Page 89 of Tainted Blood
“I lost your necklace,” I mutter, staring at the floor. “They stole it from me in Italy.”
“Objects aren’t important,” she chides. “It’s the memories that live inside the moments that matter.”
“But, pápa—”
“Will buy me another,” she reassures. “Sweetheart, I’m not even going to pretend to understand what you’re going through, or what you’re overcoming. I’m not going to sit here and patronize and sympathize. But I want you to know that I’ll always be here. Whatever you need. Whatever darkness you find yourself in…”
“Only in darkness can we see the stars,” I whisper.
She lifts her brows in surprise. “You remembered the picture on my nightstand.”
“I always think about that, and what you said to me. About how you found your way back to love when all hope was lost.”
“And so will you,” she muses. “I don’t know much about your new husband, Thalia, but he burned bright when you needed him to, and that tells me everything.”
“He thinks he’s a bad man with no hope of redemption.”
“What do you think?”
“That he’s a bad man who feels more than he thinks he ought to.”
She laughs. “In my experience, there are varying degrees of badness. Morality is a moving target in our world, but things like love? Family? Those are the true constants… From what I can tell, he’s done what you’ve asked of him, because you are those two things to him, sweetheart. He’s given you your space. He set you free. He’s let you breathe and heal, and in doing so, we’ve all been rewarded in watching you soar again.” She nudges me gently, the pride in her voice making my eyes sting. “For stubborn men like Santi Carrera and your father, bowing down to such a request is even harder than taking a bullet.”
There’s a knock at the door, and Ella enters with two steaming espresso cups.
“I brought one for you too, Thals.”
“Time to get dressed,” declares my mother, rising to her feet to take them from her and setting one down on my nightstand. “You don’t want to be late for work. Oh, and I take it from the dress disaster, you’re planning on going out later?”
I nod, giving her the trace of a smile. She returns it with a flick of a wink. “I see. Then we better get it cleaned up.”
“Thanks, máma,” I say quietly.
“You’re welcome.” She pauses in the doorway, an elegant vision in a white pant suit with her long, still-dark hair clouding up her shoulders. “Remember, Thalia, even during the day, the stars never really disappear. They’re just waiting to shine for us again when we need them the most.”
* * *
The rest of the day passes in a whirlwind of progress report reviews and updating budgets for our trafficking project in Nigeria.
Threading its way through every meeting and long-distance phone call is a ribbon of anticipation about tonight. In seeing Santi again, and returning to the scene of the crime as his wife, not as his enemy.
I’m not the same naïve nineteen-year-old girl who sneaked into his casino a couple of months ago. I’ve been broken and bruised since then.
I’m more sure of who I am now. Of us. Of our place in this strange life of sin and sacrifice.
Most of all, I’m not afraid of loving him anymore. We’re the only two people who can right each other’s wrongs.
Bonnie’s not in the main office as I grab my things together and power down my laptop. It means I’m not treated to her end-of-the-day hanging out of the window ritual to ogle my husband. When I spill out of the building, however, it’s not Santi waiting for me, it’s Reece.
“He was called away on business,” he says tersely, watching my face fall. “He said he’ll meet you at Legado later.”
My skin starts prickling with uneasiness as he rushes me into the backseat. My heart sinks like a stone when I see at least ten of my father’s men on the sidewalk behind me and five black SUVs parked nearby.
“What’s going on, Reece?” I ask him. “This isn’t extra security, it’s an army.”
“Nothing for you to worry about, Thalia,” he croons, sliding into the passenger seat and nodding at the driver.
“Is my husband meeting with Edier?”