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Chapter Twenty-seven
V
I woke the next morning with dread heavy on my heart. The time had come to go and see my father, and the thought made me sick. I had no choice, though. It was my only chance of finding out where Nickie might be being held. I hadn’t heard anything else from Tony since his last call. Did he hope I’d follow him to New York and ask the wrong questions of the wrong people, and would turn up dead somewhere? I struggled to imagine that he would simply forget about me.
We went to meet X’s contact, who gave us the paperwork I needed to be able to visit my father. I dressed conservatively, keeping my tattoos hidden beneath a jacket, my long hair tied back into a bun at the nape of my neck. We bought what we needed using the cash I’d brought with me, not wanting X to use the card he had more than necessary in case someone used it to track him down.
X’s contact didn’t even speak to us. He just handed X an envelope, and X gave him cash in return. We received a nod, and a quick flick of his eyes across us, and then he turned and walked away, disappearing down an alley.
It felt even more real now. I was actually going to walk into prison and sit opposite my father, as though we were two, almost normal people.
We drove to the prison, but X would need to wait outside. He stepped out of the car with me and kissed me. “Be strong. Remember, he’s only a man.”
I nodded, thankful for the touch of his lips on mine. It was crazy how I now felt closer to this man than anyone else in the world, even my own sister. I’d told him things I’d never admitted to another person, and I thought he’d done the same to me. We were connected, somehow, like two statues carved from the same piece of stone.
Nerves bubbled in my stomach as I walked through, joining the numerous other family members of inmates also arriving to visit. I was worried the paperwork would be spotted as being faked or pushed through. But I was given the same checks as everyone else, making sure I wasn’t smuggling any contrabands into the prison, and the paperwork was looked over, and I was allowed inside.
The prisoners sat at individual tables, and I scoured the room until my gaze landed on the man I was there to see.
His eyes, almost black, like mine, narrowed as he caught sight of me. We locked eyes for a moment and my cheeks flared with heat, before ice blasted through my veins. I looked away first, panic making my heart beat so fast it felt like hummingbird wings in my chest. I hated this man, hated him with every inch of my being, yet being in his presence made me nervous. Still, I felt the need for his approval, the desire for his love, though I tried to hide it beneath my cool exterior. I forced myself to take a breath and get a grip. I refused to let him see how he affected me.
I crossed the room and slid into the seat opposite him. While others in the visitors’ room were hugging and sharing kisses, there might as well have been a glass wall between us.
“So you’re still alive,” he said, a cruel smile hiding beneath the surface of his lips. “I had wondered when I hadn’t heard anything from X. How did you survive him? Is he dead, or have you fucked him into submission?”
My cheeks heated again.
The smile spread. “Fucked him, then. Stupid man. I thought he was better than someone who thought with his cock. I’m not surprised, though. You always were a little slut. I could see it as soon as you turned thirteen, always flirting with my men like a tart. Good thing they knew it was part of the code not to get involved with another member’s daughter. Shame your mother forgot about that part.”
I stiffened at the mention of my mom, but forced myself to speak.
“I’m not here about me, Pops. Nicole is in trouble. She needs your help.”
I’d taken him by surprise, and he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his stomach. “Trouble? What kind of trouble?”
At least if he hadn’t heard about it already, it meant Tony hadn’t yet managed to contact my father in order to use Nickie. I hoped that meant she was still safe.
“Tony the Hound has taken her. He plans to use her against you.”
His face flushed puce, and he leaned forward, his fists balled on the tabletop between us. “Say that to me again.”
“Tony the Hound took her from the place you sent X to kill me. He would have killed me, but X interrupted his guys. We tried to get her back, but it didn’t work, so now Tony has brought her to New York. We need to know where he hangs out, where he might take someone he wants to hide, and how we can get her back.”
His already thin mouth tightened. “I’ll send my people in.”
“No. If you do that, people are going to start shooting and the place will be a bloodbath. You have no way to protect Nickie. But I have a way in. He wants something from me. We can surprise him, if you just tell me where he holes up, and provide me with some ammo and a couple of your guys.”
He burst with laughter. “You think my guys will do anything you ask them? You’re a goddamned rat. You’d be dead before you so much as breathed in their direction.”
I hesitated. He had a point.
“Okay, so just tell me where I can find him, and hopefully Nicole as well. You might hate me, but I know you love her.”
“I never hated you, Verity,” he said, using the name I was given at birth. “You just disappointed me every step of the way.”
Somehow, hearing that was even worse.
“Just tell me where we can find Tony.”
