Tangled Deception (Web of Secrets Book 2)

Chapter 2

One Week Later

“Be careful, Amina. Listen to the trainer and follow her instructions. Momma’s gonna be out there watching, but I want you to remember what I said.”

Amina nodded. “I will, Mommy.”

Her baby girl looked so small in her new riding gear. At the birthday party last weekend, when the horse showed up, she couldn’t help but admit how beautiful of a creature it was. There was a smaller horse that also arrived. She was told it was a training pony to get Amina used to riding. After a few months of sessions with the smaller horse, and if Amina was comfortable, they would allow her to ride Onyx.

While still at the party, when she realized how hurtful her words were to Leo, she tried to pull him aside to talk. He was having none of it. If she attempted to approach him, he would walk away. When he was in a group of people and couldn’t leave without making it obvious, he directed all his conversation to the others. At one point, she saw him and Tristan in a heated conversation with Tristan shaking his head as if disagreeing with Leo. After a few minutes, they seemed to come to an agreement. From that moment on, even Tristan seemed to help Leo avoid her.

She knew she had fucked up.

Leo had left the party early, grabbing Amina in a huge, tight hug before smiling as he said goodbye. He never looked in her direction.

Shandra tried to talk to Camille about it before she and Tristan left, but even her friend told her to let it go for now. That Leo needed this time to come to grips with the knowledge that she didn’t feel the same about him as he did about her and Amina.

Problem was, Shandra felt the same way about Leo.

She wanted to deny her friend’s words. She wanted to tell Camille just how deep her feelings were for Leo, but knew it wasn’t the right time. During this past year, she finally began to feel more than she ever expected for a man. The way he loved her little girl and took care of them, in his own way, had made her heart beat faster in his presence. Even the thought of seeing him would cause her palms to get sweaty. And that scared her. What if he hurt her? Not like she was hurt six years ago, but there were other ways someone could be ripped apart. Shandra didn’t believe she was ready for that, and the fear of losing Leo was almost too much to handle, which is why she pushed him away.

It’s not that she didn’t feel anything for him. It was just the opposite. She felt too much.

The day after the birthday party, Amina’s riding clothes, boots, and helmet arrived at their home. In fact, several pairs of everything had been delivered. There were explicit instructions that, after each lesson, the clothes and boots were to be placed in a special bag and put on the front porch. Someone would come to pick up the items, thoroughly clean them, and have them returned within twenty-four hours.

The trainer’s bio was sent over on Monday, along with videos of her training other students around Amina’s age. Two helpers were also specifically assigned to help Amina with anything she needed while at the stables. She would learn how to care for her horse, Onyx, as well as the training pony, who was named Buttercup.

Leo thought of everything.

Now they were here, at Tristan and Camille’s home, for the first lesson. One helper stood off to the side. “Ma’am, I can take Miss Amina outside. We will wait for you to come out to see the training before we begin. For now, we’ll spend time introducing Amina to her new best friend.”

Shandra nodded in response. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.” She grimaced when she finished speaking and watched the young woman walk Amina to the back of the house. The formal way some people around Tristan and Camille spoke sometimes threw her off. She grew up using street talk. Being all formal and shit was not natural for her. Having her baby girl around people who called her ‘Miss Amina’ all the time, as if she were born in this upper-crust world, was crazy.

In her world, people were gritty and hard, and if you weren’t family or a friend, they would be more likely to put a bullet in your head before they would ever call you ma’am or defer to you in any way.

Now that Camille was married to Tristan, and having a baby, this is the world Amina would be involved in more and more. She and Amina spent at least every other weekend with Camille, either at the main estate or at one of their smaller vacation homes. Her little girl had her own room in each home, which was decked out and built for a princess. Plus, there were servants at her beck-and-call at all times of the day and night. This was not a world Shandra knew well, but she also realized she needed to get comfortable real fucking quick.

And while Tristan didn’t think Shandra knew, her daughter also had a bodyguard that watched over her when she was at her fancy private daycare that Camille convinced her was necessary. No matter where they were, even at home, Shandra knew there were guards protecting them.

When Tristan said they were family, the man apparently meant that shit. And because Amina was Camille’s goddaughter, that resulted in a different life than Shandra ever expected her little girl to have.

“Hey, girl,” Camille called out as she came from the kitchen. “Why are you standing there looking all crazy? You okay?” she asked with a smile.

Shandra hugged her friend and nodded. She then tilted her head toward the door Amina had walked through a few seconds before. “Amina is here for her first riding lesson. I’m just thinking about how big our girl is getting. It feels like time is flying by so fast. Too fast.” Shandra wiped at the wetness pooling in her eyes. “Don’t mind me, I’m having a momma moment. How are you feeling?” She wrapped her arm around Camille’s shoulder, turning them around to head back into the kitchen.

“I’m good. Can’t wait until this big-headed baby comes out.” They both laughed.

“Don’t call my son big-headed,” Tristan said as he walked into the large kitchen. “What does that even mean, anyway? You know he can hear you. I don’t want my son thinking something is wrong with him, so you can’t say those things.” Tristan stood behind Camille, lifting her chin to kiss her softly. “Be nice to our baby.”

“Okay, I will. But why don’t you tell him to quit sitting on my bladder?”

Tristan leaned down to Camille. Shandra then watched one of the most dangerous men in the state, or even the whole United States, as he whispered soft words to his baby, who was nestled safely inside his momma’s belly. That’s the type of love she wanted. Someone unafraid to show exactly how much he loved her, not caring who else was in the room.

Standing up, he kissed Camille again. “Okay, done. Our boy’s gonna be good for a while. But you have to remember, he’s got both of us in him, so I don’t know how long this reprieve will last.” When turning to leave, his eyes finally landed on Shandra. His gaze turned hard, but she wasn’t afraid. “Shandra.”

Usually, he was much nicer to her, but not today. She could figure out why, but it still hurt. So, she gave it back to him just as good; she nodded without smiling. “Lucarelli.” He hated it when she called him by his last name.

He opened his mouth, then closed it as if he had changed his mind. “Leo will be here today. We both want to see how Amina does with her first lesson.”

At his words, her breath caught. Her gaze flew to the window overlooking the large expanse of their backyard, looking for him. “Is he here now?” Not that she cared… okay, she did care, but she didn’t want to reveal it.

“Yes, he came earlier to ensure everything was ready to go. Listen, I know what he told me, and I’m not going to get in the middle of your shit—”

“Then don’t,” she snapped.

His lips thinned a bit before he continued. “He is my brother. He considers my home his, and I feel the same. There will never be a time when he is not fully welcome to come and go as he pleases. And Amina is our goddaughter. We will see her as often as we want. That will never change.”

Shandra nodded. She had no issues with that. Plus, when Amina was here, she was one of the most protected children in the state.

He continued, “Whether or not you believe it, Leo loves your little girl. His entire life, he has only ever been focused on the next mission, the next assignment. And being loyal to me. But then a beautiful little girl came into his life, and his focus changed. He smiled more. He was less likely to anger. The protector in him became more pronounced. She, and her mother, became so much more to him than he ever expected.”

Shandra wanted to cry. She looked over at Camille, who had a sad look on her face. She sat up a little straighter after turning her gaze back to Tristan. Yes, she had hurt him, but she didn’t know he felt that way. Then, a little voice inside her head told her to stop lying. She knew exactly how that man felt about them, and she used it against him. She wanted to speak, but did not know what to say. The lump in her throat didn’t make things easier.

“And then one day, when he felt secure enough in his feelings for this woman and her child and was ready to tell her, his feelings were thrown back in his face. He was told to stay in his place and not forget who he was.” Tristan shook his head. “Just like Leo is my brother, you are my sister through Camille. You will always have my protection, and I will love you as she loves you. I just thought….”

“Tristan,” Camille called out his name in what sounded like a warning or caution. He looked at his wife, who slowly shook her head.

“Yeah, you’re right. Never mind what I thought. It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said to his wife before he again looked at Shandra. “Leo would kill me if he knew I was having this conversation. I just don’t want you to be shocked if you two come across each other while Amina’s doing her lessons.”

Shandra nodded as she watched Tristan leave the house.

“I’m sorry, girl. You gonna be alright? Don’t worry. I’ll kick his ass once everybody leaves today. I just hate to challenge him in front of other people. He thinks he’s doing the right thing for his brother.”

One hand reached up to wipe her eyes. She hadn’t teared up this much in years. But after one week of drama, she’d turned into a damn faucet. “With that big ol’ belly, you’re not kicking anyone’s ass. Plus, he said nothing that was untrue. Camille, I was just scared of getting too close to Leo. I mean, the man can be overwhelming.”

Camille sighed. “Honey, I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this, but since Tristan opened the door, I need to get this off my chest.” She then began pacing the floor, her large belly leading the way.

“Um, what is it? Don’t leave me hanging.”

“Leo brought someone with him today. He says they’re just friends, but we kinda think he did it for a bit of cover. Don’t tell him I said that. The thing is, I’ve never seen him bring a woman around. Like ever. But today, knowing you might be here for Amina’s lesson, he brought some chick to my house. Well, he didn’t bring her inside. Because even though y’all are fighting your feelings like Tyson vs. Holyfield, I know what’s up, and I’m not playing that shit.”

Shandra couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Leo brought another woman here? This was their family’s home. Bringing another woman here was some bullshit. What kind of message did that give to Amina? Would he introduce another woman to her daughter? She would be so confused. Amina felt Leo belonged to their family. When she could not convince him to come and see her this past week, she made her unhappiness known, and her anger was focused directly on Shandra. Amina had no idea what happened, but she knew something was not right in her world.

Leo always stopped by the house during the week for dinner and to hangout, and she had gotten used to that. But not last week. No, things had been different for their little hodge-podge family, and Amina had not been happy with the adults in her life. She cried out for her Leo the Lion almost every night before she went to sleep.

And now, he does this. Her little girl would be so hurt.

“Oh, hell no,” she muttered before getting up from her chair. “I need to go see how Amina’s doing with her lesson.” Shandra wasn’t ready to admit that Amina wasn’t the only one whose heart would crack if Leo moved on with someone else.

“Don’t go out there, Shandra. Not like this. Plus, you don’t want him, right? It was your decision to push him away. So, you need to just let it go. At least for today.”

Truth be told, Camille wanted her to go out there and raise some hell. Leo and Shandra needed to stop playing around and quit fighting their feelings. So, petty as she was, she wanted this showdown to happen.

Camille glanced at her friend and could tell she was torn between making a scene and pretending it didn’t bother her. “I’m just saying, if you don’t want him, then let him go so he can be happy with someone else.”

Those words paused Shandra for a moment. Maybe she should be an adult about this whole thing. Be the bigger person and all that shit…

“Nah, fuck that.”