Page 19 of Vicious Seduction
Once he was gone, Renzo and I lingered out front for a private word.
“I want to thank you again for doing this,” I said quietly. “I’ll definitely owe you.”
Renzo rubbed his palms together as if in anticipation. “We appreciate you bringing this to our attention. The Moretti family has zero tolerance for trafficking, especially on our own goddamn docks.”
When I first went to them about Wellington, I hadn’t been sure how they’d respond. Plenty of organizations on our side of the law dabbled in the skin trade. They could have been partners with him for all I knew. Thank God that wasn’t the case. The Donatis quickly stepped up and offered to help with my plans in any way they could. No matter what Renzo said, I definitely owed him.
“Just give me a little time to get matters in order. I want Wellington to crash and burn, and to do that, I need him to think he’s untouchable.”
“Understood. So long as you plan to gut the fucker, we’ll follow your lead.”
With that, the final pieces of my plan fell into place … aside from Lina. What had seemed like a given in the beginning would end up being the greatest challenge. Difficulty hadn’t stopped me before, and it wouldn’t this time around. After my talk with Nana, I finally felt confident about what needed to happen. I had to get Lina away from Wellington, one way or another.
CHAPTER 10
LINA
The one goodthing I could say about my mom was that she chose not to raise me herself. Granted, it was probably a selfish move to avoid dealing with me rather than an insightful acknowledgment of her lack of maternal instinct, but whatever. The result was the same.
In her endeavor to ensure she could be as hands-off as possible, she’d chosen one of the kindest, most nurturing replacements imaginable. Gloria Ruiz came into my life a month before my father died of an aggressive brain tumor. At the tender age of six, I was told that my father, my world, was sick, and a month later, he was gone. Mom started dating Charles two months later and marriedhim within a year. Gloria became my rock. I was certain she was the only reason I wasn’t a complete sociopath.
When I left home years later, I never once returned, but every few months, I made a concerted effort to stop by Gloria’s small apartment in Queens to check on her. She still worked for my mother and seeing her there would have saved me time, but I’d sooner have swum naked in a bathtub full of jellyfish than go back to the Brooks house. I wouldn’t even visit my little sister, Amelie, at the house. I went to her dance studio or dropped by her school to eat lunch with her. As far as I was concerned, my family home didn’t exist.
Gloria knew I didn’t care for my mother. She assumed that was because Eliza had been emotionally unavailable. I never told Gloria the extent of my mother’s depravity. That would have devastated her. She would have quit her job on principle, and I’d needed her to be there for Amelie.
My little sister was only six when I left home. The age gap kept us from being close at the time, but I wasn’t going to leave her in that house alone. I did everything I could for her, but it still wasn’t enough.
I miss her so damn much.
“There’s my little Lina, mija, how are you?” Gloria wrapped me in a crushing hug that a seventy-two-year-old waif of a woman shouldn’t have been capable of. The welcoming smile on her face was ecstatic, and her joy infectious.
“Hey, Mama G. It’s so good to see you.” I’d never met anyone else who made my soul smile the way Gloria could. “I’m sorry it’s been a bit longer than normal. I’ve been crazy busy.”
Truth be told, I’d avoided seeing her out of shame. She’d never intentionally make me feel guilty—I brought that on myself. If I wanted to make anyone proud, it was Gloria. Shedidn’t even have to be aware of my failures for me to feel worse about them in her presence. It was enough that I knew, and I hated feeling like I let her down.
“You don’t need to worry about me.” She swatted away the idea as if ridiculous. “You and your sister are busy girls with full lives. I may be old, but I still remember those days. Now come sit at the table with me. I’ll get you some caldo to warm you up. This winter seems extra cold already. I’m dreading January.”
“You know I can’t refuse your caldo.”
“Good, because I made more than I should have. I wish I could send Mellie some soup, but the shipping takes too long. I looked up the weather in France, and it doesn’t seem like it gets quite so cold. Hopefully, she’s staying warm.” She took out a Tupperware from the fridge and poured the contents into an old pot over a gas burner. “That’ll be warm in no time, and while we wait, you can tell me all about what you’ve been up to. How is the design business?”
Hearing my sister’s nickname carved a ragged gash into the surface of my heart. My hand pressed flat against my chest over the lancing pain.
“It’s really good. Cosmo is …Cosmo,” I said with a dramatic wave of my hand. “We’re wrapping up summer contracts and getting started on designs for next fall.”
“So soon?”
I shrugged with a small smile. “Now that we have a solid pool of buyers, we’ve been able to line up collections further in advance.”
“Oh,mija, that’s wonderful!” She squeezed my hand. “And what about that love life of yours? Meet any handsome young men lately?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, making me laugh.
“You are incorrigible.”
“You mispronouncedhopeful. I just don’t want you to be alone, little Lina. You know that.”
“I know, Mama G. That’s very sweet of you, but no white knights on the horizon.” The words hadn’t left my mouth before the image of silver eyes peering out from behind a black mask surfaced in my mind.
Knight or villain? I couldn’t decide.