Page 4 of One Last Rainy Day
The monsters. The noise. The rabbit hole I sought out, dove headfirst into, and that followed me out, only to haunt my every waking minute.
“She hasn’t been here in eight fucking years, and he doesn’t even live there,” I excuse in shit defense. “Didn’t think that would change anytime soon. Besides, when’s the last time you had eyes on her,jarhead almighty?”
“Fine, let’s quash the blame game and worry about the eighteen-year-old time bomb standing in our yard.” He gives me a thorough once-over. “Or should I worry about the one sitting in front of me?”
Ignoring him, I X-ray Roman’s proposition to his estranged daughter, sifting through the details. Kicking back, I resume rolling my blunt as my mind races and Tyler’s questions start. “Why is she here?”
“He’s going to pay her college tuition and top it off with an inheritance for working at the plant...for a fucking year.”
“Jesus Christ, Dom. You need to place another call to France.”
Fuming about my fuck-up, I jerk my chin. “He’s not receptive to anything right now.”
“I think, on this, he’ll want to be privy. It changes things.”
“It changes nothing,” I snap. “Everything will go to plan.” Because if it doesn’t, I won’t be able to control the shit festering inside me much longer. “Nothing changes,” I reiterate, hearing the difference in my tone, which sounds every bit like an order—something Tyler doesn’t take kindly to after following so many militantly over the years. There’s a warning in his posture even as he summons the patience to press in on me for what’s behind my resignation.
“Dom—”
“Remember when you came back from your only overseas trip,” I twist my blunt tight, “and you didn’t want to talk about it?” I don’t bother looking up as I seal it closed. “Same scenario.”
“That bad?”
“Worse,” I swallow, wiping my desk free from debris. “These aren’t acts of war.”
“Jesus, man, I get it. But on this, we can’t—”
“We fucking have to. Not a word, Tyler, toeitherof them. Sean can’t handle the mind fuck, and my brother’s too far gone in the game he’s playing overseas. If we tell him, his mind will behere, and it can’t be. Not right now.” I let my statement linger for emphasis, and he doesn’t miss it. “It’s up to us. Trust me on this.”
Tyler takes a full minute to mull it over but finally agrees. “All right. For now.”
My answering glare echoes my request.
“Don’t—” he jerks his chin. “Don’t question me.”
“Then don’t make me.”
“Have I ever?” he barks, letting his arms fall to his sides. “Let’s concentrate on the situation at hand. I don’t think you should meet her, but I’m betting you’ll go against my advice.”
“What’s she like?”
“From what I’ve gathered in my two-second assessment, curious, innocent, observant, and to keep it one hundred,way toofucking beautiful.”
A low-lying fury starts to prickle in my veins as I run through a list of scenarios, namely Sean’s current agenda to mix our business with his pleasure.
“I’m not the one you need to warn on the last part.”
“Goddamnit, Sean,” Tyler groans, “I get that this came out of left field, but we have no contingency plan for this...Jesus. All right,” he exhales audibly, “I’ll do some additional recon on Roman to see what his motive might be for bribing his daughter back into his life. It doesn’t make sense other than a last attempt at a relationship with her, right?”
“She just graduated,” I relay thoughtfully. “Roman was there.”
“At her graduation?”
“I didn’t read into it. Maybe I should have,” I admit.
“Well, it wasn’t in my fucking newsletter,” he snaps, exasperated. “Dom, you should have—”
“I don’t need to be reminded of what my job entails,” I grit out. “I’m aware of the cost of fucking any part of this up, but we’re covered. I’ll make sure of it.”
