Page 8 of Clean Slade
“Breathe, King. Breathe. What’s going on? Why is your father-in-law after you?”
King inhaled deeply and licked his lips before he spoke.
“Be…because I took his granddaughter away from him. I didn’t want her raised around people like him, not after what he did to Annie. That’s why I need to go. I need to go.”
The man was in complete distress. Both Joey and Santiago tried to get him to explain, to tell us why this man was so dangerous, why he was so scared, but he kept mumbling the same things over and over.
“Of course, we’ll help you, King. But first, we need to know who is after you?” Joey handed a glass of water to the man.
King took it, but he didn’t drink. He held it loosely in his hands, staring at the floor.
“Do you…have you heard of Tony Ferraro?” he mumbled.
Silence rose in the room for a few moments while we all looked at each other.
I didn’t think there was anyone on this side of thecoastthat hadn’t heard of the Ferraro family.
“The Don?” Commander Goodman finally asked.
King nodded.
“Shit. You married into the mob?” Joey asked.
“I never married. I just…I met Annie, we…fell in love, and then…he killed her.”
“He killed his own daughter?” Santiago put his hand over his mouth.
“She…she wanted to leave. We both did. We didn’t want to raise our baby in the family. He found out, and he didn’t like it. His number one rule is no one leaves the family alive. It didn’t matter that she was his daughter. The family comes before blood or God. After he killed her, I knew he’d come for me, so I ran. I took Mac and hid her away. And now he’s coming for her. And me.”
Santiago hugged his friend and slapped his chest as soon as he let go.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
King didn’t explain. He just apologized.
“Do you think you can take over the salon for me? Sell it if you want. You can keep the money.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“I have to, Tiago. I have no choice. He’s gonna kill me, and he’s gonna take Mac. I can’t let him get her. I…I just can’t.”
Goodman looked at all of us and frowned.
We all knew what that meant. We needed to talk.
“Slade, why don’t you take Kingston and Mackenzie to Luna’s Lodge. They can spend the night there until we decide what to do,” he said.
“No. I can’t. I can’t stay. I can’t risk your lives or anyone else’s. I…I just need to…I need…I don’t know what I need.”
Santiago wrapped his arms around his friend.
“You’re in shock. You obviously can’t think straight right now. Listen to Wyatt. He knows what he’s doing. They all do.”
King looked around the room again, stopping at me. This time he didn’t linger. He just admitted defeat and went to get his daughter.
“Ready?” I asked.
I opened my car door for the young girl and her dad, and they huddled next to each other as I sat behind the wheel, the pain in my knee completely gone. Or maybe my brain was too busy trying to place this guy.
