Francesca #2
“No, he’s not,” I snapped, thinking about the way he’d sobbed at the sight of me, the way he’d held me and had shaken because he was so worried about me.
It was a touching moment we’d shared, and I would never forget it.
So I felt defensive, even if he clearly sided with my father about Wolfe.
“He has his strengths, and I have mine.”
He rubbed his hands together absent-mindedly, his eyes moving elsewhere before they came back to me. “I want you to come back, Frankie. This is a family business, and I want it to stay that way.”
“I appreciate your apology, but you haven’t addressed the reason this falling-out happened in the first place. And until that’s resolved, I can’t return to my position.”
He stared at me, his eyes slightly hardening as the seconds passed.
“I have to decline because our circumstances haven’t changed.” My tone shifted, containing a surge of pride for the man I loved. “I’m going to marry Wolfe. He’s my family, and if you don’t accept my family, then I don’t want to be a part of yours.”
His visage remained glued in place, but he did swallow.
“Those are my terms. Accept them or don’t.”
“Frankie, I’m your father—”
“And I’m your daughter,” I said coldly. “I’ve told you this is the man I want to be with. This estrangement is entirely optional—and up to you. I can say without a doubt that Wolfe is not the rat you assume him to be. I’ve seen him with Cosa Nostra, and they’re absolutely not in business together.”
“Then why is he with Cosa Nostra?”
“Because they still want him back and continue to try to persuade him to return. He also told me exactly why he left Cosa Nostra.”
“And why is that?”
“I’m not at liberty to share that information.
But trust me when I tell you it’s a very personal matter between Wolfe and Don Russo—and has nothing to do with anyone else.
You trust me to run this business, but you don’t trust my judgment of the man I love.
I’ve been with him nearly every day since he joined us.
If he were deceptive, I would have noticed at some point.
His only crime is having a relationship with me without your blessing—and as a grown-ass woman, I don’t need your blessing. ”
He turned his face slightly away, silently working his jaw to process his frustration. “Are you so arrogant as to believe there’s no chance you might be wrong?”
I stared at the side of his face and waited for his eyes to meet mine again.
A contentious silence passed. It took a minute for him to face me once more.
My eyes locked on his. “What about you?”
He stared.
I stared back.
This time, the silence went on so long I didn’t think the conversation was salvageable.
He looked away again, his fingers touching the scruff of his beard as he looked out the window.
“You’re right. My ego was wounded by Wolfe’s transgression, and I did treat you like an object rather than a grown woman with her own independence.
I took the secrecy of your relationship as a personal insult rather than a private matter.
But I still find his actions disrespectful, and I’ll never feel otherwise.
If his intentions toward you were truly that serious, then a conversation should have been had.
When I welcomed him into our family, it was with a full heart and open arms. The fact that he didn’t reciprocate that personally wounds me, because I did care for him like a son. ”
It was the first time I flinched because his words hit their mark.
“That being said, the trust between us is irrevocably destroyed. I don’t like Wolfe for you, and I think you deserve a man who wouldn’t fuck things up with your father so disastrously.
But…I accept your choice.” He forced the words out like they were almost too painful to push through his lips.
“But I don’t want Wolfe here. I don’t want him involved in our business as long as I’m living.
And I don’t want to speak of him. That’s the best compromise I’m willing to offer you. ”
It was still a shitty deal but a lot better than the previous terms.
“I want you here with us, Frankie. So I’m willing to compromise.”
“But not by much.”
“Any compromise from me is a huge one. Do you accept these terms?”
I stared at him and took a slow breath. “I don’t know.”
“We’ve been in this business for generations.
It wasn’t always arms, but it was always wine and other things.
I want it to stay that way long after I’m gone.
I want it to stay that way for generations to come.
You were right when you said your brother has his strengths, but he doesn’t possess the strengths required to lead an operation of this scale.
But he does have the strength to follow your lead, to watch your back, to protect you from every direction. ”
I couldn’t imagine anyone in the world protecting me better than Wolfe. My brother was fast and strong, but he was no match for Wolfe. Nothing could kill that man. No one would ever stand in his way if I needed him. I wished my father understood that.
“This is where you belong, Frankie. Don’t let your private life change what’s meant for you.”
“I never let it change anything,” I said. “That was you.”
He stared at me for a while. “You’re young, and this is your first serious relationship…so I understand why it’s hard for you to see these things.”
“And you’re old and jaded, and it’s hard for you to see the truth for what it is.” I could turn it around on him all day long, over and over, because my perception of reality was the truth. Wolfe would never betray me. He would never lie to me. And he would die for me.
My father didn’t say a word to that.
I didn’t care about the strain it caused us. I believed in Wolfe just as much as I believed in God. Nothing could shake that faith or undermine it. And as much as I loved my family and cherished our closeness, I would fight for Wolfe until my dying breath.
“Please think about it.” His tone suddenly changed, dropped into a deep well of emotion. “I want to put aside our differences and be a family. You’re my one and only daughter, and I don’t tell you enough how much I love you.”