87. Tessa

87

Tessa

M y father looks older. His hair was always jet black, but I can see gray streaks around his temples, and his blue eyes look washed out.

This is the first time we've been in the same room since I was 16. He feels like a stranger to me, even though we share DNA. He may have stepped up when I needed him, but the fact he's not once picked up the phone to talk to me has eroded any goodwill I might have had.

All our recent communication has gone through Kade, other than the panicked phone call I made out of desperation that awful night when I arrived at our house to find Enzo talking to the Russians.

Without Kade, I'd be God knows where by now. My father may have bankrolled the rescue and covered the cost of the apartment I'm living in, as well as Harry's school, but his emotional support has left a lot to be desired.

"How are you, Tessa?" If Kade wasn't standing right behind me, his hand resting on my lower back, I'd have walked out of here by now.

This has to be the most awkward conversation of my life.

"I'm OK," I lie. This office looks exactly the same as it did when Mom was alive. He still has a photo of her on his desk.

The way he looks at me says he's just as uncomfortable as I am. I can tell from the twitch above his eye that he's hoping I'll leave soon. Work always comes first with my father.

"Or I will be when we find my daughter," I add, blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay.

I'm really not OK at all. Chloe's still missing. Aleks has his men looking for Elena, but so far, she's still in the wind.

At least Aleks is on our side, even if he's having teething problems with the transfer of power in his Bratva. None of his Bratva, other than his most loyal vors, are aware he betrayed his father.

The official line not yet released to the media is that Mashkov died in a fire at the club, trapped in a stairwell after an inferno broke out in the lower levels.

The inferno at the Pussycat Lounge made headline news across the city. The media blames corruption in the planning department for the fire, while the governor says the contractor is at fault for not installing adequate fire safety measures. Everyone agrees it's a miracle there weren't more lives lost.

Once the fire died down, investigators recovered several bodies, but they have yet to be identified.

"I have all my men looking for her, Tessa." I know he's doing his best, just like we all are, but it still doesn't feel like it's enough.

None of it's helped by the fact they all know who Chloe's real father is. Dad looked ill when I explained the circumstances of her conception. It was a difficult conversation, but he needed to understand why Chloe had been taken.

The guys were sick about it, too. Enzo should thank his lucky stars someone killed him. Kirov, according to Aleks, although we're not sure why. Most likely because he'd outlived his usefulness.

"I still don't understand how Mashkov discovered who I was?"

Dad frowns. "Someone close to us must have leaked the information. We're still not sure who."

From Kade's annoyed huff, he has his suspicions, but he says nothing.

"You're safe now."

"Am I, though? Mom probably thought she was safe here, asleep in her room, but no, she was still taken."

I've been thinking a lot about my mother over the last week. I was only a kid when men broke into our home and stole her away for five days, and I remember very little about that or the aftermath. But the more I think about it, the less I understand how the men got past the guards.

It's a fortress now, but even before Mom died, my father had a lot of security measures in place.

So what went wrong?

"That was a long time ago, Tessa. Things are different now." From the way his jaw clenches, he's not happy about me raising this topic."

"Are they, though? I'm not so sure. Someone close to you revealed my identity to Mashkov, and it sure as hell wasn't Kade."

Kade reaches for my hand and squeezes it, letting me know he's on my side. Always.

My father sees the small gesture and frowns. He had no idea our relationship crossed a line.

"Is there something you need to tell me, Kade?" he growls. For the first time, the man I looked up to growing up, the feared leader of the East Coast Italian mafia, is back in the room.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is," Kade says calmly. "Tessa and I are together."

I smirk. That's not strictly true, and he knows it. His hand squeezes mine, reminding me now is not the time to explain the ins and outs of our relationship with his brother and Madden.

My father likes to think he's progressive - at least one of his men identifies as trans - but really, he's very old-fashioned when it comes to his daughter. My half-sister, Marie, is bisexual, and it took him a while to get comfortable with the idea of her having a wife, even though she and Melodie have been together for several years now.

I guess that's what happens when you are raised by a traditional Italian patriarch.

Dad grinds his teeth, but to my surprise, he doesn't yell or get angry at Kade. Maybe there is hope for him. Maybe he can learn to be a more empathetic father. God knows it's about time he learned from his previous mistakes.

"I suppose it's pointless me saying I had hoped she would stay well away from this life, given everything that's happened."

"Given everything that's happened, " I snarl, "I thought you would be happy, knowing Kade is taking care of me. I'm a lot safer with him than I am living on my own with the kids."

A lump forms in my throat when I remember, again, that Chloe is still missing. But I swallow it down and focus on my father. I can't afford to piss him off. I need his resources to find Chloe. Quinn is combing every inch of the internet, but we need boots on the ground if a lead comes in.

Aleks has promised to let us know if Elena reaches out, or tries to fly back to Russia with Chloe, but if she does leave the country, we're fucked. It's not like we can steal my daughter back if Elena takes her to some godforsaken place in deepest Siberia.

Dad's expression softens. "Your safety means everything to me, Tessa. It's why I sent you away after your mother..." He doesn't finish the sentence. My mother's death is not a topic either of us feels comfortable discussing. "Kade's probably the best person to keep you safe. You have my blessing."

We don't need his blessing, but I feel better knowing he isn't about to shoot Kade for fucking his precious daughter.

"Thank you, Dad."

My use of the word 'dad' brings a smile to his face. Maybe our relationship isn't quite as broken as I thought.

The door behind us opens and Uncle Dante walks in.

"Tessa? I thought..." he pauses and we all look at him. "Alberto told me you'd gone missing. I didn't realize you were now safe. How wonderful!"

I've never liked my uncle. Even as a child, there was always something off about him. Mom didn't like him much either. If my father was away, she made damn sure to stay out of his way.

"Yes, Kade and my father's men found me."

"Ah. Good news." I guess he's been away on business for my father and was unaware of what's been happening.

Kade's arm slips around my waist and he moves me back a step, subtly shifting so he's between me and Dante. I frown, sensing there's more to his action than meets the eye.

"It's lucky you weren't at the club the other night," Kade says. "Or you might have gotten caught up in the fire."

Dante cocks an eyebrow. "Club?"

"The Pussycat Lounge."

"Oh, yes. I do sometimes have a drink there." He looks thoughtful for a moment. "I heard on the news there was a fire. Such a shame."

"Yes, a tragedy." I can feel the tension strumming through Kade's body. My father looks at Kade and shakes his head like they're having a silent conversation.

Then Kade's phone rings. He pulls it from his pocket, checks the screen, and says to my father and Dante,

"Gotta take this. I'll be right back."

I expect him to leave me behind, but he tugs me with him. Dante watches us leave and then turns to my father as the door closes behind us.

"What have you found?" Kade asks as we duck into my father's library. Tall shelves, stacked with classics and modern fiction, line every wall. Dad's favorite armchair, the leather worn and cracked, sits next to the fireplace.

I used to love this room as a kid. My mother would sit by the fire on a cold day, reading stories out loud. It's because of her I grew to love literature. My degree in English Literature was a way of connecting with her. She'd always said she regretted never going to college, and if she had gone, that's what she would have studied.

Kade's voice fades as I run my fingers down the spines of books I haven't read in over a decade. Pride and Prejudice ... Far From The Madding Crowd ...and one of my all-time favorites, Rebecca .

I miss books. My Kindle is great, but it isn't the same as holding an actual book. One day, when I have my own house, I will buy books again. Create a library nook like the ones I've seen on Instagram.

My lips curve up in a half-smile as Kade turns to me with a grim expression on his face.

"I know who told Mashkov who you are," he says.