Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
She had over twenty-four hours with Daddy.
That’s what Kelsey kept telling herself. Plus, it wasn’t like they were breaking up after that. She’d still be his babygirl.
Always.
But there was no denying things would change. She needed to be prepared for a long trial and the possibility that he might go away for a while.
How would she respond to all that? Would their relationship survive? It might be one of those situations where he broke things off, thinking he was doing her a favor, enabling her to move on.
Only time would tell.
Right now though, she didn’t want to ruin what little precious time she did have by fretting over the future.
She had Daddy. They were in a Little’s paradise with friends. Why not make the most of it?
The rest of today, and all of tomorrow.
A lot could happen in that amount of time.
First, though, Marco pulled the car he’d driven to the Guard’s warehouse into the garage, parking it by their van so no one could drive by and spot it from the outside.
Then, he hit the shower that was in the bathroom attached to Kelsey’s suite. John was about the same size in clothes and was kind enough to loan some to Marco.
Kelsey paced the room, thinking of the questions she had for him.
So many of them could wait. But there was one answer she needed to know. One that had to be answered before they could proceed even with the next twenty-four hours.
It seemed unreal that the words would even come from her mouth.
But she had to know.
Hearing the water shut off, she braced herself. It took another couple of minutes before he came out, wearing only boxer-briefs, still drying off as he stepped toward her.
Water gleamed off his washboard abs, and she watched as he ran the towel along the ridges, collecting the droplets. She almost lost her train of thought, but the question was too important to ignore.
No matter how good Daddy looked right now.
“You have something on your mind,” Marco said.
“Yeah. I, uh… need to ask you something.”
Marco’s eyes conveyed that he realized this was going to be a serious conversation, and Kelsey wondered if he suspected what was coming.
“You can ask me anything,” he said, stepping back into the bathroom quickly.
For a moment, she thought he couldn’t face her as they talked, but when he came back out, she realized he’d put on a shirt. He slipped into the shorts he’d brought out, too, and Kelsey was thankful for the minimized distractions.
Because there wasn’t anything sexy about what she needed to ask.
It took her a moment to gather her nerve. She wasn’t afraid to ask Marco. He’d never get angry over something like this or resent her.
Her hesitation stemmed more from dreading the answer.
“Have you… ever…”
A look of understanding filled his eyes and he closed the gap between them, but he didn’t reach for her hands. “Have I ever killed anyone?” he finished for her.
Kelsey hated even hearing that word.
But still, she needed to know.
“No.”
Her shoulders rose and a smile creased her lips. “Really?”
“Really,” he confirmed. “And I haven’t ordered anyone to do that, either. But I’m not going to lie and pretend there’s not blood on the Family’s hands. And I’m no angel, Kelsey. I should have told you everything from the beginning.”
He walked away from her and stared at the wall, but she could tell his eyes weren’t really focused on it.
Marco was seeing various memories.
“I never had a dad. My mom did her best for a while, but she gave up when I was about eight or so. Just me and my brother after that.”
“You have a brother?”
He turned to face her again. “Had a brother. Lost him when I was fourteen.”
Kelsey almost asked how but decided not to.
He must have read the question on her face, however, because he explained, “We had this bright idea to knock over a gas station.” Shaking his head, he exhaled loudly through his nose and shades of red streaked across his cheeks.
“We were basically orphans. Technically we lived with our mom, but I’m not sure who was home less—us or her.
Anyway, Dante and I were hungry and needing some cash, but no one wanted to hire two no-account street kids.
“So, like I said, we thought we’d rob this little hole-in-the-wall convenience store using a gun we’d found in a dumpster. Damn thing didn’t even work, as far as I know. We never shot it. Didn’t even have ammo for it.”
He paused for a moment, and Kelsey just watched him, giving him the time and space he needed.
It was half a minute later before he continued.
“Well, we planned it out, brought in this other kid we ran around with some, but when it came time to follow through, Dante wouldn’t let me go in.
I know he was just trying to protect his kid brother, but I took it hard.
Got pissed at him and said some shit. That was the last time I ever talked to him.
The clerk took one look at the old gun Dante held, pulled one of his own, and put a shot right in my brother’s chest. I’d run so far I never heard the shot.
When Dante didn’t come back later, I made my way to the store, but by then the cops were all over the place and I saw the stretcher being loaded into the back of the ambulance.
A sheet was over him, so I knew whoever it was wasn’t going to be okay at the hospital.
Later, on the news, I saw my brother’s picture. ”
Kelsey’s mind grappled with all the things she could say, but in the end, all she could get out was, “Marco.”
She hugged him tightly.
It felt wonderful as he hugged her back.
“It’s okay, honey,” he said.
Through tears, she laughed, “I don’t know why I’m the one crying! It was your brother.”
After kissing her forehead, he said, “Because you love me. And I love you. Don’t ever forget that, babygirl.”
Once they’d separated, he said, “I started hanging around places where certain guys frequented. Looking for work, you know? That’s where Enzo found me. He took me in and became the father I’d never had. Gave me stability. I was basically his adopted son. But with that came… the family business.”
It all made sense to Kelsey now. “It’s the only family you’ve ever known.”
“More or less. Besides my brother, yeah.” The smile that appeared was genuine.
“But now I have you. And if you still want me, I don’t know how, or even when, but I’m going to beat this thing.
We’re going to be together. But, until that fight starts, we’re going to have some fun. How does that sound?”
Remembering the plan, Kelsey felt a little better. “We’re going to have a blast!”
But in the back of her mind, she couldn’t forget what was in Marco’s past—and what awaited both of them in the near future.
All she could do was try her best to enjoy what she had—that moment.