Chapter 8
We found Roland in Idaho.
Not hiding in a bunker.
Building kitchen cabinets.
Apparently retired bodyguards make decent carpenters when forced.
I went with Adelise.
No convoy.
Rafe drove.
Roland stood outside the workshop when we arrived.
Saw his daughter.
Dropped the measuring tape in his hand.
That sound felt louder than gunfire.
Adelise walked toward him slowly.
Then faster.
Then ran.
He met her halfway.
Neither spoke for almost a minute.
I turned away.
Again.
Some reunions do not need a Mafia boss watching.
When Roland finally looked at me, his face changed.
“Boss.”
I almost hated the title.
“You could have called.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He looked at Adelise.
Easy.
Then:
“I didn’t know who was safe.”
That hurt.
Including me.
Roland explained.
After escaping Corwin’s men, he tried calling one of my captains.
Before he could say much, the captain told him:
“Ismeralda already explained the misunderstanding.”
There.
She had moved first.
Told senior people Roland suffered stress after repeated security failures and had left abruptly.
Corwin’s company would cover temporarily.
Roland heard that and understood something.
Ismeralda’s version had reached the house before his.
He did not know how deep her influence went.
Then he saw Adelise hired into my residence.
He assumed that meant I had accepted Ismeralda completely.
Maybe even knew about the fake breaches.
That possibility destroyed his trust.
“You thought I was part of it.”
“I didn’t want to.”
Not answer.
“Yes.”
Fair.
He stayed gone.
Worked under false names.
Tracked Vane employees from a distance.
Not to build some grand case.
To understand whether Adelise remained threatened.
When Ismeralda became publicly engaged to me, he nearly returned.
Then Corwin’s men began appearing near Adelise’s staff entrance again.
So he stayed away.
“Why now?”
Roland looked at his daughter.
“I was coming tonight.”
Adelise stared.
“What?”
He had planned to attend the memorial dinner.
Alive.
Not dramatically.
He wanted to walk through the doors after the speeches and force everyone to choose which story survived.
Then he learned Corwin would be there with extra security.
He hesitated.
One more hour.
One more delay.
May you like
Then Ismeralda stepped on his medal.
Sometimes truth arrives because somebody becomes cruel at exactly the wrong moment.
