Page 131 of Jake's Angel
Vincenzo nods. “She did. She questioned Russell about it and was told his finances were not of her concern. Eleanor became enraged. But she didn’t know where to find Maggie to manipulate her into signing everything over. Nor did she know about your child. So, she called in a favor from someone who owed her a debt.”
“Who?”Gabe asks, his voice strained.
“Marco Cusenza. The father of her illegitimate son.”
“Son of a bitch!” Gabe snatches Vincenzo’s glass and throws it against the wall between me and Hawk. The glass shatters and falls to the carpet.
“There’s more, Gabriel. Please. Sit.” Vincenzo’s voice is now strained as well. “Before Maggie died, she and Russell signed everything they had in the trust over to Avery. If anything happens to Russell and Maggie, Avery is to inheriteverything.”
“That’s why she and Chuck have been punishing Avery all this time,” Pop suggests.
“Why did she keep her alive, though? Wouldn’t it be easier to fake the accidental death of a child?” Hawk asks, looking at Pres. Hawk throws his hands up. “I mean no disrespect, Pres. I just meant she could have finished the job, and it would’ve left everything between her and Russell without an heir to give everything to.”
“Yes, but then Eleanor couldn’t punish Avery for her mother’s sins,” Declan suggests.
“It’s my understanding, Eleanor sold Avery with the intention of marrying her off, and then having her murdered.”
“Wouldn’t her husband then inherit Avery’s share?” Caleb asks.
I have to take a deep breath to keep my temper in check. No one is going to buy or sell my Angel. If she gets married, it will be to me and I don’t give a flying fuck about Russell’s fortune or his companies.
“Not if Eleanor convinces Cusenza to kill him as well. She would be the last living relative.”
“But wouldn’t it then go to probate? That shit can take years to sort out,” Ethan says. “It’s why George had all his shit sorted. He knew his chance of survival was slim, so he had everything handled for Skyler beforehand.”
“He didn’t want Skyler to have to fight any more. He wanted her to have the life she always dreamed of, and not have to worry about how she would take care of herself,” Ghost adds. “I helped him get things donefasterthan his lawyer’s office could.”
“You mean you hacked into his lawyer’s office and changed shit to the way he wanted it,” Hawk says, smirking. “So, if Eleanor has a hacker on payroll, she could do the same right before she kills off her grandson in law.”
“How did you learn about all this shit? And how are we going to stop it?” Gabe asks Vincenzo.
“Thomas brought me what you see there. He’s been working to redeem himself, it seems.”
Gabe goes completely still. The air in the room is electrically charged.
“He is not working forme.He sent the packet to The Pearl. I agreed to pass it along to you in exchange for getting your daughter to Devil’s Canyon to meet with him.” Vincenzo speaks directly to Gabe, who has yet to move a muscle. “We will have our men and yours surrounding the perimeter while Thomas speaks to Avery. Once he’s said what he needs to say, we will remove Avery, and you may do as you wish with your brother. However,” Vincenzo pauses. “Thomas may be the link that we need to bring Eleanor and Cusenza down together.”
Gabe lets out a long sigh. “I don’t like this. You’re asking me to use my daughter as bait,” Gabe says through gritted teeth. “He had a hand in both my uncle’s murder and the killing of my wife. He betrayed our family and our club. Left his wife to rot in aninstitution and abandoned his little girl. I don’t know if there’s anything he could do to redeem himself. And I sure as fuck don’t believe he wouldn’t use her as collateral to save his own life if the situation came to that.”
He takes several deep breaths. Standing to his feet and turning to leave, he says, “I won’t let him hurt my daughter. She’s all I have left of Maggie.” He turns to me and Hawk and orders, “Get the girls. It’s time to call it a night. I’ll have an answer for you by morning. In the meantime, the girls stay with my men.”
When we exit the office, we’re greeted by giggling sounds coming from the living room. Avery is sitting on the floor with Vincenzo’s son playing while Sadie is cuddled up with her iPad in a chair nearby. She takes off for the stairs as soon as she sees us coming.
Antonio is smiling and laughing as he slams the wooden puzzle pieces together, making a banging sound echo through the room. The more Avery tries to shush him, the louder he bangs the pieces and laughs.
Avery redirects his attention to the board by placing a puzzle piece into its proper place. Antonio watches and mimics her actions. When he can’t seem to make the piece fit, Avery points to where it should go. “Here,” she directs. He follows her instructions and places the pieces one at a time, then claps emphatically for himself as Avery praises and hugs him for doing a good job.
I stand beside Vincenzo, in awe at the sight before me. She looks beautiful with a child on her lap. Her face glowing with pride at his accomplishments. The image has me thinking about what it would be like to see her holdingour son. I’ve never given too much thought to having a family of my own, but now seeing Avery, my Angel, like this has me thinking about how right it feels to want to raise a family with her.
“No one has ever been able to keep his interest for very long. She’s a natural.”
Nora comes out of the kitchen speaking to Parisi in Italian. “She says Avery has been playing with him for a while now. Antonio got upset and threw tantrums a few times, but Avery did not back down. She waited him out and redirected him back to a new game. Perhaps she will be able to handle you after all.”
Did Vincenzo just crack a joke?
Vincenzo walks toward where they are playing and calls to his son. Antonio drops the puzzle pieces and runs into his father’s arms. Avery stands up, wiping her hands on her shorts, dusting herself off. Gabe is the first to approach her and pull her in for a hug and a kiss on the forehead. She stands stiff but doesn’t push him away.
I wait until he releases her, then step into her personal space, closing the gap until we are forehead to forehead. I hear the slight tremble in her breathing.