Page 21 of Tortured Hearts
A strained lull hangs in the air, a thin thread stretched so tight I wait for the snap. But then, the sound of a weary sigh seeps through the cracks.
“Twenty-two years ago, the Rogue was the most powerful alliance on the East Coast. Then, the Italians came in and exterminated the entire lot of them. Unfortunately, they pulled the trigger without sticking around to count the bullets, and Marcello Marchesi took advantage of their negligence.” He shrugs. “While the powers-that-be stood around congratulating themselves, the king of New Jersey rounded up the surviving Providence Rogue and started pulling strings.”
“Why?” Such a simple question with such a loaded answer.
“Money. Power. Greed. They make smart people do illogical things.”
“Does that include you?”
His gaze is fierce, as if daring to question his integrity is an insult. “I ran the department’s organized crime task force. My job was to bring down men like Marchesi.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
He clasps his hands in his lap and stares down at them. “For months, Marchesi used the Rogue as a shield, hiding behind a symbol of fear and the Irishman who tried buying me. When that failed, he stepped out from behind the curtainand threatened your mother, personally.” His shoulders slump, the weight of those words nearly crushing him. “I believed having the law on my side would protect us. I was wrong.”
Small eyes. Big teeth.
“This Irishman…” I swallow. “He’s the one who killed Mom?”
He nods.
I don’t want to ask, but I have to. “What’s his name?”
His jaw tightens. “Dagger.”
“Dagger,what?”
“Just Dagger,” he repeats. “That’s all he ever went by. After Carol died, I swore I’d do whatever it took to keep him and Marchesi away from you. Even if it meant shielding you from yourself.”
All the years of lies and manipulation make sense.
“You made me believe I didn’t hear those words or see that tattoo to protect me.”
He nods, still unable to meet my eyes. “It killed me to accept blood money from the man who destroyed our family, but I’d already lost your mother. I knew if Marchesi found out you could ID anything that linked to him, he’d return and follow through on his threat to…” He frowns again, something dark and painful clouding his face. “Let’s just say it worked, at least until his son showed up.”
“Are you insinuating Gianni knew all of this? That he was a part of it?”
“No. Yes.” He shakes his head. “I don’t know. He sank his teeth pretty hard into the Rogue theory at that diner. Then again, I’ve learned to take nothing about a Marchesi at face value. They’re masters of manipulation.”
“I don’t care whose blood runs in his veins,” I insist. “Gianni wouldn’t do that.”
“No? In the last few weeks, three people haveposed a threat to his father’s secret operation. As of today, the only ones still breathing are in this car.”
The pressure in my chest triples. “You’re talking about Jack.”
“I was trying to spare you more pain, but you refuse to…” He sighs, those horizontal lines darting across his forehead again. “Yes, I’m talking about Jack.”
“Did he know about this Dagger person?”
“No,” he snaps. “I may be a disgrace to the badge, but I’d never intentionally drag one of my own down with me.” The fierce conviction he has in those words is so proudly misguided, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. “He started getting suspicious after you two met at that diner. I warned him to let it go, but he wouldn’t listen. It was just a matter of time.”
I grip the door handle as Jack’s final warning filters through my head.
“Your father thinks he knows who your mystery patient is, and I hope to God for your sake he’s wrong.”
“You sent him to get intel on Gianni. You knew he had feelings for me, and you used it against him.”
“Only because you refused to talk to me,” he says, his defenses rising. “I had to get through to you somehow. How was I supposed to know he’d take it too far?”
