Her excitement as she starts talking about her favorite books makes it hard for me to keep my eyes on the road, she becomes so fucking beautiful. For the next few hours it’s a normal conversation. The kind I have with my cousins’ wives, because I didn’t talk much with the women I fucked. She sighs as she talks about how much she loves Austen, then frowns as she complains about how Hollywood has ruined the movies. When she talks of her life in Italy, there can be no question she loved it there, even if it sounds sad as hell.
Anger hits me all over again at Johnny for the way he treated her. No wonder she hated him, didn’t think of him as her father. Then she tried again only for him to be a bastard and hurt her all over again. I wince as I remember calling her desperate for affection. Maybe she had been, but it’s understandable considering she was likely starved for it.
No wonder she was willing, wanting to believe in Taylor’s declarations of love. His promise of her longed-for family. It was Johnny’s fault she was a target. If he had given her the attention she needed she would have seen through Taylor. All it took was a single look at the first few pages of the file in the cold light of day and she saw the truth she hadn’t before. She might be young and naïve, but she isn’t stupid.
“Dominic, I need to use the restroom and I’m hungry again. Can we stop please?”
I nod as I read the sign she points to. A check of the gauge confirms I need gas as well. We’re making good time, as I consider where to stop in Toledo.
“Can we please eat in a restaurant? I promise I’ll be good. I don’t want fried anything.”
She won’t try and get away this time. No, she’s going to allow me to get her to Chicago, give it a day or so, then run. It’s what I would do. Chicago is a hub, there is almost nowhere she couldn’t get to within a few hours, using any number of modes of transportation. Two airports, a train station, and three different interstate highways would get her where she wants to go. If she ran here in Toledo, she’d be lost herself. Regina knows she’s only going to get one chance; she isn’t going to waste it.
Over the next hour, she does everything right. She plays her part perfectly, sadly resigned to her fate, with a flash of annoyance at me and herself for giving up. It won’t be such a bad life, though, and she’ll be content. Those are the words she says, but her eyes spark with defiance, her teeth tug on that bottom lip as she fights to keep the truth in.
I nod, relieved, thankful. Insistent I’m grateful for her resignation. While promising I’ll make it up to her. Then when I’m gassing up I call Vincent and make sure Marco and Dario are up for their hostile babysitting gig.
“They’re ready, Boss. She got a place to go?”
“No, which makes her that much more of a pain. If she manages to get out the whole damn world is open to her. I hit up Valdez already, he’s working to shut her money down. He has her card turned off, which was simple, but there are branches of her bank in Chicago.”
“What’s her bank?”
I give him the name.
“Damn, they are all over the city. There are two within a half mile of your place. Any thought to moving her outside of the city? Maybe to the lake house?”
“No, I need her with me and I need to be in the city.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure all the employees in the club are also on their toes with her.”
“Good. We have another five hours or so of highway. I’ll need to stop at least once more, so six hours or so. I need you to get with Pop and get the money for the payouts today. I won’t make it back in time. Check on Riley’s kid too for me. He had that surgery and should be released today.” Brian Riley is a sergeant who walks my beat, he’s been a good asset over the last five years.
“I did already. There was a problem. Something with the anesthesia, kid is dead. I’m sitting outside their house right now. I just made our condolences, told him that you would cover the funeral and the gravestone.”
Fuck, even with all the death I deal in, a kid dying is never right. “Good, yeah.” I try to think of anything else. “Shit.”
“I know, Boss,” Vincent mutters. “His wife is all torn up. Riley is still in shock. I gave him his payout of three thousand and an extra five thousand as...you know.”
“I’ll get it back to you.”
“It’s all good, Boss.”
“All right, I need to get going. Text me if there’s an issue, no calls. I’ll get you back when we stop.”
***
Regina
I watch Dominic through the back window, wondering who he’s talking to. He’s been on the phone for a while. The wind ruffles his hair, and a sigh escapes me at how damn beautiful he is. It’s not fair. Those dimples, his blue eyes; why did I think his nose was too big when really it’s perfect on his face?
Closing my eyes, I wonder once again what the hell is the matter with me to want him so desperately. Is it the whole daddy issues thing? He’s older than me, as he keeps reminding me, by seventeen freaking years. Weird, the idea of seventeen years is...daunting. Except, I like that he isn’t like the guys my age.
Guys my age annoyed the hell out of me. They talked about video games, and getting wasted, and scoring with chicks. Richard was nine years older than me and it was one of the most appealing things about him. I’ve always felt more comfortable with people who were older than me.
With Dominic on several occasions as we talked about books, or favorite films, and a myriad of other things, it didn’t seem like there was a huge gap between us. I’ve been told more times than I care to count that I was older than my years, and it usually felt like an insult. Even when the nuns said it. Except it’s the truth.
Johnny blamed it on being raised by nuns; however, I think it was that I was raised by books. My mom was a reader who lived through books because she wasn’t allowed out of the house. Johnny also discouraged her from having friends who might interfere with his time with her.