Page 66 of Reckless Woman
“Yes,señor.” Sofía shakes the noose threateningly, briefly cutting off my air supply again, but for the first time in ten minutes I spy a crack in the window of opportunity.
I’m no match for Santiago, but his maid is as good as dead.
Chapter Eighteen
Anna
The call comes through as we’re crossing lines into New York State.
It wakes me from a sleep where actual rest is considered unconstitutional, especially in a seat with no recline option and when your best friend is in mortal jeopardy. Not many words are exchanged, but his opening exclamation of, “Jesus, thankfuck,” is enough for me to sit up and take note.
“That was Dante,” he says, tossing the cell into my lap when he’s done.
I watch him light up another cigarette. He’s been chaining all night and my lungs are full of his new habit.
“Is Eve okay—?”
He nods. “She’s safe.They all are.”
My eyes flutter shut in relief.Thank you, universe.“And Vi?”
“Running for her life,” he says, flicking ash out of the window. “She escaped from the house, but she won’t get far. Not on that island.”
I wait for the pang of…anything.But there’s zilch. I guess our friendship is officially dead.
“How did Santiago find out about her?”
He doesn’t answer at first. His grip shifts on the steering wheel and I notice his knuckles are ghostly white. In Joseph speak, it means he’s seriously pissed about something.
“He knew all along.”
I go very still. “Hewhat?”
“For the past six weeks.”
In my head, I can hear the sound of something valuable breaking. Something that was formed a long time before he saw me on a crowded sidewalk outside a nightclub in Miami.
“Did he give you any reason why he didn’t—?”
“Not yet, but I have an idea.”
I glance at the passing blur of brown houses and green trees. It’s a cruel existence to wake up one day and discover a lie so great it’s spread through your entire life like a disease. Vi was so much smarter than we ever gave her credit for.
“Eve had the baby.”
“She did?” Anger turns to frustration and disappointment. “Damn, I missed it. Are they okay?”
“Baby is now.” He leaves me hanging as he changes lanes. “Her blood sugar levels dropped. She started shaking. Looked like a fit. Happens with newborns sometimes when they come a couple of weeks early…” He trails off, leaving me to fill in the blanks of his past with a question.Did his son suffer the same thing when he was born?“She’s being monitored on the island, but it looks like she’s stabilizing.”
Thank you, universe, times a billion.
“What happens now?”
“We get on a plane and fly home.”
Home.
For some reason that word sounds hollow, like a chocolate egg with no treats inside. It’s Eve and Dante’s home. Not ours.