Page 25 of Venomous King
I can hear how ragged her breathing is, and her little face is red and blotchy from crying. Her beautiful, long, dark hair is tangled and matted to her forehead and neck, and her bright green eyes, eyes she has inherited from her worthless sperm donor, are filled with fear.
I take her from Isabella’s arms, cradling her against my chest, pressing my lips against the side of her head, and allowing a moment of peace and reassurance to fill me. She’s alive, she’sbreathing, and for now, she’s safe. She pulls back from my embrace, and her large eyes wander to the man behind me. Her breathing immediately hitches, as she uses her little hands to sign‘badman’to me.
“What did she just say?” Diego questions as he moves closer to us, and Julia’s little arms tighten around me. Neither Isabella nor I respond to his question, and he releases a sigh of frustration. I don’t dare repeat what Julia has uttered, for fear of him retaliating against her. The fucker is unpredictable, and I am not convinced he wouldn’t hurt a four-year-old.
“Julia, you are safe here, and no one will hurt you. Are you able to understand me? I will never allow anyone to hurt you, and do you know why, little cherub?” Diego keeps moving closer, until he stops a mere foot away from where Julia and I are standing, and I can feel Isabella getting ready to put her body between us. His tone is soft, patient even, as if he genuinely doesn’t wish to startle her more. Julia shakes her little head, her thumb popping into her mouth as a way to self-soothe herself, something she hasn’t done in a very long time.
“Wh...yyy?” My courageous little girl meets the monster’s eyes and doesn’t flinch.
“Did you know that you have your grandmother’s name, Julia? She was beautiful and brave, just like you. She was small and fierce, too.”
“Gammy’s name is Stella! That’s my second name, and my other grandma’s name is Beatrice.” Julia looks at Diego with suspicion, her fear momentarily forgotten. Pride fills me, watching my girl come alive and release the terror that was riding her.
“Ah, yes, your Gammy is namedStella,“ Diego tries to hide his disdain while mentioning Isabella’s grandmother, and I want to snort, because she’s not a favorite of mine either. It might be the only thing we have in common other than loving Isabella. “AndBeatrice is a pretty name, too, but did you know Julia comes from yourAbuela (grandmother)? Her name was Julia Maria, and she was my momma. She was so beautiful and strong. A little queen, much like I’m guessing you are.”
“No! I’m... I’m a warrior princess, like Auntie Mia, and Gammy is the queen.” A look of stubborn indignation crosses my daughter’s face, and a chuckle escapes Diego, causing him to suddenly look less menacing.
“What about your momma? Is she not a warrior princess like your Auntie?” Diego’s eyes settle on Isabella, and in their depths, all I can see is want and need. He will never release her, he believes that she belongs to him.
Julia squirms in my hold, demanding to be put down, and I’m loath to release my hold on her, but I also don’t want to cause her further distress. Right now, Diego is not doing anything to harm her, and she’s forgotten her moment of fear, her breathing less labored with her annoyance at his words. “Momma is a beautiful fairy princess, silly. She’s not a warrior!” Julia’s little fists meet her hips as she bravely steps towards Diego, her small dark brows pulled together in concentration.
An amused chuckle sounds from the menace before us. “I’m not so sure you’re right about that, little cherub. I think your momma has some of your Gammy and Auntie’s strength in her.” Diego squats down until he’s at eye level with Julia, and I watch as her eyes peruse all his tattoos with wide eyes. “What’s a cherub, momma?” She turns her little head and looks at Isabella for clarification, curiosity plain on her little face, her fear temporarily forgotten.
“It’s a small angel. He thinks you look like a baby angel, Julia.” If we weren’t in one of the most terrifying situations I have ever lived through, I would laugh at the look of indignation Julia gives Diego, in response to her mother’s explanation for his term of endearment.
Diego releases a loud, booming laugh at her look. “I see you don’t like that, but to me, that’s what you are. A beautiful baby angel.”
“Ab… uela... what’s that, Daddy? How can I have another grandmother? I’m not like Alexander and Caesar, I don’t have lots of daddies! I can’t have lots of grandmothers.”
Julia turns her suspicious look back on me, and I feel my tongue get heavy, my words of denial refusing to escape me. She’smine, my daughter, but she’s alsohis. If I deny his words, it will only make the situation worse. Diego won’t stand by and not claim her, now that he knows about her and has her back in his life. Will I be doing more harm than good by telling her he is her father too? Can she even handle and process information like that, or is it likely to trigger her into one of her episodes?
As I’m busy making up my mind, the choice is taken from me. “I’m your father, Julia. Just like your cousins, you have more than one daddy. You’re a lucky girl. You have two, and you have such a beautiful momma.”
Fuck.
Chapter seventeen
Issy
“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.”
Elvis Presley
“I’m your father, Julia. Just like your cousins, you have more than one daddy. You’re a lucky girl. You have two, and you have such a beautiful momma.” Diego’s words, and how he utters them with complete sincerity and calmness, have me choking on my breath, and cause me to break into a cough. I have to brace my hands on my knees to try to catch my breath. At least he didn’t deny that Kai was her father; who knows how Julia would react to those words?
“Jesus, Isabella, are you alright?“ Kai leaves our daughter’s side and approaches me, grabbing my arm while I try to regain my breath. My eyes rise and meet his, and in their light blue depths, I see worry, but also a calmness that is solely Kai.My white knight always rescuing me.
My daughter races over, her little breaths leaving her in small pants that terrify me, as she wraps her small arms around my legs, almost taking me right off my feet with her enthusiasm, as she clutches herself to me. “Momma, he’s lying! I don’t have two daddies, do I?”Shit, how do I answer that question without either confusing her, enraging Diego, or hurting Kai?There are no right choices here, and someone will get hurt no matter what I do.
Before I can articulate a single word, Santiago rushes into the room, his face fierce, and large body strapped with weapons. “Jefe(boss), we are under attack. Somehow, Stella’s mercenaries have found us. We have to leave now, before we become trapped under enemy fire. TheReina de Hielo (ice queen)is coming!”
“Gammy!” Julia exclaims excitedly. I grab her and lift her into my arms, preventing her from trying to rush out of the room and into danger. “No, Julia, Gammy is not here, just her soldiers.” The momentary chaos gives me a temporary reprieve from answering my daughter’s question, and right now, I’ll take all the breaks I can get.
“That fuck-” Diego seems to catch himself as he’s about to spew more profanity, and of course, Julia, the little minx, immediately picks up on it. “Momma, he said a bad word.” She points her little finger in accusation at Diego. “He needs to put a dollar in the bad word jar, and lose his tablet privileges!”
A humorous chuckle escapes Santiago. “He’s going to fill that jar, and buy you a pony, within the week,preciosa pequeña (precious little one).”Santiago waggles his dark, bushy eyebrows at Julia’s excited face.
“A pony, momma, he says I’m going to get apony.“ A groan from Diego has a smirk breaking across my face. That will teach the asshole to control his temper, and Julia’s not likely to forget the pony bit, either. She’ll keep bringing it up until one shows up. I blame Stella and my sister, Mia, for that. They both spoil her rotten, while Kai and I do our best to try to keep her grounded, not that it’s working in the slightest.