Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
NICO
“What time are your parents supposed to be back?”
Houdini glances over from the passenger seat to look at me before adding, “I should be able to get into the safe in five, ten minutes, depending on the brand and model. But if there’s more than one…”
“I think there’s just the one,” I reply. “And the event they’re attending doesn’t end until ten. So you should have plenty of time.”
From the backseat, Jester asks, “What about if they come home early?” He pauses. “Not that I’m worried about being caught. But we want enough time to conduct a complete search of his office.”
“They won’t leave early,” I tell him. Signaling to turn onto my parents’ street, I wait until I’ve turned before adding bitterly, “My father’s receiving an award. And they always do the awards last. So they won’t leave until the end.”
My jaw clenches at the irony of it. My fucking criminal of a father, getting a damn award for his contributions to home security. Part of me—a big part—wants to march into the banquet hall and announce the truth of who he is.
He’s not someone to look up to. Not someone to emulate. Not someone to celebrate.
He’s a monster. That’s what he is. A lying, thieving, murderous monster who tried to have Sofia killed.
Fuck.
It’s still hard to believe. My father, the man I once thought could pretty much walk on water, tried to have the woman I love killed.
I thought it was bad enough, what he’d already done. But this?
How could he?
He hired a damn hitman to take Sofia out. If not for noticing the glint of the sniper rifle, she would have been shot right in front of me. Given where the bullet hit the car, she would have been shot straight through the heart if I hadn’t pulled her down just in time.
My nightmares have been filled by images of Sofia lying on the street, me desperately shouting for help while trying to stem the bleeding.
I keep waking up in a cold sweat, terrified that I didn’t save her, and she’s actually gone.
That I’ll turn over to see an empty space on the bed instead of her.
And he did that.
I know it’s not about me, not really, but I can’t help asking myself, Did he ever care about me at all? Or was I just a commodity?
He wanted my computer skills for his company; that was no secret. He said it when I went into the Army, and again when I left. “Come work with me,” he would say. “We can take Parisi Protective Services to the next level. With my experience and your skills, we’ll be unstoppable.”
But I just thought he wanted to expand his business. I thought—foolishly—that he just wanted his son to work with him.
How wrong I was. About everything.
Because the hunch Sofia had about his company? I’m ninety-nine percent sure she was right.
It makes sense. She investigates four home invasion slash thefts, with my father’s company as the link between them.
And not even a day later, she’s brutally attacked after coming to visit me.
To ask me face to face if I had any involvement, because even after what I’d done to her, she didn’t want to believe it.
Shit.
She believed in me.
She didn’t think I could be responsible for such a terrible thing.
God. The guilt.
It’s suffocating.
Forcing my attention back to the road, I drive past the driveway to my parents’ house, then cut the headlights and pull to a stop along the trees just beyond it.
In their neighborhood, the houses are set back from the road and spaced a good distance apart, with swathes of mature trees surrounding them for added privacy.
Parked here, we should avoid notice in this exclusive community. And if my car is noticed by a neighbor, it’ll fit right in with other Mercedes and BMWs and Range Rovers. They won’t think I’m here to break into my parents’ house.
That’s why we’re here—to get into my father’s office and find the rest of the evidence we need to have him sent to prison.
Before, when I found out about what he did to Sofia in high school, I wasn’t sure I could turn in my father.
But now? Knowing the truth of everything he’s done? There’s no question of it.
I could have gone to the police with the confession I got from the sniper.
But I don’t think it would have been enough to ensure a conviction.
Not with my father’s connections. Not when all I have going into this is a recorded confession, the number of a burner phone I’m sure my father disposed of already, and a whole lot of circumstantial evidence that might not hold up in court.
Over the last two days, since Sofia got her memory back, I’ve found plenty of evidence that points to my father being guilty of dozens of crimes.
Home invasions, kidnappings, burglaries—all at properties allegedly protected by Parisi Protective Services.
And when I hacked into his financials, I found a staggering number of offshore accounts, perfect for funneling illegal money into.
Even if I didn’t believe Sofia, it would be enough to convince me. But I believe Sofia. And the timing of her attack, just after those calls she made…
I wish there was another explanation. But I don’t think there is.
So the only option I have is to find more evidence myself.
And someone like my father wouldn’t save his important documents online.
He’d keep them on his home computer or in his safe.
The safe I know he has in his office, though he’s never given me the combination to it.
But with Houdini here to break the safe, Jester as lookout, and me to check my father’s computer—we’ll find what we need. And once I do, I’m turning him in.
Shutting off the ignition, I pocket the key fob and turn to my friends. My brothers. Two men who, once I told them what I needed, didn’t hesitate to offer their help.
“Okay,” I tell them. “First, I’ll hack into the security cameras and set them on a loop.
Then I’ll deactivate the motion detectors and bypass the lock on the back door.
We’ll loop around the eastern side of the property, along the treeline.
With the motion detectors off, the lights shouldn’t come on as we approach. ”
Houdini gives me a quick nod. “Okay. Anything else in the house we should be aware of?”
“There shouldn’t be. The office is in the west wing, so we’ll come through the kitchen, then the dining room, and there’ll be a hallway on the right. The office is the third door on the left. He usually locks it, but it’s a simple doorknob lock.”
“Piece of cake,” Houdini replies.
“You still want me hidden in the trees to the west?” Jester asks. Sitting in the darkened car like we are, with the closest streetlamp several houses away, his face is cast in shadow.
“Yeah,” I answer. “My parents will approach from the east. Obviously, I don’t care about being here when they arrive, but I want you two gone by then.”
I don’t care if my father knows what I’ve done.
In fact, I want him to know. That’s why I’m planning to wait for him in his office, so I can confront him face to face.
I want him to know that his only son finally sees him for the monster that he is.
And that his son is the one who’s sending him to prison.
Pain slashes through my jaw as my teeth grit together. My hands tighten on the steering wheel.
This rage. It’s like nothing I’ve felt before.
How could he? the wounded boy inside me asks for the hundredth—thousandth?—time. How could he do this? How could he hurt Sofia like this? How could he hurt me?
But he did. And if Sofia’s theory is correct, my father has hurt a lot more people than just us.
But I’m his son, the voice stubbornly insists. He knew how I felt about Sofia. Why wouldn’t he just want me to be happy?
I’m going to lose Sofia after this. I know I will.
There’s no way she’ll stay with me, knowing what my father did to her.
She’s still at my condo now, for her own safety, and she hasn’t talked about leaving, but I know it’s just a matter of time.
Once it’s safe for her to leave, she’ll be gone. I’ll never see her again.
The weight on my chest grows even heavier, pressing down until it’s hard to breathe.
Concentrate on the op. Emotions have no place here.
Straightening, I lift my chin at Houdini and Jester. “Are you ready?”
They nod silently.
Then, on a downward gesture of my hand, we exit the car in unison.
The doors snick quietly shut.
Dressed all in black, we’re no more than shadows darting into the cover of trees.
Trained to move silently, the three of us keep in formation, me in front, then Houdini, and at his six, Jester.
Unlike our other ops, we don’t have weapons this time.
Just our phones set to silent and Houdini’s set of lockpicks.
When we get to the rear of the house, Houdini and I stop, while Jester continues on to the west. I look at Houdini and murmur, “I’m going to hack into the security now. Should take me about a minute. Maybe less. Then we’ll be good to go in.”
Houdini nods. “Roger.”
Forty-seven seconds later, we’re ready to move.
On silent feet, we approach the house. Though this is probably the least dangerous op I’ve ever been on, adrenaline surges. But I channel my training, the years spent in Delta when a loss of focus could mean the difference between life and death.
As we enter the house, I have a flashback of sneaking into my old apartment on the Upper East Side, back when I was in high school. Back before my parents moved to the suburbs. Before things with Sofia were ruined. Before I realized the man I idolized was nothing close to what I thought he was.
I wasn’t doing anything bad when I snuck in, for the record. I’d been at Sofia’s, watching a movie, and we fell asleep on the couch, not waking up until well past midnight. Her mom had been home, so all we did was hold hands and exchange brief kisses.
I was worried I’d get in trouble for coming home late. But as it turned out, my parents didn’t even notice.