Chapter 23

Ariana

23

Ihaven't seen my father in two months.

At any other time, I might've said I'd missed him. But watching him come up the mausoleum steps, I have to admit, there's not a single fiber in my body that aches with longing to hide in his arms. It sounds awful, yet given everything that has happened, I think I'm allowed to be this mad and sickened at the sight of him.

He doesn't even strike me as the dashing and charming man I used to think he was. No, I see the real Henry David now, and it makes my stomach churn. He's a liar. A corrupt politician who looked the other way while the Black Hand committed horrific crimes—my mother's so-called accident being the worst.

I still can't believe he was involved. My heart keeps breaking, over and over, as I struggle to reconcile reality with the story that I was spoon-fed while growing up.

"Are you ready?" Kendric whispers, his gaze set on my father.

We arranged the meeting in the middle of the Everton Cemetery. The mausoleum rises proudly in the middle, atop a hill. It belongs to one of the city's founders and bears the Everton name on its marble frieze.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I whisper back.

We're hiding behind the main monument, watching my father as he comes up the stone-paved pathway. He's wearing one of his usual suits, dark grey with a white shirt, his hair slickly combed back. He looks tired, but I know it's not only because of me. It's because of the mess that has been created by people who are understandably desperate to do everything they can in order to stop him and the cabal from hurting more innocents.

No matter how I spin this in my head, I cannot find any fault in Sky, Kendric, and Raylan's actions. Having seen the monsters that they're fighting, I simply cannot blame them for kidnapping me in the first place.

I'm nervous.

But there is plenty of anger and strength in me to push forward. We have a mission to accomplish, and my father is now the enemy. I'm trying so hard not to think of him as such; I really am. He didn't leave me with a better option, though.

I keep remembering that sight of him with Thierry and Masterson, and I immediately want to throw up. My dad, sitting with the man who tried to kill me. I don't think I will ever be able to get that image out of my mind or forgive him for this.

My father reaches the top and looks around, his gaze nervously wandering. He's waiting for Thierry and is clearly disappointed that the sleazy bastard isn't here yet. It's our time to shine. I take a deep breath, emerging first from behind the mausoleum.

"Hey, Dad," I calmly say as he takes out his phone, likely to call Thierry.

Kendric stays behind and out of sight, using the cellphone scrambler to stop my father from making or receiving any calls. Unfortunately, it also keeps us cut off from our crew, but it was the only way to make sure I got what I came for.

"Ariana!" my father exclaims, his eyes wide with shock. What irks me is that he doesn't seem too happy to see me. I spot the glint of relief fluttering across his face for a brief moment, but that's it. He immediately switches into his apprehensive mode. I know that furrowed brow too well. "What are you doing here?"

"You were supposed to meet Thierry, I know. Sorry for the disappointment," I say.

He tries to get closer, but I take a step back. "Ariana …"

"Please, keep your distance."

"How'd you get away from those monsters? The FBI said—"

"Do not try to spin this into some kind of rescue tale," I snap. "The FBI tried to fucking kill me, and you know it. The jig is up, Dad. I'm not here for any of your gaslighting. I'm here to tell you that I know exactly who you are and what you did."

He shakes his head and tries to call Thierry again, but it won't go through. "Dammit, hold on, baby, I need to sort this out."

"You don't understand," I reply, crossing my arms as I try to keep my composure. "You can't receive or make any calls. I made sure of it."

"What?" He stills, giving me a troubled look. "Ariana, I've missed you; I've been worried sick about you. I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"No, you've been crying all over the news about me while also flirting with the idea of a state senate run, banking on your voters' sympathy," I shoot back. "I told you. The jig is up. I know everything."

"And what is it that you know, exactly? Did those Steel Knights goons brainwash you? Is that what this is about?"

"Oh, no, I saw for myself," I reply. "I saw you at that diner with Thierry and Masterson. Tell me, did you already know that he'd tried to kill me when you sat down with him? Or did he lay it out right then and there over dessert?"

My father finally understands. I can see the shift in his expression. It's anything but subtle. It's the mask cracking open and falling apart, revealing his true nature. The man he's always been. The man I didn't have enough sense to see from the beginning.

"Ariana, it's incredibly complicated, but I bear no fault for what those biker thugs did. Had they stuck to their own business, had they left you alone, we wouldn't be here now," my father says. "Blame them, not me. Everything I ever did, I did it for you, honey."

"You did it for me?" I can't help but laugh. It's a mocking laughter, the kind that shakes me to the core and makes my lungs hurt. It's anger bubbling up to the surface and making a vein in my temple throb furiously. "What exactly did you do for me, Dad? I would have never been put in this situation if you hadn't gone after the Steel Knights in the first place, demonizing them in the media while kissing the cabal's ass for whatever favors they did for you."

"Cabal? Ariana, what are you talking about?"

"The Black Hand."

He's quiet. Glowering at me. I can hear the wheels in his head, spinning, screeching, jumping out of their grooves because he wasn't prepared for that.