Page 88 of Tainted Blood
“It’s my birthday tomorrow, and I’m thinking of hitting up a casino to scratch a very bad itch I have for one last time...” I flick him a wicked grin. “You don’t know of any casino owners who’d be okay being scammed out of fifty thousand dollars, do you?”
He doesn’t answer at first. Instead, he leans over the console and runs a slow, leisurely finger down my cheek that makes my thighs clench and my heartbeat quicken.
“Muñequita,” he says, his voice rough and low. “That’s going to be the sweetest fucking money I’ve ever been cheated out of in my life. I’ll even throw in dinner to make myself feel better about it.”
“Then it’s a date,” I whisper.
“Our second in two days... Careful, Señora Carrera,” he adds huskily. “That’s more than most marriages have in a year.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thalia
It takes me over an hour, but I finally find it, crumpled and creased at the bottom of my overnight bag.
“Damn it.”
“What’s wrong?” Ella looks up from her laptop with a frown on her face. She’s sitting cross-legged on the couch, with course notes and open textbooks scattered all around her like educational confetti. I can tell she’s wrestling with an important assignment. It’s only seven a.m., and she’s been awake for longer than I have.
I hold up the claret-red designer dress to show her the state of it. “I wanted to wear this tonight, but it looks like a herd of elephants slept on it.”
“Leave it on the chair behind you,” she mutters, dropping her eyes back to her screen. “I’ll swing by the dry cleaners on my way to class and beg Mia for a four-hour special.”
“Why don’t I make myself useful and drop it by myself,” comes a soft voice from the doorway.
“Máma!” We cry in unison, our shock reverberating around the room like a high-pitched cannonball.
A split second later, we’re throwing our arms around her, making a Santiago family reunion a mess of tears and joy in the middle of the living room, with our mother’s elegant composure cracking just as hard as ours.
“What are you doing here?” Ella gasps.
“Your father has business here and I insisted on accompanying him.”
My sister and I share a smile. We talk to our mother every day, but our father rarely allows her to leave his island compound. Most of the time, she’s content to follow pápa’s orders. Occasionally, like now, she’ll drive her stiletto heel through his boot and insist on her freedom.
“Thalia, my beautiful girl,” she says, turning to me to cup my cheek with her hand. “I wasn’t going to miss your twentieth birthday for anything.”
“And I’ve missed you,” I mumble, diving into her slim shoulder again, feeling the weight of everything I’ve been through pushing against the thin barrier of my self-control. I’ve talked to her more on Skype these past few weeks than I ever before, but there’s nothing like being wrapped up in her warmth and reassurance.
“What time do you have to be at work, sweetheart?”
“In an hour,” I sob, crumbling already.
“Ella,” I hear her say. “It’s been a long flight, and I’d love a coffee. Would you mind making me an extra strong espresso and bringing it to Thalia’s room?”
“Sure. Where’s pápa?”
“He’s with Edier and Sam.”
All having a crash course on Ukrainian curse words, no doubt.
“Come,” she says, lifting my head from her damp shoulder and wiping away my tears. “I want to talk with you alone.”
She leads me into my bedroom and sits me down on the edge of my quilt, still clasping my hand to her chest.
“Máma—”
“Shush. I want to say something to you first.” She lifts my hand to her lips and kisses it gently. “I used to think that I was brave, Thalia Santiago, but you, my daughter, have the heart of a lioness and a tiger’s soul.”