Page 76 of Witness Protection

He took a drag, sitting on a kitchen chair.

“Did he ever hurt Sophia?”

“He loved her. In his own fucked up way. He could never get over the fact her mother was a whore. It became a fixation.”

“I couldn’t find much on her mother,” said Cayden.

“She worked at one of his whore-houses. One of the young Russians he’d smuggled over. She tried to hold the paternity over his head when she was pregnant. As soon as she gave birth, Vasily killed her, and tested the baby. Sophia was his.”

“He killed her for nothing?”

“No, he would have anyway.” Hawk came over and sat across the table from him. “Like I said, I never questioned the shit he did.”

“Sophia know about it?”

Hawk shook his head. “I never had the heart to tell her the truth. It would destroy her. Even after everything I learned about my family, I still don’t want her to hate her own father. The man’s dead, and he did love her.”

Cayden respected Hawk for putting Sophia first. Memories made a man. He knew that firsthand. He only wished he had more good ones to reflect on.

Sophia wanted to hate her father, but he saw the hurt in her eyes. All she’d wanted from Vasily was love, unconditional love.

****

Rather than waiting for food delivery, they decided to walk to Bruno’s Pizzeria to pick up the pizza. It wasn’t too far of a walk. The area was a cesspool, the kind of place good families warned their kids to stay far away from. They passed a couple guys doing a drug deal on the corner.

“Nice neighborhood,” Hawk said.

“Am I supposed to be insulted?”

He shrugged. Hawk was too damn tired to fight anymore.

“You get used to it. I’ve lived around here most of my life,” said Cayden “Even the cops ignore it for the most part.”

Vasily may have been a bastard, but he only provided the best. Hawk was used to the highest standards from food and clothes and everything in between. “But you can probably live anywhere you want. I know how much contracts pay.”

The Morenov family dabbled in just about everything—drugs, women, contracts, extortion. All Hawk knew was crime and sin. He was immune to the violence.

“I guess this neighborhood is the closest thing I have to a family. I mean, they’re not the greatest roots, but they’re all I have.”

He thought his life had been more, but it was just as empty now. Hawk had nothing left.

“Never thought of leaving the life behind, maybe getting married and having some kids?”

Cayden scoffed.

The pizzeria came into view. He remembered it from the night he went in search of Sophia. “This is how I found you,” he said.

“What are you talking about?”

“There was a pizza box in the back of your car when you kidnapped Vladimir. I followed the crumbs right to your door.”

Cayden smirked. “You’re good at tracking.” He was quiet for a minute. “I should have killed that fucker. That’s what I get for having mercy.”

“You’re right. There’s no place for mercy in this line of work. Vasily always emphasized the point.”

He pushed open the glass door, and they entered the familiar pizza place. Hawk took a seat at an open table while Cayden went to order at the counter. The place smelled like a mix of food and cigarette smoke. He felt dirty just sitting there.

“Won’t be long,” said Cayden, sitting across from him.

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