“I hate that I wasn’t there to see you back in. I was hoping I’d be able to.”
“Well, that’s why we’re here now, right? Besides, I needed the past couple of days to settle down and fully update Mom on how things were back there. You know how she is.”
I picked up my water. “Yes. I do.”
“But there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. And before I start, I’m not being followed.”
I almost choked on my water. “I’m sorry. What?”
She sighed. “Bonnie, do you really think I’m that stupid?”
I blinked. “Uh, about what?”
She shook her head. “I play dumb, but I’m not. I enjoy smiling, but I know what’s going on. And I’m begging you, Bonnie, back down from this war. You’re never going to win against Daddy.”
Well, there was my answer, I guess. “So, then, I suppose you’ve also heard that rumors are floating around regarding Pava and my parent’s death.”
She furrowed her brow. “What?”
I licked my lips. “We have reason to believe that Pava killed my parents because he wanted my father’s empire. Is it true?”
“Are you kidding me right now, Bonnie?”
“No, Brianna. I’m really not. And it’s easy for you to sit there and tell me to back down because your parents are still alive. Your family is doing just fine. But my world has been rocked in more ways than one. I won’t side with a man who tries to kill me while keeping it under wraps that he killed my family.”
She leaned forward. “You take that back right now. My father did no such thing.”
I met her over the small table. “Well, tell that to the guards he sent to kill us in the middle of the night. It’s a damn good thing both Israel and I are good with guns.”
Something flashed behind her eyes as she sat up.
My stomach curdled. She knew. She knew the truth, and I knew the truth. I wanted to vomit in my own lap.
“A chicken Caesar salad for you, miss, and a turkey sandwich for you, ma’am,” the waiter said.
Brianna clicked her tongue. “Always a bit too heavy on the carbs.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t really look like your salads are doing much work over there anyway.”
She stood quickly. “You take everything you’ve said back.”
I waved the waiter off before I sipped my drink again. “That’s the thing about you and Pava. You’re both hot-heads. You both go from zero to one hundred much too quickly, and you don’t cover your tracks well in the process. Be careful what you say next, Brianna. Because if you think for one minute, you haven't been tailed and that we aren’t being listened to, you’re very, very wrong.”
I pointed to the blue car sitting on the corner and watched as she glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes flared with anger, but confusion sat behind them as well. Brianna had never been praised for her intelligence. She had always been treasured for her looks. For the way she presented herself. For the way she carried herself during Pava’s parties and the fashion sense she apparently had. But, when she turned around to face me once more, there was a hesitation in her forehead that wrinkled her brow. Not much, but just enough for me to tell she had officially gotten the blinds yanked off the top of her head. Then, I watched as she grabbed her napkin and dabbed at her lip and tossed it on top of her salad.
I stayed strong while she glared at me, even though I knew she thought her glare might scare me. The joke was on her, though, because it would take a lot more than her anger to truly frighten me away from my endeavors. I straightened my back and plainly sipped my water, keeping my peripheral vision on that stupid car that had been sitting there since my cousin arrived.
But, her low voice pulled my attention away from that car, and her words confirmed what I thought.
She knew a great deal more than she was letting on.
“If you do this dance with Daddy, you won’t win,” Brianna said, rising. “And I don’t want to lose my sister.”
I remained seated. “I lost my sister the moment you decided to go along with this plan of Pava’s instead of sticking by my side.”
“I—you—”
“Tell me, how long have you known?”
She stepped away from the table. “I’m done with this meeting.”
“Did you know when you went to Hawaii?”
“Goodbye, Bonnie.”
“Did you know after Pava siphoned that money from my account and placed it into yours?”
“Have a nice life, Mrs. Rossi,” Briana said as she headed for the door.
I stood. “Or did you know the night those police officers came to my doorstep when I was nothing but a child and told me my parents were dead?”
She froze in her tracks. She walked back to the table and said quietly, “I was a child, too. Make sure you remember that.”
I moved toward her. “Your father might’ve been grooming you for something like this, but listen to me carefully. You’re an adult now, Brianna. You can make your own decisions. If you walk away from me right now, you’ve made your choice. This means you’ll deal with the consequences, however they’re doled out.”
She shook her head. “Pava was right about you.”
“Right about what?”
She met my gaze squarely. “You’re spineless. Just like your father.”
I felt my world spiraling around me as Brianna walked off. The sounds of the patio restaurant faded into the background as I turned to face the blue car on the corner. I watched it pull away from the curb and drive off, but the windows were so tinted I couldn't see who was inside.
I knew who they belonged to, though.
And I knew I was no longer safe out in the open.
“Ma’am?” the waiter asked.
I put on my best face. “Yes, hello. I’m sorry. My apologies for the disruption.”
He nodded. “Will you be taking anything to-go?”
I looked back at my sandwich. “Sure.
