86

Allison
I keep jostling my knee on the car ride to the cafe.
Gregory notices, but doesn’t say anything. If he cares that I’m nervous and afraid, he makes no outward sign of it. Not that I expected anything-the man’s about as emotionally in-tune as a ripe potato.
Still, this is my husband, at least for a while. I don’t know how long this thing with Paul’s going to last-it would be a few days, or it could be a few years. Either way, I’m stuck with Gregory, and it’d be nice if he could at least acknowledge my discomfort.
It’s probably better this way. He’d make some comment, some cocky innuendo, and it would only make things worse.
I rub my forehead, trying to get it under control. I shouldn’t start getting annoyed with Gregory for something he hasn’t even done yet-I’m just on edge.
I don’t know what’s going to happen. Last I heard, my father wants me to return to Paul-and if I don’t, he’s going to kill me with his own bare hands.
Maybe he said that in the heat of the moment, maybe he’s under some serious stress too, but threatening to murder his own daughter is too far, even for him.
Worst of all, I don’t know what I want from him.
I don’t know if I want him to beg me for forgiveness, or at least an apology, or maybe just an admission that he never should have married Freya to Paul in the first place, and never shouldn’t tried to do the same thing to me.
Only I doubt he regrets it. Papa’s many things, but he isn’t sentimental. I may be his favorite daughter, but I’m also his only daughter now, and I betrayed him. To my father, that’s worse than anything else.
“Let me take the lead,” Gregory says as we’re dropped off in front of a modern-looking cafe called Beyond Downtown. The interior looks like a dozen other similar places all over the city: lots of wood, metal, and copper.
“Why am I even here again?” I look back at the car, tempted to get inside, but I’m being a coward. I wish I could tap into my anger, but instead I feel like a child all over again.
“To make your father uncomfortable enough to make a mistake.”
My eyes widen as he lingers on the threshold. “You’re joking, right? You brought me as a prop?”
“A very beautiful prop.” His eyes scan the room until he spots Papa sitting in the back corner at a table all alone.
My jaw tightens. Fucking Gregory. I’m tempted to turn and walk out of here, but who knows what’s waiting for us outside. If Papa told Paul about this meeting, there could be half-a-dozen Debarcio soldiers waiting to ambush us.
Except as I walk over, I can see the fear in Papa’s eye, and I doubt he brought backup.
“Allison,” he says with some minor relief in his tone. I didn’t expect that. “You disappeared, and I was afraid-”
“Ignore her,” Gregory says, leaning forward to block my father’s view. Papa jerks back with surprise and some trepidation. “Pretend as though your daughter isn’t here. You’re dealing with me now.”
“But, Allison, she’s safe?”
“She’s a Callahan wife now. She’s the safest woman in the world.”
Papa relaxes somewhat. Which surprises me-why would he care if I was safe? Didn’t he just get done threatening to kill me?
“When you two got on a plane and flew away, I was worried-” He stops and clears his throat.
“Worried what?” Gregory prompts.
“Worried you might not come back.” Papa gives me a meaningful look.
“If you’re implying that I’d hurt my wife, you should rethink that position. That was your other daughter’s husband.”
I don’t like the way he’s talking about Freya so casually, but he’s not wrong.
“You keep saying wife.” Papa stares at Gregory. “Did you really get married?”
“We did.”
“You’re not wearing rings.”
“Rings are symbols. They’re outward signs, nothing more. Paperwork means something.” Gregory sits back in his chair. “Where do things stand with Paul and the Debarcio family?”
“They stand nowhere.” Papa looks away toward the window. The city crawls past outside, a thousand little lives, each a hero of their own story. “Paul hasn’t spoken to me since the pair of you left the city. I’m afraid my life’s in danger now.”
“It’s very hard for me to feel sorry for you,” I say suddenly, which earns a glare from Gregory.
“Allison, please,” Papa says. “You have to know what this is going to mean for me. Marrying a Callahan like this, running away from Paul-”
“He’s going to kill you,” Gregory says simply.
Papa nods. He looks pale and drawn, like he’s sick with something. I wish it was regret, but I know it’s fear for his own life. “He hasn’t said as much but I know how that man operates. It’s a matter of time.”
“Then I’m your only option.”
That surprises me. I expected Gregory to bully my father into helping us or at least to threaten him into submission.
Instead, this is a much subtler tactic.
“What do you mean?” Papa glances at me again. “How are you an option?”
“You’re dead if I don’t win the war that’s coming. You’re likely dead before it ends, but if you come to my side, I have no reason to end your life. Actually, I have plenty of incentive to save it.”
Papa’s frown deepens. “Explain, please.”
“I married your daughter.” Gregory gestures at me. “That’s my first incentive. My next is your string of dispensaries. You and Paul were going into business together, but you can easily make that same deal with me.”
“Paul has productive farms.” Papa looks confused. “You don’t have anything like that.”
Gregory waves the concern away. “I have money, resources, and willpower. Everything else will come in time.”
“Even if I wanted to make that deal with you, Paul would never allow it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. What Paul wants is no longer important. I have more muscle and more experience waging wars like this than that upstart ever will. He will lose.”
Papa looks thoughtful. I want to scream at Gregory, tell him to stop this insanity, that my father is the enemy, but I understand what he’s doing. If he can turn Papa to his cause, that’ll be a powerful ally both in business and in violence. Papa knows this town better than anyone, and he knows Paul’s organization. Papa can help Gregory win faster and more securely.
But my old man seems to shrivel. I never thought of him as a coward, but now that he has a choice to make it’s like he can’t sit up straight. The pressure of what he should choose weighs on him, forcing him down. Where I made up my mind and committed to my course of action despite the long odds, it’s like Papa doesn’t have the spine to go against Paul.
I almost feel sorry for him, but I can’t let myself go soft. I have to keep thinking of Freya and how Papa wanted to do the same thing to me that he did to her.