2 #2
I latch onto her arm, pulling her after me. “Language, sweetie. Now let’s go.”
The three men are now plastered against the wall, regarding me with sheer panic. But I don’t spare them another look, instead dragging Piper toward the elevator. I hear Quill right behind us, and I have to bite down on the urge to shoot him too. But I know Piper would never forgive me if I did.
I press the button for the executive penthouse floor and only release the breath I’ve been holding when we reach my office and I’ve locked the door behind me.
“You brainless fuck!” I turn to Quill, even though the person I really want to be yelling at is my daughter. But I’m not going to raise my voice at her. I’m just not.
He merely shrugs again and sits, uninvited, on the couch in a corner of the room, looking entirely unaffected. Meanwhile, Piper crosses her arms, trying to take on a brave expression that I know she’s far from feeling.
In fact, her chin is trembling, and seeing that makes my anger deflate all at once. I just can’t deal with the thought that my own daughter could be scared of me.
“It’s okay, baby.” I fold her in my arms, smirking as I take in Quill’s furious glare.
He’s so possessive that even our father-daughter bond makes him jealous.
Well, good. He deserves to stew. “Everything’s fine.
We’ll figure it out together, okay? Just as soon as I’ve beaten the shit out of your boyfriend. ”
“My husband,” she says in a strangled voice. “He’s my husband, and I don’t want you to hurt him.”
“Your dad’s not beating the shit out of anyone,” scoffs Quill. “If he tried anything like that, he’d be dead before he hit the floor.”
I face him, hoping he can see the contempt written all over my face. “Right. You think you can take on a Devil founder. That’s cute.”
“Stop! Please, stop!” Piper actually stomps her foot, and the tension fades as we both look at her. She’s the most harmless creature on this Earth, and her show of anger is adorable.
Goddammit, I love her. She’s all I have left of Lia, and there’s no fucking way I’ll ever let anything happen to her.
“Piper’s mother called,” says Quill, apparently deciding, like I have, to stop fighting and get on with the situation. “Piper was determined to come back, and I wasn’t going to let her leave without me.”
“You shouldn’t have let her leave, period.” But I don’t speak angrily anymore. I lean against my desk, accepting that shit has hit the fan, and that we have to deal with it now. “In my time, women listened to their boyfriends. Or husbands. When the hell did the marriage thing happen, by the way?”
Piper looks at me furiously. “That’s so misogynistic! Stop being… old. We’re in the 21st century, Logan.”
I smirk. “How old exactly do you think I am?”
“Ancient, if you think I should willingly submit to my husband!”
“I didn’t say willingly.” I chuckle as she glares at me. “Well, your mother was always a brat. I guess it’s in your genes.”
I was trying to joke, but my own words hurt me, and they cause a heavy silence to settle in the room. Which Piper at last breaks shyly.
“Logan… she’s my mom. I just know she is.”
I give her another hug, and this time, Quill doesn’t look like he wants to murder me. Too bad.
“I know this is hard for you,” I tell her. “You lost the woman who raised you. Then you learned you were adopted, but that your birth mother had died too. You never had time to grieve either of them before you were thrown in the midst of a gang war.”
I sigh, wishing I could tell her just how hard it is for me too. But I guess that’s how it is when you’re a parent, isn’t it? Suddenly, your kid is the center of your world. Their emotions matter—yours don’t. And that’s just how it should be.
“Logan…” She sighs, putting a timid hand on my arm. “I really believe it’s her. Please, give this a chance.”
I shake my head. “We can’t. You’re in too much danger already.
As long as you’re alive, and we haven’t killed each and every one of those mobsters, we need to be on our guard.
You should never have left Oregon. Whatever trap this is, I’m going to get to the bottom of it.
You’re taking a plane back today, and I’ll figure it out. ”
She crosses her arms once more, regarding me with defiance. “No.”
“No? So help me, Piper, if I have to put you over my knee…”
“Absolutely not,” cuts in Quill sharply. “That’s my job.”
“Quill!” she squeaks.
I turn away for a moment, because I just know I’ll laugh if my eyes meet theirs. “So much for the feminism, huh, Piper?”
“I am a feminist. And Quill, you’re an asshole. You know that’s not what we… well… uh…”
When I turn around again, she’s blushing bright red, the splotchiness on her freckled face making her look like an exact copy of Lia.
Thank god there isn’t a speck of Carmelo in her or I don’t know what I’d do. The genes must run strong on the Cabello side of the family. Or the O’Connors.
Lia’s mother’s maiden name.
“Ireland,” says Piper.
“Huh?”
“Ireland. My mom… uhm… the person on the phone… says she’s in Ireland. Northern Ireland, by the sea.”
I blink at her in confusion. “But that’s where…” I pass a hand over my eyes. “That’s where Lia’s mother used to live.”
Piper’s eyes widen in excitement. “See? It must be her!”
“No, no.” Impossible. “Of course, the mafiosos know a little about her background. And god knows they’ve had time to learn all there is to know about her. Lia’s past isn’t exactly a secret, and if anyone in the family is going to lay a trap, they’ll take the time to make sure it’s a good one.”
“And her mother… my grandmother…”
Piper gazes up at me, and I suddenly realize I’ve never spoken to her about her mother’s side of the family. And she’s so hungry for family. For people she can belong to. I can see it in her eyes.
Her grandfather, Emilio, doesn’t deserve to know her. Not after he forced his daughter to marry her rapist. But what about the O’Connors?
“Lia’s mother abandoned her when she was little.” I hesitate. “Lia never spoke about her. She was raised by her father, Emilio.”
“Emilio?” Piper looks up at me nervously.
I stare at her, trying to decipher her reaction. Maybe she’s a little overwhelmed, learning about these new relatives?
“Emilio was Lia’s father. Your maternal grandfather. He wasn’t a good father to her, but I let him live, because Lia did love him. Last I heard, he was in Italy.”
“Oh. Uhm…” She pauses, while Quill, from his place on the couch, stifles a yawn.
Her boyfriend—or husband—never struck me as the smartest person on Earth. He’s completely, obsessively devoted to Piper, but nothing else matters to him. Just as long as she’s happy, safe and his. I guess that’s as good as I can hope for in a son-in-law.
“Yes, Piper?” I ask, when a few seconds of silence pass. “What is it?”
“Well, according to my mo—the woman on the phone,” she corrects herself hastily, “Emilio is in Ireland. Or was.”
“Was he?” I raise a surprised eyebrow.
“I’m not quite sure,” she begins hesitantly, “whether is or was is the correct tense in this case. Grammatically, that is.”
I snort. I’ll never be able to understand how my dorky little bookworm of a daughter fell into a relationship with the murderous-looking guy currently sitting on the couch.
“Like,” she continues, “if you’re still in Ireland, but you, as in your consciousness…”
“What?”
“I mean, like, if physically you’re there, but spiritually you’re, uhm, elsewhere…”
She cuts herself off as I stare at her in utter confusion.
“Are you religious now, Piper?”
“What? God, no.”
I laugh. “I mean, it’s fine. Lia was very Catholic, you know. She was a practicing, church-going, foul-mouthed girl. I thought it was pretty adorable.”
“Well, I’m not.” Piper’s face flushes. “And that’s not what I meant. I meant…”
“She meant,” cuts in Quill, still looking bored, “that Emilio is dead. Lia told Piper she killed him.”
I stand up abruptly. “What the fuck?”
“My mo—the woman on the phone said she needed help,” says Piper hurriedly.
“She said she didn’t know about me… when she found out, she killed her father.
She said she’s hiding out in the hills, and a gang of masked bikers is hunting her.
She said the worst idea in the world was calling me.
But she said she didn’t know. She needed to see me.
” Piper’s voice wavers before breaking. “I couldn’t understand everything, she was crying so hard. And she also said…”
“What?” I ask, my voice so quiet it scares even me. “What did she say, Piper?”
“She said… she said…” By now, Piper’s crying, and Quill rushes to her, folding her in his arms and looking at me as if he blames me for her tears.