Page 60 of Princess Seeks Dragon
With a sobbing hiccup, she nods.
“I’m just going to set you down, go and get my coat, and be right back,” I promise with a kiss on her temple. I ease down into the third row of trees, and then slip silently away on foot as I hear her cry out,
“Here I am, officer. I’m here! You need to arrest him for murder, too. He killed my father, Ronnie Argento!”
Chapter Nineteen: Angela and Graham
Some of the hardestwords I’ve ever said are barely out of my mouth when the third black SUV starts to shake with the screaming and pounding coming from inside.
“Angie! Angela!!”
“Mom? Mommy! Oh, my God, Mom!” I forget the police, or FBI, or whoever they are. I race toward the car, and my mother falls out of the back seat, into my arms.
And Ronnie leaps out behind her.
My throat shuts down and my heart stills, then rushes up in a single bound, fueling my incredulous, sobbing cry. “What? You’re alive! You’re alive? They said you disappeared, and that’s mafia for dead, right?” I screech.
For a moment, no words make sense. I’m hugging my parents, my real parents, the only dad I’ve ever really had. We are a sobbing, snotty, incomprehensible mess, until someone with a deep voice barks, “HEY!”
We freeze, clutching each other.
The FBI agent in charge loses his severe look. “Miss Argento, come this way. Out of earshot, please.”
As my three would-be kidnappers are piled into the first two cars, the FBI agent leads us farther away. “Mr. Argento has turned state’s evidence, providing years and years of accounts that prove the Genovese and Argento families were heavily involved in organized crime. Multiple members of those families will face long prison sentences. Mr. Ronald Argento and his wife, Joanne Argento, are being placed in the Federal Witness Relocation program in exchange for their cooperation. Mr. Genovese thought your father ran, hoping to avoid confrontations after you left the city. After that, his increasingly erratic behavior seemed to get worse. He got sloppy, and we tailed him to Pine Ridge earlier this evening.”
I nod, relief swirling through me. “You don’t have to go to jail?” I whisper to Ronnie.
“Nope. Finally doing the right thing for my girls. Being the husband and dad I should have been. And look, Angie, they’ve got places in Oklahoma, Montana, and even New Hampshire! You and Mom pick out the place, and we’ll start over. I’m sorry it won’t be such a lush lifestyle anymore, princess,” Ronnie says, cupping my cheek. “But your mom said you wouldn’t mind.”
“I won’t. But I... I can’t leave. I... Graham! Officers, Mom, Dad, this is Graham Kane. My boyfriend. I mean, fiancé. He protected me and helped me more than you can ever know. I can’t leave him behind.”
“Well... I guess he’s gonna have to come with us,” Mom says, looking over Graham with startled eyes. His long, dark hair is mussed, his shirt and pants are torn, and he’s in his long black leather coat—without shoes.
“Or you could stay here,” Graham offers, spreading his arms wide as if to encompass all of Pine Ridge.
The FBI agent shakes his head. “No, no. They need to be in the WITSEC program. Argento will have a price on his head.”
