The Life: Sacrifice (The Life 3)

I have to remember to plant the seeds in Gia’s grandmother’s ear, that maybe it would be better for her granddaughter to be with her while all of this is going on. She’s going to need someplace to stay when this is all over and done. I’ve decided that the bosom of her mother’s family will be that place.

GABRIEL

For the next week and a half, I played chess with human pawns while she got sucked into etiquette classes and dress shopping with the women. I knew from experience how time-consuming these debutant balls are and used her distraction to line things up for just the right moment.

Just as before, I didn’t want her here when shit went down, so I had to be very meticulous. I had men watching Becky, who seemed to be having a crisis with public meltdowns and temper tantrums which only made her look bad. Either Felix had canceled her credit cards or had her on rations because she was staying at a mid-range motel, which I was sure to make known to the right people.

Since she didn’t want to be seen in her lowly state, she stayed indoors most of the time, making calls that went mostly unanswered. I couldn’t get a bead on Felix, who had kept to himself most of the first week and had only just started showing signs of life. Even when he was at home, all he did was stare at his wife’s portrait or watch the video I’d given him of his daughter dancing.

Victoria, on the other hand, was a mess. She’s not as sophisticated as her faux father, so she didn’t hide her displeasure nearly as well. She could be heard when not seen, throwing things around, screaming out loud out of nowhere, and cursing Gianna with her every breath. It was music to my ears and a delight to the eyes, listening and watching her unravel. It was the perfect setup for my next move.

Gianna was too busy to hound me for anything approaching sex, but she would skin me if I didn’t cuddle with her at night. She kept me up to date with all the goings-on, asked for my input on the different dresses and jewelry her grandmother and aunts had chosen for her to wear and filled my ears with her excitement while trying to hide her sadness over what was going on with her dad.

She’d been mad at him this whole time, refusing to even talk about him for the first few days after our visit, but I saw the cracks by the end of the first week. I guess some people are soft enough to forget the harm done to them when they feel an ounce of pity; me, not so much. In her place, I’d have set his ass on fire while he slept and tossed the other two off a cliff in a rotten carpet rollup.

She expressed her grief and disappointment by working my ass out on the mat when she found time, that is. Lancelot has been on my ass, sicced there by Pop, no doubt, watching me like he expected me to disappear in the night. I’d been taking care of my shit while organizing hers as well, and by the middle of the second week, just days before we were set to leave the country for France, I played my last strategic move.

“We should go see your dad before we leave.”

“Why? I can see him when we come back.”

“Okay.” If suspicion had a look, she gave it to me; amateur.

“That’s it? You’re not going to argue?” Typical, I give her her way; she’s not satisfied.

“Why would I? If you don’t want to go, you don’t want to go.” I kept tapping away at my computer keys as if I had no interest one way or another.

I figured, if she’s anything like the women in my family, which I’m sure she is, that my easy capitulation would get her to thinking and overthinking, and she’d come up with all the wrong answers, which in this case is fine because it suits my purpose. “Fine, let’s go see him.”

“Just let me know when you’re ready.”

“Now’s as good a time as any.”

“Okay, go tell Ma we’ll be back in a bit.” Ma has become very overprotective of her since Ella blabbed to Sheila about what went down the night Greta made her big reveal. At this point, I’m not sure which of my parents wishes to do Fontane the most harm.

She got up to go find Ma, and I picked up my phone and called the team that I had waiting. “Bring the package; you remember what I told you, right?”

“Of course. See you there.” I hung up and went to find her jacket and mine since she always seems to forget to wear one. We took her mom’s car, well hers now, and drove out without calling ahead.