Payton’s voice was weighted. “No. He sold it a week before your accident. He’d called me from Hawaii to put it in motion. He was going to tell you, Noemi.”
Disorienting thoughts floated in my mind like a static-filled radio. He’d sacrificed his most lucrative business for me. He’d been the one to call my father and stayed by my side, even when he knew it risked outing him.
“He lied to me.”
Payton’s blue eyes turned cloudy. “You’re going to have to trust me when I tell you that no one knows what that’s like better than I do. Yeah, he lied and it fucking sucked. He was trying to make it right.”
I threaded my fingers through my hair, not sure what to say. I hadn’t given him a chance to explain. Sensible, judgmental Noemi was in charge.
“He told you I worked as one of his girls, but did he ever mention Mr. Red?”
I shook my head.
“He was the last client I saw before Dominic. Mr. Red was a regular I had almost every week.”
I stood up too quickly and got lightheaded. The last thing I wanted was to hear about were the men who paid for sex. “I don’t—”
Payton was on her feet instantly, as if ready to catch me. I’d gotten so woozy, I swayed.
“He’s a nice guy. I was way too much for him, but that’s neither here nor there. He was sweet, and lonely because his wife wouldn’t touch him.”
“Oh, God, he was married.” Stop being so naïve. Most of them probably were.
“Mr. Red fell in love with me, hard. He wanted to leave his wife, but I didn’t feel the same. When I went to Japan, he searched for me everywhere. He wasn’t real delighted when I returned engaged to someone else.”
Her gaze turned away from me and she peered out the window, watching the afternoon sun collide with nearby buildings.
“Mr. Red ambushed Dominic at his office two weeks ago.”
I sucked in a breath. “What?”
“Dominic knew he had to be careful. Even after I left, Mr. Red is still the biggest customer at the blindfold club, and he’s powerful, too.”
The lovesick man had confronted Dominic? I envisioned the worst. “What happened?”
When her face turned back to mine, she blinked something away. Tears?
“Mr. Red wanted to see Dominic, to make sure he was a good man. Like, worthy of me. He told Dominic he’d destroy him if he broke my heart.”
“Oh.” The word stuck in my mouth.
“I’m telling you this because people can do things you don’t like, or things that seem wrong, and still be good people. If you love someone, you love them, mistakes and all.” She took an enormous breath, and her expression shifted to fear. “Now I’m going to ask you, what’s the Italian word for red?”
What?
The world came to an abrupt stop.
“Holy fuck.” I banded my arms over my stomach, trying to hold myself in one piece. Rosso.
My father had paid for sex. He’d paid Joseph. Payton hadn’t been star-struck when my father had come to my place, she’d been terrified, and . . . oh, God. I’d been the one to give him Dominic’s name.
How could my dad give me those looks of disappointment? He’d cheated on my stepmom. He’d bought prostitutes. He sure the hell wasn’t thinking of the brand, week after week when he went to the club.
“You think less of him, I’m sure,” Payton said. “Joseph refused to tell you because he wanted to protect you. He didn’t want you to see your father as . . . just a man, who was lonely and desperate. But now that you know, you still love him, right? Mistakes and all?”
It wasn’t a fair question since I was reeling from the bombshell that I should have seen coming. I was incredibly disappointed, but yes. He wasn’t just family, he’d been the most important person in my life for so long. I’d love him no ma
tter what.