Page 39 of Secrets of Riverside

His jaw tightened, as did his gut. Hesitating for a second, he changed course and took steps towards a very nonchalant Tommy. ‘I gather you’re still not talking to me?’ Given it was near four, he was glad that everyone had now gone home for the day.

Shrugging, Tommy helped himself to the last biscuit from the packet of Kingstons and dunked it into his coffee.

‘Tommy, please don’t ignore me.’ Sighing, Jarrah ran a hand through his hair. ‘This silent treatment is going to fix nothing.’

To his growing frustration, Tommy continued to play ignorant. God how he wished he could confront him, head on, and get the truth from him, but he had to tread very carefully, not only for Vincent and his family’s lives, but for Tommy’s too. Until he could get to the bottom of this mess, and have the proof he needed to be able to raise such a difficult topic with his nephew, he had to remain tight-lipped, as hard as that was going to be.

‘Tommy!’

‘What do you want me to say, Jarrah?’ Tommy shrugged indifferently.

Foreboding snaked down Jarrah’s spine – if he gave in to his irritation, this wasn’t going to end well. ‘How about trying to be less angry and a little more grateful for your life here; that’d be as good a start as any.’

‘It’s not that easy.’ Tommy’s gaze burned with resentment. ‘I can’t pretend I’m not angry that you went and fired my girlfriend and then hired some random chick from the side of the road that we know nothing about.’

‘Forget about Millie for now. You know the number one rule here, Tommy, and you and Jasmine disrespected me by breaking it.’ Shifting from foot to foot, Jarrah shook his head. ‘Wait, she’s actually your girlfriend now?’

‘Yes, she is.’

‘Well, that’s even more reason for her not to work here, Tommy, because you and I both know that’s not ideal, working with someone you’re sleeping with.’

‘In your opinion.’ Tommy’s chair scraped across the linoleum floor as he pushed back from the little staff table and stood. ‘I wish I had enough money to get the hell out of this place.’

With a sudden surge of anger making his heart race, Jarrah held back for a second – lucky for Tommy, he had real thick skin. He had prison to thank for that. ‘I promised your grandmother I’d take care of you, Tommy, and I thought I was doing a good job of that.’

‘I’m not some stray dog that you picked up from the streets and need to take care of.’ Grabbing his empty mug, he stomped over to the sink and rinsed it out. ‘I want my own life, doing what I want, when I want to do it, with who I want to do it with.’

Jarrah’s jaw set harder as he bit back words that would only fuel the fire.

Turning, Tommy rested his hands flat against the prep bench. ‘I want to feel like I belong somewhere, and as much as I’ve tried to fit into the country lifestyle here, it’s not for me.’ Pausing, his jaw briefly clenched. ‘If you’d like to know what I really want, it’s to go back to Sydney, so I can get to know my family there.’

And there it was, the first step towards the truth. ‘Your, or should I say, our, family down in Sydney are all crooks, Tommy, bad people who care about nothing but themselves.’ Wanting to protect his vulnerable nephew, he instinctively took a step towards him.

Tommy held up his hand. ‘Don’t.’

As he halted, angst quickened Jarrah’s pulse. ‘For god’s sake, didn’t your parents’ deaths teach you anything?’

Tommy’s eyes narrowed and red rage stormed his regard of Jarrah. ‘I’ve been told that my mother and father’s deaths were caused by you.’ There was a steely emphasis on every word.

The venom behind Tommy’s unfair, untrue statement made Jarrah’s hackles rise. ‘Me? What in the hell, Tommy, I was in jail!’ His stomach churned. ‘Where did you hear such bullshit?’ He knew exactly who would have fed his nephew such lies but wanted to hear it from Tommy’s mouth.

Tommy couldn’t meet his eyes. ‘My grandfather told me.’

‘You mean Carlo told you.’ Now Jarrah’s words were steely.

‘Two of the same.’

His nephew’s shrug of indifference was infuriating. ‘Come on, Tommy, Carlo lies through his teeth every time he speaks.’ He paused and took a breath, while finally understanding why Tommy had been so short-tempered with him and everyone else around here. ‘I had nothing to do with their murders, not in the slightest.’

‘He said that you pissed off a bloke in jail, and then the bastard took his revenge out on my parents when he got released.’

‘No bloody way, that’s not true at all.’ Jarrah couldn’t believe this was happening. ‘The man that killed your mum and dad was seeking revenge because your grandfather had gotten Joey and his men to steal drugs and weapons from them.’ He briefly squeezed his eyes shut against the heartbreak of losing his brother, and now possibly losing his beloved nephew. ‘That son of a bitch, telling you such bloody lies; he needs to do us all a favour and go and rot in hell.’

‘Shit, righto.’ Tommy regarded Jarrah through cynical eyes. ‘But why should I believe you over him?’

At a loss, Jarrah held up both hands. ‘Because I’ve always been honest with you, Tommy, isn’t that reason enough?’

Tight-lipped, Tommy’s unyielding gaze shifted to the doorway.

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