56. Emmett
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
EMMETT
S undays are usually my favorite day of the week.
It may be the busiest, but it’s also the one that reminds me why I do what I do. Seeing people have something to hold on to, their faith growing in real time, is everything to me.
The second service finished a little over an hour ago, and most people have moved on already, but there are a few still milling around.
Being a non-denominational community church means people of many faiths come here to worship throughout the week, and it’s rare to find the place empty, which is why I find it so suspicious when I’m packing up to leave for the day.
I step back into the main space and notice the people that were here just a few minutes ago are missing, apart from a single man sitting on the front pew.
I consider my options. There’s another pastor here today who could have a chat with him and make sure he’s okay, but I don’t feel right about leaving without at least checking on the man.
I pocket my phone and wallet and move up the middle aisle. Once I reach the front of the church, I turn, and my stomach bottoms out at the sight of the man in front of me.
A man I haven’t seen in almost a decade.
My father.
“I’m glad I caught you,” he says without looking away from the cross in front of him. I’m honestly surprised the place didn’t fall down when he walked through the doors.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice flat and emotionless as it always is when I speak to him. I learned from a young age to never allow my dad to know I care about something, because he’s always been more than happy to tear anything I loved away from me.
“Can’t a father visit his son?”
“No,” I say flatly. There’s no point in mincing words when you’re dealing with a man like Harry Levine.
“That’s not very welcoming of you, son. Isn’t that the point of this sham of a job you’ve found yourself in?”
I sigh and brush a hand over my face. I should have just left. It would have been easier if I had just walked out the doors and been none the wiser that he was here at all. “It’s not a sham, Dad. Just because it’s not the family business doesn’t mean it’s not valid.”
“Hmm.” The noncommittal sound comes as he finally turns to me. The lines beneath his eyes are deeper than they were the last time I saw him, but his dark eyes, so alike mine and Kade’s, are still soulless and empty, and his dark hair is streaked with gray. “And how does your God feel about the fact you’re a murderer?”
Was there a part of me that had hoped I would make it the rest of my life without seeing this man again? Yes, absolutely. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t prepare myself for the possibility and shield myself from the barbs he was bound to throw my way.
“I really need to get going, so if you don’t have any real questions about your own faith, I’ll leave you to it.” I turn to head toward the back of the church, but his words stop me in my place.
“On your way to see Waverly?”
My stomach lurches, the sound of her name on his lips has bile climbing up the back of my throat, and despite all my training, my features show my every emotion.
It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to wear a mask as bulletproof as the one I need when I’m around my father, and it’s safe to say I’m out of practice.
He chuckles. “You didn’t think I knew you had something to do with her disappearance that night? Of course I did. You were always a fucking bleeding heart. Always more of a lover than a fighter. It was your mother’s spirit, and it made you soft. I thought I could train it out of you. Thought I could make you more like Kade, but you proved me wrong over and over again.”
I swallow heavily. “That’s because I’m not Kade, Dad. I’m my own man, and you shouldn’t have had your teenage sons killing people for you,” I snap.
Just the words make me feel sick to my stomach. I’ve done a lot of questionable things in my life, but everything I did for him is at the top of the list. I’m just glad handing Waverly over wasn’t one of them.
“Your brother took to it like a fish in water.” He shrugs.
“Because you didn’t give us a choice, did you?” I growl. I need to find a way to alert Kade that he’s here, to get Waverly the fuck out of the city before he can find her, but pulling my phone from my pocket is the worst thing I could do right now.
“You’re not even going to deny that you’ve known where she is all these years? That you’ve helped her stay off our radar?”
I tip up a shoulder. “You obviously already know I have, so what would be the point in lying to you?”
“You always were the fucking disappointment. When you left the family business, the least you could have done is do something meaningful with your life instead of this.” He motions around us, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“Giving people hope and faith is meaningful, Father. Mom would be proud of what I became.”
“There’s a reason she died, son. She was weak.”
“She had cancer!” I shout. “Ask any fucking doctor, it doesn’t matter how mentally or physically strong you are, cancer doesn’t discriminate!”
If I could kill this asshole right here and now, I would, but desecrating a place of worship like that doesn’t sit well with me, even if there’s no one more deserving of death than him.
“Stay away from her, Dad. Go home and forget you even have two sons, because I’ve forgotten I have a father.”
I turn on my heel and stalk toward the exit. I need to get back to Waverly to make sure she’s safe, and I need to speak to Kade about how we’re going to deal with our father, because I have a feeling this isn’t the last time we’re going to see him, and if that’s the case, we need a plan of how we’re going to eliminate him.
He’s a threat to our woman, and that means he needs to go.