Gio

Gian sighs, “He better fucking be.”

Gemma helps me up to the guest room. It’s already made up, despite Gian telling her to do it. It’s a large bedroom with a queen sized bed covered with a dark blue comforter. The white furniture and blue color scheme makes the room feel coastal and cozy. I collapse onto the bed, propping my ankle up.

“I’ll wait with you until Doc gets here.” Gemma sits on the end of the bed opposite of me. She’s wringing her hands like she’s trying to keep herself from saying something. It’s on the tip of her tongue and I already know what she’s going to ask.

“Thank you.” I tell her. “You know, you can ask me. If you have something you want to ask, I mean.”

She flashes a small thankful smile. “What did he do?”

“I didn’t know what we were doing at first. I’m actually still not sure.” I admit. “But I think we were robbing someone who tried to hurt you.”

She nods, I think she knew that’s what I was going to say. “Robert Pearce.” She looks sad briefly, but mostly I feel sorrow coming from her.

“Yup.” I exaggerate the word, as if it will take up space in this uncomfortable conversation. “Gio didn’t tell me. He told me something happened and then I saw the name of the store tonight and put two and two together.”

“His son.” She says, then pauses. “His son and I were…” she huffs. “I don’t know what we were, but he drugged me. I’m not sure what he was planning to do to me after but I’ve heard a lot of rumors.” She pauses again. “I guess… he does things to girls.” Her eyes avoid mine as she continues to share with me. “Anyway, nothing happened. I told Gio and Gian and they lost their shit. They’re just really protective. They tried to go to the cops, but they covered everything up. The Pearces have a lo

t of pull here.”

“Why?” I ask. “It’s just a jewelry shop.”

She laughs, but it’s a sad strangled sound. “Oh Annie, it’s not just a jewelry shop. The family has been around for decades. They’ve made their money in the diamond trade, but his brother is also a senator. His younger son is going into politics as well and Robert Jr., the asshole who tried to rape me, will take over the family business. It’s not just a jewelry shop, they have power in this town.”

“Oh,” I whisper. “I had no idea.”

“He was trying to revenge me, but that was fucking stupid.” She says, her demeanor has changed to anger now.

“I feel stupid,” I tell her. “This whole time I thought he was an asshole and he was really doing all of this for you.”

Gemma looks at me sympathetically. “Yeah, they have a tendency to be jerks sometimes.”

I laugh at her bluntness.

He is a jerk sometimes.

But he’s also a good man.

A fiercely loyal, protective, good man.

The interrogation room is scalding.

It’s a tactic, I know from being an attorney’s son. The detectives probably turned up the heat in the room hoping to sweat me out. If I complain about it they won’t do a thing.

It’s a lost cause though, because I won’t break.

The only word I’ve spoken since getting picked up is lawyer. I’ve been dead fucking silent waiting for my father to get here.

Getting arrested is dehumanizing. They cuffed my hands tightly and threw me in the back of the squad car. At the station, they booked me, took my mug shot, and pressed the pads of my fingers into black ink. This isn’t my first arrest, I’m not a stranger to the law, and this surely won’t be my last. Still, every time is fucking annoying.

Afterwards they slapped the cuffs back on to take me to the boiling interrogation room, like if I’m not cuffed I’ll run somewhere. Now, I sit cuffed to the table and waiting. The detective tried to talk to me, even after I said the one word that should silence them. They got nothing though, I’m well practiced at this.

“Mr. Pearce is going to press charges.” The one detective smiled.

Good for him.

Press fucking charges.

The thing is, when they have a made man in the station they don’t even care about the crime that got him there, they just want to flip him. They see it as an opportunity.