Page 20 of The Associate

“What is that?” His tone is becoming unamused. He is tired of mytantrums. What he calls tantrums, I call warranted outbursts.

“Can you at least tell Mason to back off from trying to kill everyone in the hallway at college?” I stand, and all my father can do is shrug.

“I’ll see what I can do but maybe for now the best thing would be for you not to attend your classes and just study at home,” he says, standing up. “I will make the arrangements now and while we are at it, you are no longer allowed to work at that bloody dive bar on the outskirts of town.”

“But Father!” I raise my voice, but he holds up his hand. I huff and stamp my foot. Is it childish? Maybe a little. Did it help with my anger? No, I just want to scream.

“No, Genevieve, it is too dangerous for you to be out there.” He pinches the bridge of his nose.“You know that it is close to the Blackmere town line and that Rico’s men frequent that bar. It is the only common ground of the Underbellies.”

“Why are you doing this to me? What did I do to you?” A single tear slides down my cheek but I wipe it away before he can see it. Weakness is not something you show in front of Salvatore De Luca. Even if you are his daughter or not.

“I am not doing it to punish you.” He can see how much this hurts me, but he waves his hand at me, shrugging it off like it’s nothing. No matter what I say, he just doesn’t give a shit about how I feel. His words say one thing, his body language says another. “I am doing this to protect you. You will find out in due time why I am taking these precautions, but for now you just need to trust me.”

A knock on the door makes me jump. I need to get out of this room, I need to do something. Focus on something else.

There is a gym in this place. Maybe I just need to go and run until I can’t stand anymore. Until all this rage subsides.

I need to put my plan into motion as soon as possible. I can’t let my father get to me anymore. He is a paranoid asshole; no wonder my mother left him all those years ago.

He would spend the days talking to himself, always watching over his shoulder, and, when one of his men asked him a question, he snapped at them, thinking they were trying to question his motives. Still to this day, he yells at everyone and is hiding away in his office. But now, it seems to be worse. He knows the late boss of Blackmere is my uncle, and I would put money on my father being the reason he is now dead.

I stare at my father as he moves around his desk towards me as the door to the office opens just a crack. “Please, Genevieve, just trust me.” I have never seen my father beg, but I guess there is a first time for everything. Maybe the pleading is just a show for whoever is walking in. “Please.”

I shake my head and step back from him. “No. No, I don’t think I can. You have been nothing but controlling since I came back to Murwood.” I begin to pace his office. “I just don’t think I can until you can give me just this little bit of information.”

I turn around and start walking back to the door. “Please, Genevieve, don’t walk away.”

I ignore him and reach out for the door, but the door flies open, almost whacking me in the face.

“What the fuck!” I yell, my hand balling into a fist ready to hit whoever just barged into the office.

“Easy, Princess, easy,” Mason says, hands resting on my shoulders. “Just relax, it’s only me.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t knock your ass out,” I growl. I’m not the best at fighting but I can hold my own. Growing up around boys, you learn how to fight. “Now I’m going down to the fucking gym, I have some frustrations to work out. Don’t follow me.”

I walk out the door and into the hallway.

My father’s voice is a mumble from where I am standing. He must have his back to the door. “Let her go, I need to talk to you.”

“What’s up, Sir?” I hear Mason, he is clearer than my father, which means he is facing the door.

“What happened earlier today when you followed Genevieve to class?”Shit, he is going to tell my father what I am studying.

Mason clears his throat. “Well, some kid ran into her, knocking her to the ground. I saw red, pinned him to the wall. I just wanted to teach him a lesson.”

“Viper! You cannot just assault people in broad daylight.” I hear my father’s footsteps move closer to his desk again and the creak of the chair as he sits down.

“I’m sorry, Sir.” He is hesitant. “Just, after the meeting this morning and being put on babysitter duty, I am feeling antsy. You know the takedowns help me.”

“I know boy, but with these episodes you’ve been having…” He pauses for a moment. “I just don’t want to take any chances. I put you in charge of Genevieve because it is lower stress and less chance of another one of your blackouts.”

“I know, Sir.” His voice drops. “But I need to do something. There has to besomethingfor me to do?”

I hear a sigh from my father. “Alright. There is a target, similar to last night’s target. He frequents the underground tunnels on the south side of town as well as that dive of a bar you always go to.”

Who is this guy? Why does he frequent Gravel and Grit?I hear the shuffle of paper exchanging hands. “Thank you, Sir,” Mason says as his voice grows closer to where I am standing.

I run down the hall to my room, closing the door behind me, trying to calm my racing heart. Mia lets out a little whimper as soon as she sees me. “It’s okay, girl.” I walk over to her crate, reaching in and scratching her head. “We will go for a run as soon as I can drop these brutish bodyguards.”

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