Page 10 of Drowning in the Deep
“That too,” he admitted. “But I’m not sure I wanted to see something like that happen to her.”
“What happened?” I interjected, suddenly experiencing a sinking feeling in my gut. Did this have anything to do with the keycard I’d slipped into her bag?
Sarah didn’t answer me right away, choosing to respond to the cute boy’s comment first. “It didn’t happen to her,” she said. “She did it herself. If she hadn’t been sneaking around in parts of the office she wasn’t allowed, none of this would’ve taken place, and she’d still be prancing around here with her holier-than-thou attitude.”
I knew it. It was my fault. “Wait—Dinah got arrested?” This time I spoke loud enough that they had to give me their attention.
“Yeah,” Jerry said. “She was caught with a keycard that gave her access to a room she shouldn’t have been able to get into. Apparently, there was some evidence that a file or two was missing. We didn’t hear all of the details, but it was funny to know, for all of her big show about being better than everyone else, she was really just a low-down dirty thief.”
“Scum of the earth,” Sarah chimed in with a nod.
I managed to keep a smile on my face and go along with the “Dinah’s a dirtbag” vibe, but ultimately, they were actually talking about me, and I knew it. I was the one who’d taken the keycard without permission. I was the one who’d snuck into the locked room, and I was definitely the one who’d taken the file without permission. So, yeah, anything they had to say about Dinah, they may as well have been saying about me.
“Well, I should get back to work,” Sarah said with a sigh. “Got to get those files together for the Brandon case.”
“Good luck with that,” Jerry told her as a pang of jealousy hit me. Sarah was working on something important, or so it sounded, not rummaging through boxes looking for dates. “I hope you’re able to prove he’s not liable.”
“Thanks.” Sarah flashed him her winning smile and then told me goodbye. I waved, and she left, and I felt the weight of everything I’d been missing out on suffocating me again.
Jerry got back to what he was working on, which also seemed way more important than looking through boxes for dates, and I went back to my search, but my mind was wandering. Not to Dinah, remarkably, but to my father.
He had orchestrated this, even though I’d thought all along that leaving Boston for Chicago would get me away from him. I was at this law firm because of him, and he still had a hand in everything that I did—or didn’t do. Why hadn’t Jason put me on an important case? I had no idea, but it made me envious of my best friend that she was already working on something that I’d only dreamed of.
The feel of my phone vibrating in my pocket had me cringing. Very few people would dare call my cell while I was at work, so I had a feeling I knew who it was. I’d been avoiding him for the last couple of days. The last thing I needed was to be the one to tell my father what had happened to Ragno.
But if I didn’t answer, he’d eventually show up in person. What was worse, lying to him on the phone or having him smack me around until I talked? I knew the answer to that question. I had no idea how guys like the ones I’d seen Daemon beat the living shit out of managed to keep their lips sealed tight when they were in so much pain. I’d fold like a wet newspaper.
“Hi, Dad,” I said quietly, keeping my head tilted away from Jerry. He had earbuds in, so he probably couldn’t hear me anyway, but I wanted to be cautious.
“Well, look who is alive after all. Where the fuck have you been, my one and only daughter?” he growled at me.
Taking a deep breath, I said, “I’ve been busy at work, Dad. Jason just assigned me a huge task, and I’m eyeball-deep into it. Is everything okay?” I hoped I sounded innocent enough for him, but my father was no idiot. He could likely see right through me.
“Okay?” he repeated. “Shit, Elisa. I think we both know that’s not the case. Have you seen your cousin Ragno recently?”
“Ragno?” I repeated as if I didn’t know who that was. “Um, no not for several days. Why?”
“Because he’s MIA, and that’s not like him. I think something bad happened to him—and I think someone knows what that might be.” He definitely knew I was lying to him.
I couldn’t stop now, though. “Have you tried asking one of the boys? Maybe Alex knows. I don’t have much to do with all of that, you know?” I reminded him.
“Oh, I think you do. More than you care to elaborate on. And do you happen to know why one of the windows in the billiard room was recently replaced?”
How could he tell that? Jesus. I’d thought Daemon’s brothers had done a good job of cleaning everything up. “A window broke?” I asked. “Was there glass everywhere?” Playing dumb for my dad had become easier over the years as I realized he truly believed I was a moron.
“No, the glass isn’t broken now. That’s what I’m saying. Someone replaced the glass, but I could tell it happened. Are you sure you didn’t have anything to do with it?”
“No, but I’m glad it’s fixed. And I’m glad you don’t have to worry about the draft. It’s getting cold outside,” I replied, still acting dumb as a brick.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” my father exclaimed. “Never mind all of that. There’s something I need you to do for me, you dimwit. If you can handle it. I would think this would be in your wheelhouse because it’s legal shit, but maybe your rocks for brains can’t handle that either.”
Glancing at my box of boring paperwork, I felt a tinge of excitement inside of me, even though it was my father telling me he had some legal work for me to do. The last thing I wanted was to help him or the family business out with anything, but if it was something more interesting than what I was doing now, then I was intrigued. Besides, it might be something that could serve to be useful to Daemon.
“Sure, Father. I can do anything legal you need for me to do.” That wasn’t entirely true. I still hadn’t passed the bar, mostly because I hadn’t had time to study for it yet. Still, he knew my legal limitations—not that he cared much about legalities—and wouldn’t be asking me to do anything I couldn’t get away with.
“Good. I need you to help Jason with some property transfers. I’m surprised you didn’t start pissing and moaning the moment I mentioned the work was for our family. It’s not as if you’ve ever been particularly loyal.”
I ignored the jabs. That got easier with every passing year since I’d been doing it my whole life. “I’m happy to help Jason with whatever I can,” I assured him. “Seems simple enough.” Property transfers weren’t difficult.
