“Do they know?” she asks. “About your father, I mean?”
“Yes. That’s not something I thought I could keep secret, so I’ve been honest with a few select people about it. And they know what I’m working toward, that I want to help him win an appeal. I’ve been able to get some incredible insight by observing some of the partners and being involved there.”
Olivia nods, but doesn’t say anything for what seems like forever. But when she does, it is very much worth the wait.
She’s looking down at her fingers, whether because she doesn’t want me to see that she cares or because she’s still not sure she does. But I feel such profound relief, I don’t need to see her eyes. Her words say it all.
“Is it dangerous?”
I smile. “No, I don’t think so. My father has kept quiet all this time. I hope he’s fallen off their radar.”
“Kept quiet?”
I pause. And then there’s this part. “Uh, yeah. He was, um, pretty desperate to get away and he chose an…inadvisable way to try and regain his freedom.”
“And what inadvisable way was that?”
I exhale loudly. “Blackmail.”
Her mouth drops open in disbelief. “Your dad tried to blackmail the mob? Has he never seen The Godfather?”
I can’t help but laugh. “I don’t think that’s quite like the reality of things, but yeah, it was pretty stupid. What he did.” I feel that old familiar spike of pain radiate through my chest. “He paid dearly for his mistake. We all did.”
“What was the blackmail? Or should I not ask things like that?”
She’s curious, yes, but I can see by her face she’s cautiously curious.
“He took a couple of books. Accounting books. Ledgers.”
Olivia gasps and covers her mouth with both her hands. “Holy shit,” I hear her say behind them. Her emerald eyes are wide with disbelief. “Ohmigod, it’s just like the movies! Did he turn them over to anyone?”
I shake my head sharply. “No! That was part of their threat. If he were to give them to the police, we’d all be dead.”
“So, what are you trying to do to help him then?”
“Well, I’ve finally gotten Marissa’s dad to take over the case, so I can have a look at all the files. Unfortunately, the evidence is pretty damning.”
She scoots up to the edge of her seat cushion. “Well, do you have another plan? Isn’t there something else you can do, some other avenue you can take?”
I clear my throat. “Actually, I think there might be. But it’s dangerous. Probably very dangerous.”
She narrows her eyes. “What is it?”
I stop and think before I continue. This is the only part that could ever really pose a threat to her, although just knowing about it shouldn’t be dangerous. But still…
“I have the books he took.”
Her brows shoot up and her eyes get round. “Are you kidding me? You have the books that were so important, so dangerous that someone blew up your father’s boat to keep him quiet?”
Even though we are alone, I’m still paranoid. I fight the urge to look over my shoulder. “Yes,” I say quietly. “I made him give them to me before he got arrested. I promised him I’d keep them hidden. And safe. Even though they’re what got him in trouble in the first place, they’re also what’s keeping him alive. As long as they know they’re out there, we’re safe.”
“And you think you can use them to…what?”
“I wasn’t really going to tell you what you were looking at, but I was going to have you look over the books. I’ve studied them for countless hours over the last few months and I think there is some evidence there that could put some of the higher-ups away for life. If what I suspect is true, these books would prove tax evasion. That coupled with several other crimes my father knows them to be guilty of, not the least of which is the murder of my brother and mother, could go toward proving racketeering and they could be prosecuted under the RICO act.”
She’s perfectly quiet for so long I wonder if she even understood what I said.
But when she finally says something, I know which part struck her the hardest.
It’s the part that makes me look like the bastard most people have always thought me to be.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE - Olivia
It’s the most bizarre and surreal thing to be looking at the guy I’ve known as Cash and suddenly see Nash appear. The mussed hair is still all Cash. The casual clothes are still all Cash. Some of the mannerisms are still all Cash. But the speech, the sudden switch into intelligent, successful, soon-to-be attorney mode, is all Nash. And it’s staggering.
But not nearly as staggering as his inadvertent admission.
I speak quietly, trying to remain calm. “So what you’re saying is that you were going to involve me in something that could potentially get me killed without even telling me? Without giving me so much as a head’s up?” I stand to my feet. I can’t help it. Anger is pulsing through me like spray from a fire-hose, and I can’t remain sitting. If I do, I might explode. “Without giving me a choice?”
At least Cash has the decency to look embarrassed. Ashamed. Contrite. “I’m sure that’s what it looks like, but I promise you, I would never put you in danger. I just wanted you to do the numbers, look at the tax code. Give me your opinion. I was going to tell you they were for another business I was considering buying. I knew I could trust you not to say anything if I was right and there were serious violations. If I’d taken it to a CPA, they might’ve felt compelled to try to get the name of the business and turn them in. Something crazy like that.”
Even though that makes it sound a lot less horrific, I’m still having trouble thinking past my anger. Deep down, though, I know it has more to do with being lied to than anything else. Strangely, the rest all sounds like stuff I could deal with, albeit with some liquor, a sedative and some time to think, but still, I could manage.
But this, this lying… I’ve always hated liars and being lied to more than anything else. To me, it’s always been the only truly unforgivable sin.
Can Cash be the first exception? Or has this forever wounded whatever is between us?
“Olivia, please understand that I would never, never—”
I put up my hand to stop him. “Stop. Please don’t say anything else. I think I’ve heard enough for one day. Maybe for the rest of my life. I won’t know until I’ve had some time to think.”