“Of course he is,” I said, my narrowed eyes moving to Gino. “He’d never want anything else to happen to Giselle.”
“I never meant for any of this to happen,” Gino reiterated.
“He’s making some life-altering moves to ensure that she’s safe,” my father informed me.
I assumed he meant relocation or witness protection.
“You promised to keep her safe,” Gino said.
“I do what I say I’m going to do,” I assured him.
He nodded. “You were always going to be the better guy for her. Treat her right.”
I blinked hard. That was definitely unexpected.
He glanced at Giselle sitting on the back of the truck. “Do you mind?” he asked me.
My jaw ticked, and my face remained emotionless. The last thing I wanted was for him to be “alone” with her.
“Of course, you can,” my father said.
Gino walked over and stood in front of her, making no attempt to touch her. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she was listening and nodding.
“He’s not a bad guy,” my father said. “He just got wrapped up in things he couldn’t handle.”
I grunted.
“He admitted some other stuff, too,” my father continued.
My eyes cut away from them, and I looked to my father. “What other stuff?”
“This wasn’t the first time they hit one of his businesses.”
“But you said your guy didn’t find similar crimes,” I challenged.
“Because none of them were reported. He’s got salons and other small businesses that deal in cash. All owned by young beautiful women.”
“No,” I said, realizing what this meant. Giselle was one of many women in Gino’s life. Fuck me.
“He talked them out of getting the police involved. Giselle was the only one Carlo got rough with. So, police involvement couldn’t be avoided.”
“Jesus Christ,” I said, unsure how I felt about the unraveling information.
“What are you going to do?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Are you going to tell her?” my father asked.
I thought about it. She’d been through so much. What good would come from telling her?
She’d hate him and wouldn’t talk to him again, for sure. But I was pretty confident, with the deal he was making, that he wouldn’t be allowed to contact her anyway. “Nah,” I finally said. “She already loves me.”
My father nodded. “Well, rest assured, he’s doing right by her now.”
“He should’ve done right by her before,” I clipped.
“We can’t all be perfect,” he said.