“You’re baking your mother’s cookies,” he said.
He used to love them.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Lemon, it is not safe for you here. You need to come home.”
She snorted. “Come home? What home? That home ceased to exist when men came into the house, raped and murdered my mother, and burned the house down to the ground with her inside it!” She wanted to hurt him, punish him.
He flinched as she threw the truth right at him.
His enemies had taken out their punishment on her mother.
Tears filled her eyes, and she looked away from the man who had once been her hero. “I need you to leave. You promised me and her that you wouldn’t interfere in my life.”
“And I intend to keep all of my promises I made to her, Lemon. But your mother would want you to do it alive, not dead.” He took a step toward her, and she backed away.
“I don’t need you to take care of me.”
There was another knock on the door.
Shit!
Nate was supposed to come over. That was why she’d baked the cookies. Her father wasn’t the kind of man she wanted him to meet. Nate was a good man. Her father wasn’t. He was a criminal. His connections kept him out of jail. A monster who walked and talked like a businessman.
She turned on her heel and went to the door.
Nate was there with flowers. It was snowing, and he had flowers.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said.
“Nate, er, now is not a good time.”
“Do you want me to come back at a diff…” He trailed off, and Lemon knew her father had arrived.
“Nate, this is my dad. Dad, this is my neighbor, Nate.” She glanced between the two men. Her father looked at the flowers. “My dad was just leaving.”
“Alessandro Rocco,” her father said, holding out a hand.
“Nate Evans. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”
They shook hands, and she saw the tension in both of their hands.
Neither looked ready to let go.
“Let me pack you a bag of those cookies. You can eat them as you leave.” She made her escape, bagging up six cookies and returning to the door.
They both stood there, glaring at one another.
“Here you go,” Lemon said.
“Lemon.”
“You can go. We don’t need to talk about anything else.” She didn’t want her father scaring away Nate, not that he’d scare easy.
“I will go for now, but I won’t be gone far,” Rocco said.
She didn’t like that. He promised to keep his distance. Once again, he was breaking promises.
He left, and she saw the fancy car with the blacked-out windows. Whenever he came to them, it was always a second-hand car, and he never wore business suits. This man wasn’t the father she remembered.
Lemon smiled up at Nate.
“Do you want to come in?” she asked.
“I did, but I’ve got to do something,” he said. “Raincheck?”
Why wasn’t she surprised? Of course the moment he met her father, he would have excuses not to come near her. Her father always got in the way.
“Right, of course. Yeah, no problem.” Her heart shattered into a million pieces, but she kept the fake smile on her lips, pretending everything was okay. Why wouldn’t it be? She was just a woman with a mafia-connected father.
Not even an acknowledged daughter.
Nate stepped up and kissed her forehead.
It was so odd for him to do.
“I’ll be back soon.” He stepped away, going toward his car. She stood at her doorway, aware of the snow falling. It was only a light dusting. She waved at Nate, but he didn’t see. His car was speeding off.
Closing the door, she stared at the flowers.
Was her father that scary?
She had never been afraid of him. Angry and hurt, but never scared.
In the kitchen, she put the flowers in a vase, and for some reason, she felt exactly like her mother did all those years ago when Rocco had failed to turn up.
Chapter Six
Nate stared across the café table as Rocco sipped at his coffee. He hadn’t expected him to be visiting Lemon.
“My daughter is looking well,” Rocco said.
“She isn’t aware of the danger to her life.”
“Good. That is good.”
Tension mounted.
Nate was aware of the guards who could take him out without a second thought. Some of them, he’d personally trained.
He was poised, ready. One hand on his gun.
“I want you to understand, Mr. Evans, you are not here to court my daughter. You are only here to keep her safe.”
“I’m playing the role of a friendly neighbor.”
Rocco slammed his palm on the table. “Do you take me for a fool?”
“I take you for a man who is suffering the loss of a woman he loved dearly. A daughter who wants nothing to do with you. Trying to keep her safe and her life untouched by the darkness of yours. I see everything. I’m no fool. Lemon is a smart woman. She would have spotted me instantly as the guard I am.” The lies kept on spilling.