Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“Is this about the stuff in the forest?” I murmur. “I’m sorry—”
“You don’t have to apologize,” he growls. “You’re right. I kidnapped you. I’m the leader of a criminal organization, but it’s not as simple as you think.”
Any second, the door behind us could open, and one of Blake’s men could charge out here and tell us they have news of Dad and Enzo. Blake said I could come, but I can tell he’s pissed about it, but at least he’s listening to me.
“You can talk about anything with me,” I tell him.
He looks at me sharply. His mouth trembles, going from a smirk to something else, something brimming with emotion. It’s difficult to call Blake soft, but there’s some gentleness there.
“Will you tell anybody?”
“No,” I say. “Not if you don’t want me to.”
“And I can trust you?”
I squeeze his hand. “You know you can trust me.”
He smiles, just for a second, giving me a glimpse of the kid from the photo album, the one without the darkness.
“Big words from a woman who just made the world’s greatest escape attempt.”
Again, laughter takes hold of me, but this time, I don’t end it. I let myself laugh. He laughs too. It’s a miracle that we can do this so recently after my run for freedom. I wonder if this is how regular relationships work, but when our eyes meet, I find I don’t care. I can’t care. It’s working for us despite everything.
He leans forward. “The Kilts have been working with the police for over ten years.”
I gasp, “But you said you were a criminal organization.”
“We are, as far as the other criminal groups are concerned, but after what happened with Isla, I knew I wanted to change the way things worked. If the police hadn’t been so corrupt, we could’ve gone to them like your dad wanted. Maybe we’d still be friends now.”
Silence follows as we both imagine that other world—Blake swinging by as I’m growing up, becoming a family friend. Would it have made us impossible? In a deranged, selfish way, I’m glad I never knew him before.
“I began to work with the few good cops in the city. Slowly, I moved the Kilts’ finances from drugs and intimidation to financial. We blackmail corrupt politicians, bankers, and people who can take the hit and deserve it. We maintain legitimate businesses. It’s true, we launder money, but we help the city, too.”
“Help?” I ask.
“Food kitchens, charities, things like that. When it comes to violence, we never hurt civilians. If the other gangs force us, we’ll fight. We’ll kill.”
“And the police allow this?”
“They turn a blind eye. They know that if the Kilts hurt somebody, it makes the city safer.”
“If you’re working with the police, tell them about Dad,” I say.
“Malcolm’s talking with them and trying to find Enzo’s location, but it’s not as simple as that. The police have to be careful about our connection. If we serve up criminals on a platter, they’ll take them, but they won’t do our job for us.”
“So, you’re not a crime boss?” I murmur.
“I am. We break the law, but I try to stay on the good side of the bad.”
“The good side of the bad,” I repeat. “I kind of like that phrase.”
“It explains that nothing is ever simple.”
“You can say that again.”
We sit quietly for a time, watching as Archie tires of his play and slumps down in the sun on the grass. He lies on his side and stares up at me.
“I don’t think you’re a bad person,” I murmur. “Just so you know.”
“Good,” he says.
“Before you told me the truth,” I go on, “even after you kidnapped me, I didn’t think you were a bad person. What does that say about me, huh?”
“I think it says more about us,” he says passionately. “You were right before. There’s something more here. Maybe with your private detective skills, you could root it out, eh?”
I shake my head.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“All my life, I wanted to be a private detective to find the person who killed Mom, but you already found him. You already gave him his punishment.”
“You don’t want to be a private detective anymore?” he asks.
“Does it matter?” I snap, pulling my hand away. “We’re sitting here talking about my hopes and dreams while Dad is out there.”
“It does matter,” Blake says, “because you matter. You’ve wanted this your whole life.”
“Based on a lie. If Dad wasn’t missing, I’d hate him for the lie, but I can’t.”
“What will you do instead?” he asks.
I know what I’ll do. In my wildest dreams, I can pursue any career I want, any passion. He’ll always be there to support and nurture me while we’ll have a family to care for and children to invest our love in.
I shrug, knowing I can’t say all that. “Work so I can help support Dad.”