Chapter Nineteen
He’s smoking. I hate that he’s smoking. In Bora, he stopped or at least tried not to when I was around, which was most of the time. He flicks out the light and brings it to that death stick he puts between his lips. The red cherry glistens at the end as he draws the poison deep into his lungs. It makes me want to vomit. Of course, that could just be the overwhelming amount of information I’m doing my best to process.
Nate asked me to say something, explain to him, but I can’t get my mind on track. It’s lost, buried under all the truths he’s just spilt.
“Gabby!” Another snipe as if I’m a wayward child who isn’t listening.
“Marco has the diamonds,” I mutter out, exhausted by this whole thing.
“You’ve told me that already. I need to know everything.” He taps the table, eyes purely focused on me. “Start at the beginning.”
“I’ve told you everything I know already.”
Our voices grow in strength with each volley.
“From the beginning, Gabby. Your brother came to you with an idea? Did you offer? How did you get involved?”
“He asked me if I was able to get a large number of cut diamonds on a regular basis. He wanted ten million with certification every quarter, but the first deal was double that.” Nate’s eyes are so intense as he listens. His body is stiff and rife with tension—the same tension I feel.
“And you just had some lying around?” He stubs out the cigarette in frustration.
“Of course not.” It’s my turn to snap. “What I do might be illegal, but it’s not dangerous. It doesn’t put lives at risk. It doesn’t even hurt people. Not really.” I’ve almost had enough. He sits there chastising me, and yet he’s just told me he’s a killer? I can’t cope with any more. “What you and my brother do destroys lives, Nate. Families. I didn’t want anything to do with it at first, but Andreas is someone I’ve always struggled to say no to.” He tuts at me like I’m a child again, lighting another cigarette.
“You will from now on, don’t you forget that.” His pull on the cigarette is so long I think we might have finished talking for a second. “So, you just went off and gave him the diamonds?” Obviously not. I huff a little and look at the table.
“It’s not quite as simple as you make out, but yes. I have contacts.” So many contacts. I can’t process this conversation anymore. I’m tired, cranky, and ready to explode with all this information.
“And why did you go to the drop with Andreas?” Nate looks puzzled as he asks his question, as if he’s trying to make sense of it himself.
“Because he wanted me there. He saw this as a joint venture.”
“You mean he saw you as a scapegoat if anything went wrong. He didn’t want all the blame on his shoulders. If I ever fucking meet your brother, I’ll—”
“Hey, he’s family. Just like Quinn is to you.” He looks affronted instantly, his body ready to defend his family over mine.
“Quinn would never sacrifice me or set me up.” He sneers and stubs the cigarette out. “That’s the difference between my family and yours. Fucking loyalty.”
“Well, I thought we’d already established I’m a little short on family. He’s the only one I have.” Nate’s words about Andreas hurt more than I thought possible. I’ve never looked at my brother’s actions in that light, choosing to see him wanting to work with me, even if it is for his own benefit.
“And it was him on those calls in Bora. He wanted the diamonds back.”
“Because Mortoni had ahit out on him. If I didn’t give them back Andreas could have been killed.”
“Nothing else happened? No others involved?” My brain is about to explode. It’s the third time we’ve been over it. As if something is going to change suddenly. “You have no idea who set you up?”
“Set me up?”
“Well, they took the diamonds not the drugs.” I think about the feeling I’ve not been able to shake. The man at the airport, the feeling in the pit of my stomach, and wonder if this is about me.No.
I knock the chair back as I stand to escape the scrutiny Nate’s subjecting me to. I’ve worked on my own for so long, only relying on myself, that it’s hard to have this conversation. The few people I do work with, it’s strictly business. I trust them. My relationships with them are borne of mutual respect and need, not emotional ties that should never be involved in business.
I walk out of the room, searching for a way to put all of this back in the bottle. This isn’t what I thought having Nate in my life would mean. Running was the safer option for him—running and leaving him to get on with his life without me. And now it seems I should have kept on running.
The gun still resting on the table behind me tells me that.
“Where the hell are you going? I need to know everything.”
“Why?”
