Page 59 of Nave
“For the record, I wasn’t doing any judging.”
And he wasn’t.
There were a lot of reasons to love my dad. That was pretty top of the list.
“I was in charge of going to make sure the CCTV footage was removed in real time. Which led me to the middle of fucking nowhere. There was this creepy-ass glass house with something like a hundred cameras inside and outside. Only one exit. A door that locked when it closed and only opened with a fingerprint scan.”
“Paranoid.”
“Yeah, well, he had reason to be. He was keeping his girlfriend trapped inside.”
“There are some sick fucks in the world.”
“Yeah. He watched her every move. Her diet. Everything. I only met her a few times, but she left an impact.”
“Of course she did. Poor girl.”
“I made it clear, in a way that Ben couldn’t look back on and see anything remiss, that I was from Navesink Bank. Then, once, when Dezi was making a racket, told her that I would help her if she ever needed it.”
“And she finally needed it.”
“I should have gone back sooner. Gotten her out. Burned the fucking place down with Ben inside it.”
“That’s an option,” my father said, his smile a little wry. “So, she got away from him.”
“She finally had enough motivation to.”
My father glanced over at me, his dark eyes working.
“She’s pregnant.”
“Yeah.”
It wasn’t my business to tell. But within a few weeks, months at the most, it would be obvious to everyone. Besides, this was my father. He was a vault when you needed him to be.
“The ex’s?”
“I would tell you if I got someone pregnant, Dad.”
“I’d hope so. Alright. So she’s pregnant with the ex’s baby and came to you for help.”
“Yes.”
“And you… don’t want to help? Fair warning, if the answer to that one is yes, you’re grown enough now for me to kick your ass.”
“That’s not it at all. If anything, I wish she’d let me do more. But she’s been putting her foot down when she thinks I’m helping too much.”
“Okay. You’re safe. So, what’s the issue?”
“I like her.”
There.
It was out.
I felt like I could breathe properly again.
“And that’s an issue because you’re a deadbeat who has nothing to offer a… wait…”
