What do you mean?” I asked as Izzy came up alongside Hudson, her curiosity piqued as well.

Colin glanced at the three of us standing opposite him, then focused squarely on me. “He was the one who told her about the chat room on the app to help her deal with her parent issues. Well, lack of them. He used it himself since his dad hadn’t been in his life.”

“His dad’s not listed on his birth certificate,” Izzy spoke up, keeping her tone soft. “No records of him. Do you know anything about his father? Did Lennon share anything since they had a friendship?”

Colin puffed out his cheeks, then let the breath go as he nodded. “His dad reached out to him around Christmastime. I guess he had an affair and wanted to keep Daniel a secret. His wife had passed away, though, so they began talking. From what Lennon shared, they haven’t met in person yet.”

“This can’t be a coincidence,” Izzy said. “What if Daniel’s father is League?”

Colin shook his head. “No, his dad’s not Irish.”

“You don’t have to be Irish. The League is all over Europe and Asia.” I tipped my head Dad’s way. “Your grandfather was part of The League in Italy. Sebastian’s sort of in charge of it all now, but that’s more of a recent development.”

“Think of it like a president over governors.” I supposed Izzy was trying to simplify this for Colin’s sake, but it was far more complicated than that. “They used to be more of a ‘Knights of the Round Table’ kind of organization, but it’s safe to say you could consider Sebastian the king.”

“Unofficially,” my father said at the tail end of a cough.

Colin raised his hand, and my dad cracked a smile at his sudden politeness in asking permission to speak.

I smirked and nodded the OK to talk.

“I’m only sixteen, so you know, forgive me, but this League-Alliance cyber wallet bullshit sounds like a ‘Thanos trying to get the Infinity Stones ’ situation. In this case, let’s call Sebastian Iron Man and The League the Avengers . Are you suggesting someone on the Avengers wants to overthrow Iron Man, and they can do it if they have this wallet thingy?” Talking with his hands, Colin did a three-sixty, looking around at all of us.

At least he was calmer now, and he didn’t seem to hate me for being unable to save Lennon tonight. My heart could only handle so much.

“Maybe Daniel mentioned my name to his old man, and the fact my uncle’s living at The Sapphire Hotel.” Colin fidgeted with the ends of his hair, then his eyes widened. “Oh shit, if he was cloning Lennon’s phone, that must be how he knew. I told her all of that.”

“Not your fault,” I said before he started blaming himself. No way could he have ever predicted any of this happening. “I can see Daniel’s father offering him a chance to redeem himself from his life of crime. Yet another reason Daniel didn’t want anyone finding out he hurt a woman. So, he offered Daniel an opportunity to do him a favor, one that Daniel botched because he tried mugging my intern.”

“Are you saying Daniel’s dad is the one hatching this overthrow-the-king plan?” Colin asked me, brows raised.

“If it looks like a duck,” Hudson spoke up before I could, “then it’s more than likely a motherfu—” He dropped his curse as if my son hadn’t already displayed he’d inherited my sailor’s mouth, despite not being in my life.

“No, the cyber wallet can’t be used to take down Sebastian,” Izzy said, shutting down that theory. I supposed I needed to watch Avengers to understand the references, but the intent was clear. “Honestly, I don’t get why someone in The League would want it. It doesn’t make sense.”

We have to be missing something.

“I’ll update Gwen and see what she can find that may help.” Izzy faced Colin. “Anything else you know about Daniel’s father to help us narrow the search?”

“You said he’s not Irish. Any clue where he’s from?” I asked him, and Colin closed one eye as if he didn’t want to say. “What is it?”

He tugged at the drawstrings of his hoodie, and I was beginning to understand why he wore those damn things, even in May. Something to fidget with, to draw comfort from. Well, I was there now, so he had both his mom and me for that.

“His dad, um, Lennon said he’s Sicilian, like you.”

Dammit. “We need to get Giuseppe Messina back on the phone.”

“Why?” my father asked, stepping forward and around Colin to look at me.

“Because I get the distinct feeling he didn’t tell me everything.” I wrapped a hand around my throat, feeling like I was suffocating. “The Messinas had our six out there tonight, but that doesn’t mean there’s not more to the story.” Which reminds me. “Tommaso said to consider their debt paid after helping us. What the hell was he talking about? When did you do a favor for them?”

My dad pulled out his phone and then peered at my son. “I didn’t do anything. That was all Colin,” he announced as Juliette returned, my mother trailing behind her.

“Wait, what?” Colin blurted out as Juliette stood in between the two of us.

“I didn’t have a chance to fill you in while you were en route to rescue Colin,” my father explained. “While I was talking to Giuseppe tonight, I let him know Colin was my grandson. I had to make it very clear that if anything were to happen to him, there’d be hell to pay even if they weren’t involved. I sent him a photo of Colin to show him what he looked like, too.”

Not what I wanted to hear.

“His granddaughter was at his house for dinner, and she saw Colin’s face on his computer screen,” he continued, and there was no mistaking the look of pride in my father’s eyes.

“I don’t understand,” Colin said.

Yeah, same.

“You, my boy, protected Giuseppe’s granddaughter at school last week. As luck would have it, the reason you were suspended . . .”

Juliette stumbled in shock as my father let us pick up the pieces. And hell, I staggered back that step with her.

“His granddaughter, Meredith, was secretly dating his lawyer’s son. She was too afraid to tell him they were dating or that he hit her, knowing what he’d do. But she accidentally blurted out the truth when she saw you on his screen tonight.”

Colin’s words from the car during our driving lesson came back to me like a headshot: “ He’s not just a defense attorney, he defends the scum of the universe and makes big bucks doing it.”

“So, you see, my dear,” Dad continued, eyes on Izzy, “when I told you not to worry about the Sicilians betraying their word to us, I meant it. Giuseppe owed us. Colin saved his granddaughter, so he vowed to ensure my grandson was safe.” He faced Juliette, squinting at her. “I’m not a fan of how we all got to this point, but there’s only one way to look at why the cards have fallen like this.”

“And that is?” Juliette murmured as I took hold of her waist, drawing her to my side.

My father’s piercing gaze cut from her to me. “God’s timing. God’s plan.” When he silently gestured for me to step forward, I let go of Juliette and quietly heeded his request. “And a father must protect his children no matter what.”

I swallowed, choking back on the emotion building in the form of something tangible in my throat. My hard-ass father hugged me in front of everyone, and my arms remained locked in shock at my sides.

“I’m sorry, son,” he whispered in my ear, then repeated his words in Italian. “I didn’t protect you the way I should have. I’ve made so many mistakes, and you’ve had to bear the brunt of them all. And for that, I’m so deeply sorry.”

Tears hit the backs of my eyes as I wrapped my head around what he was doing and saying. I’d already forgiven him for everything, hadn’t I? But maybe he’d never truly forgiven himself. Maybe it took Colin coming into our lives for him to realize that.

I finally returned his hug, burying my face at the side of his neck like I was only sixteen. “ Ti perdono, Pap?a . I forgive you.”