Page 15 of Tristian (The Doherty Mafia)
“But even you haven’t figured out if you can trust me. Why should they?”
I reached for her, grabbing her elbow.
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” I said, leading her to my father’s office.
Elsie walked in and the room fell silent. All eyes were on her and I could only guess what she felt. The entire Doherty clan held her in judgement. She had nowhere to hide.
As much as I wanted to protect her from their piercing gazes and judgmental stares, there was one thing I knew about my family—and it was they’d be able to sniff out a spy.
The next half an hour could very well be the most crucial time of Elsie’s life. If she won their respect and trust, it’d mean they’d trust and respect her all their lives. She wouldn’t have to go through this again.
And maybe…it’d put my mind at ease too.
Basically, I presented a girl to my family, seeking their approval. Even though I didn’t look at it that way. Elsie was just a part of my job.
“This is Elsie Harlow. This is the girl who rescued Davey, saved our nephew’s life,” I said.
I hadn’t planned on introducing her that way, but I knew I had to. I needed to make one last-ditch attempt at protecting her before it was out of my hands.
Elsie stood in the middle of the room with her hands clasped together. I stood beside her, even though I didn’t need to. I wanted to be physically present for her as she stood under the burning glare of the rest of my family.
Dad started the questioning after making some casual introductions around the room. Elsie looked nervous, she fidgeted with her hands, tucked her hair over and over again behind her ears. Her voice faltered as she spoke to our father, answering his introductory questions.
Who was she?
Who were her parents?
What was her connection to Aldo?
What was her profession?
What did Aldo do to her family?
Where had she lived since then?
What kind of work did he make her do?
They weren’t questions I hadn’t asked her already, and she replied to each question with the answers she’d given me. She was consistent with her answers and never faltered.
Slowly, with every word that escaped her lips, I saw she’d picked up courage to meet everyone’s eye. I felt the heat coming off her body. That was how close together we stood.
I knew my brothers judged me for it. I had no reason to physically show my support of her. I had no reason to trust her. She was here in the room right now because the rest of the family had to make that decision.
And as much as I denied it, I’d already made my stance pretty clear.
But the more Elsie spoke, the more apparent it became she didn’t actually need my help.
She was able to field off every query coming in her direction. It had started from Dad, but pretty soon my brothers had questions of their own. Everyone was curious about how much she knew. The kind of things she’d been involved in with the Barons. How she’d managed to make her escape with Davey in tow.
The truth was—it was pretty impressive, her ability to handle the room.
We were in there for over an hour, and by the end of it, it had become less of an interrogation and more of an informal chat. I half expected Dad to order in a six pack and offer her a cigar from his drawer.
Elsie held her head up high and answered each question. Her voice didn’t falter anymore, neither did she lean towards me anymore either.
I realized they all liked her. There was no doubt in anyone’s minds that they could trust her, she was reliable. This wasn’t a girl who tried to hide anything.
Now, all I had to do was drop my walls too.
And now that my family believed her story, what did it mean for us?
Nine
Elsie
It was pretty obvious that Tristian was surprised by the way his family reacted to me. Maybe they all were.
None of them expected me to do as well as I did—least of all, me.
I didn’t think I’d actually come out of that meeting in one piece. I was sure the Doherty family would pass a severe judgement on me. They had no reason to believe me and every reason to mistrust me.
I was a girl they didn’t know, with an almost unbelievable story.
But I had to admit—maybe it was Tristian who’d set the stage right. So maybe this was all thanks to him.
I didn’t expect it from him, but he introduced me to his family as the girl who saved their nephew’s life. Then, he stood beside me the whole time his family interrogated me.
That had to be the most obvious display of support anyone had shown. And I had no idea why he did it.
