Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
An hour later, Marco had laid everything bare for Kelsey and the two Daddy Guard members. He’d also listened to Kelsey’s harrowing story as she told of last night’s events.
He almost lost it several times just listening.
John and Breaker mostly listened but asked a few clarifying questions along the way. And, too Breaker’s credit, he no longer seemed as if he wanted to rip Marco to shreds.
That was a start, at least.
“You’ve really been trying to go straight?” Kelsey asked hopefully, after they’d both shared their stories.
“Absolutely. Not just me. But I’ve been trying to move the whole organization that way.”
John sighed. The leather couch squeaked a little as he shifted. “And that’s why Niko wants you out of the picture. Because he wants to sell drugs?”
“Yeah. And overall jealousy. He’s always ridden his old man’s coattails. Never wanted to work for anything. Expected life to be handed to him. That’s what this drug shit is about. It’s a lot easier to pump meth out on the streets than it is to actually build a company.”
John looked as if he was contemplating it all, bobbing his head a little with a faraway look in his eyes. “So if you go to prison, that frees him up to take the family in the direction he wants, and poor Little Kelsey here was just seen as an unfortunate loose end to him.”
It sounded strange to hear it all laid out like that, but that was the gist of it as far as Marco knew. “Yeah. That’s my theory at least.”
“So where do we go from here?” Kelsey asked. “Daddy, the cops will keep searching for you. We can’t just run forever.”
Hearing his babygirl so upset broke his heart, but she was right. Standing up, he bent down, planted a kiss on her forehead, and then looked down into her eyes. “We aren’t going to keep running. This is my mess. I’m the one who dragged you into all this. I have to give myself up.”
“But Daddy! If you turn yourself in?—”
He did his best to reassure her with his smile. “Honey, the only reason I broke out was to make sure you were safe. Now that I know you’re with the Daddy Guard, I can’t stay out. You said it yourself—they’ll be searching for me. And always looking over our shoulders is no way to live.”
It broke his heart to see how crushed she looked. Maybe he could give her hope. “The Family has the best lawyers. We’ll fight all this in court. Right now, I’m only on the hook for the meth.”
“And the escape,” Breaker pointed out.
Looking at Breaker with an expression that clearly conveyed, Screw you, pal, he said, “Thanks for the reminder,” through clenched teeth.
Breaker just smiled and offered a little wave.
“As I was saying,” Marco continued to Kelsey in a softer tone, “the whole Family business isn’t being tried.
It’s not like the feds are bringing a RICO case against me.
Not yet anyway. If they ever do, we’ll worry about that when it happens.
Right now, I have to fight this thing the legal way. So you and I can have some peace.”
He continued to watch Kelsey, gauging her reaction. A moment later, he saw the realization of his words set in. A slight bow of her head conceded his point, but she started crying even harder.
“Honey, it’s…” But Marco didn’t know what else to say, so he just sat down beside his love and held her tight while she cried.
John and Breaker remained silent.
Once her tears faded, Kelsey looked at the two Daddy Guard members. “I have a favor to ask. But first, I want to say that I realize you don’t owe me anything. You two have done so much for me. I might not even be alive if it wasn’t for you.”
They looked uncomfortable with that, but neither one disagreed.
“But would you please give him forty-eight hours? Or just… give us tomorrow. Whatever that equals.” Her next words were directed at Marco. “Will you give me tomorrow? Just one day to live my dream of being in a place like this, having a Daddy, and where everything is… perfect.”
More tears welled in her eyes and Marco used his thumb to gently wipe them away as he caressed her angelic face.
John spoke first. “I can agree to that. Of course.”
Breaker didn’t say anything, and when Marco looked over at him, his expression revealed his dislike for the plan.
“We’d be harboring a fugitive. That puts us in a bad situation.”
John shrugged. “It’s not like the cops are going to come looking here. And how could they prove we’re knowingly harboring him?”
Breaker looked as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “John, the Daddy Guard in L.A.—who we spun off from—are all former cops. How do you think they’d feel if they knew about this?”
John’s smirk was good-natured, but it was obvious he wasn’t backing down. “They’re not here and we are our own organization. I was a firefighter. You were in the CIA. And you’re telling me you never bent the law in the CIA? Because you know, those folks over at Langley always play by the rules…”
Breaker opened his mouth, and for a second Marco thought he was going to argue, but he simply shrugged and grumbled something.
“We’ll give it to you,” John said. “And we hope it’s magical, honey.”
Kelsey thanked him, and it was obvious she was pleased, but Marco wasn’t so sure this plan was a good idea. Wouldn’t the extra time just make things more difficult?
Sometimes it was easier to rip the band-aid off quickly.
Seeing the hopeful and excited look in her eyes, though, made Marco realize he couldn’t take this away from her. Whatever happened would happen.
He just hoped it didn’t all end with him going to prison for life, and his babygirl being left to survive on her own.