Tangled Deception (Web of Secrets Book 2)

Chapter 13

Hours later, Shandra and Camille sat together, holding hands—heads close together, whispering. Amina rode her bike on the grounds while Toni watched her like a hawk. Of course, her little girl had no idea what had happened to her home. Once Shandra finished speaking to her on the phone as they sped towards her now destroyed home, Leo took the phone. He told Toni to change directions and head to the Lucarelli compound.

Leo and Tristan were on the other side of the room, watching the two women. As Leo observed them, he realized what they were talking about. Based on what Shandra had told him about their adventure in the woods almost six years ago, he knew they were plotting to do something they shouldn’t, especially considering Camille carried the Lucarelli heir in her stomach. There was no way in hell he was going to allow the two of them to cook up some secret mission to take out the whole family.

That was his job. And he was damn good at it.

Tristan ran a hand down his face in apparent frustration. “You know what we need to do. There’s no other option. Unless you can tell me something I don’t know, they have to go. You can’t make a move on our family and not feel the consequences.”

Leo shook his head in agreement. “You know what I think we have to do. They came after Shandra, which means they came after me. They came after my family.” Leo did not realize that he had been claiming Shandra as his family all day. Nothing like a dangerous, life-threatening event to put things into perspective. “But before we light their asses up, I want to know why. What was so fucking important that Oscar would risk the lives of everyone in his family?”

He was disgusted even thinking about how a man could be so fucking weak. All the families had lived among each other for so long. The truce between them had worked out well over the years, even when Tristan’s father and uncle were head of the family. Everyone could get their slice of the pie, and people were able to live without too much bullshit happening.

All that was fucked up now. All because someone couldn’t hold their fucking family together.

“I think I have an idea.” Tristan turned his back to the women. “Andrea is spoiled. You know it. Hell, we both know it. That woman is like a damn powder keg with no barriers holding her back. Her family has spoiled her rotten her entire life, and she’s played up that persona for years. What Andrea wants, she gets, except you. Now, Oscar knows if he sanctioned this, there’s going to be a war. He was asked to put the kibosh on her little tantrum. To let things lie. To force her to accept that her little crush on you would not amount to anything. As the acting head of that family, his word should be law. For him to go against his word to me, he would know it means death. There’s no other way around it.”

Leo nodded his head. He knew that also, which is why none of this made sense. Unless… he took a step back and shook his head in disbelief.

“Now you get where I’m going. I believe Andrea made this move on Shandra, on our family, without Oscar’s knowledge. If Shandra were hurt or killed, not only would she be punishing you for rejecting her for another woman, but she would also get to hurt Shandra as well. Payback for getting punched in the face and embarrassed. But there’s a second angle to this.”

Leo paced in front of his friend, all the pieces clicking together. “She would also start a potential war between the families. She would know this isn’t something you can let slide. She’s trying to take her brother out. Holy fuck.”

As the two men continued speaking, Shandra and Camille were making their own plans. This is what they did. They always took care of their own problems. This situation, as fucked up as it was, was no different.

“Shandra, I know it was that bitch Andrea who did this. Even if she didn’t do it herself, she had her weak-ass brother do it for her,” Camille spat. “There’s no way we can let this go. I know the guys will want to handle it themselves and leave us out of it. Tristan will consider this family business. Something that has to be dealt with as the head of his family, but fuck that. They messed with MY family.”

Shandra shook her head. “No, Camille. I can’t just stand back and do nothing. They blew up my home. All my baby’s stuff. The pictures of her in my arms. All our keepsakes. Things I’ll never be able to get back. It was mine. Something I fought for. I created a place where my baby and I could feel safe. Camille, what if my baby had been inside? Hmmm? What then? They were trying to hurt me in a way I’ll never understand. And for what?”

Camille had no answer to that question because she had thought the same thing. What if Shandra and Amina had both been inside at the time? Would the perpetrators have taken the time to get them out of the house before the explosion? Would they have sacrificed a woman and her child over some silly bitch’s hurt feelings? All because a man was not interested in her.

Actually, when she thought of it that way, Camille knew exactly what they would be doing right now. “What then? Well, I think we wouldn’t be here having a conversation and strategizing about what to do next. You’re my sister by choice. Through blood, sweat, and tears, we made it to this point in our lives. The shit we’ve done to protect each other… just know that I will always have your back. Even if that means standing next to my man as he burns the other families to the ground and destroys their legacies. No one fucks with the Lucarelli family. The only reason this entire city is not going up in flames right now is because you and Amina are safe here. With me. We can replace your house, buy new clothes, and take new pictures. But I could never replace two of the people I love most in this world. So, for their own sake, they better be glad you and Amina weren’t in the house. That’s the only thing giving them a few more hours to live.”

Tears welled in Shandra’s eyes at Camille’s words, because she felt the same way. Although she and Leo weren’t married yet, if anything happened to Camille, they would both be by Tristan’s side when he went on his rampage. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You’re welcome, Sis. And good thing you’ll never have to find out. Now, back to what we were saying. You know I can’t go with you this time. With this big-headed baby in my stomach, I can’t move how I used to. Me being there would only slow you down. And for this, I need you to be a fucking shadow. There can be no mistakes. Honestly, I think you need to wait until we know what the family’s response is going to be. Or, at the very least, you need to call Dwayne. He’ll be able to give you some of his people for support. You can’t do this alone.”

A smile lit up Shandra’s face. “Oh, I wasn’t planning on going in alone. Have you met Amina’s bodyguard? Shit, with her by my side, it’ll almost be like having you. Just less crazy.”

Both women laughed, knowing that Shandra spoke the truth. She was crazy, but Camille was certifiable.

“I heard she came highly recommended. Something about being a paid mercenary or some shit. When I look at her, I don’t quite see it, but looks can be deceiving.” She smirked before putting up her fist for a bump. “Do you think she’ll help you?”

“I think I’d have a hard time stopping her. That woman takes her job seriously as fuck. I like her though. She could be one of us if I can convince her to stay in one place. With your little one coming soon, having her around would be good.”

“If she’s as badass as you claim, it seems odd that she would stick around for a glorified babysitter role.”

Shandra shrugged, unsure how to respond to that. “There’s something about her that I don’t understand. Honestly, could she walk away today and go off to be a killing machine without any regrets for the next five to ten years? Probably. But sometimes, when she looks at Amina, she looks… I don’t know. It’s like she’s remembering someone. She looks so fucking wrecked. Then seconds later, the mask slips back on, and she’s cold as fucking ice. I’m telling you, that someone potentially put Amina in danger is all she needs.”

“Maybe I need to get to know her a little better. It would be good having someone around with those skills. Once this baby is born, I need to get back into fighting shape. She can help me with that.”

“Listen to me, Camille. For the time being, I need you to worry about staying off your feet, giving birth to my godchild, and being the badass Donna of this family. You let me worry about what will happen next with this whole situation. You know those two are going to try and keep us out of what’s going to happen.” While she appreciated everything Leo was doing, she couldn’t be left out. Hell, she wanted to lead the fucking charge, but she also understood Camille’s point. Maybe she needed to wait and see what the official response would be. She just hated waiting. The best way to handle a situation like this was to catch them off-guard. Either strike before they expect a response or allow them to get lulled into a false sense of comfort.

They spoke for a few more minutes, discussing ways for Shandra and Toni to get to Andrea, since she was the ultimate goal. If anyone else in the family got in the way, they would handle them as well.

Toni and Amina walked into the house sometime later; her high-pitched voice could be heard coming from the foyer and hallway. “And then, when I was playing with the dollhouse, she came over and told me to move. So, you know what I did?”

“What?” Toni could be heard asking.

“Well, I told her to go pound sand ‘cause I would call my Leo the Lion to make her leave me alone.” The words were said so easily and with such confidence, it caused all the adults in the room just down the hallway to pause. Tristan, Leo, and Camille smiled. Shandra smiled at first, then she was horrified. Her daughter was threatening other kids at school. Was she going to sic’ Leo on them like an avenging angel? Funny thing was, he probably would do just that. Well, not the kids, but their parents would quickly learn to control their children, or there would be consequences and repercussions.

They all stayed silent as Toni spoke up. “Who taught you that word? Pound sand.”

“My uncle Tristan and auntie Camille. They’re, um… bad. Bad assers. I heard it. No one saw me playing behind the couch this one time. My auntie said my uncle was a bad asser and that no one fuc—”

“Whoa! Okay, I think I get it. How about we don’t tell anyone what your auntie said to your uncle?”

After a pause, Amina responded. “Okay. But I’m still gonna tell Amy to pound sand if she messes with me. I don’t like her. Maybe I’ll get Leo to make her disappeared. You know, he does that sometimes. One time, I was in the room, and no one knew I was there. Uncle Tristan and my Leo were talking about some mean people messing with our family. Oh, just so you know, no one should ever mess with our family. We’re all bad assers. At least that’s what Uncle Orlando says, but he doesn’t know I heard him either,” she pointed out. “Anyway, my Leo told Uncle Tristan that the people were, um… the word you said I can’t say, well, they were messing with our family and that they had to be taken care of. And that’s what happened. I think. Because my Leo and Uncle Tristan are important men. People are always doing what they tell them. And they don’t even raise their voice. Well, not really,” she corrected herself.

“But sometimes, their voices get really deep, and they speak weird. Then people run away to do what they were told to do. When I grow up, I’m going to be like my Mommy and Auntie Camille. Are you a bad asser, Ms. Toni? If not, my Mommy and Auntie can help you. But my Leo and Uncle Tristan only tell people what to do and makes the mean peoples disappeared. I don’t think they’re bad assers though. Not like my Mommy and Auntie Camille. It’s okay though. I still love them because they treat me like I’m the most special girl ever.”

Just as Amina finished talking, they arrived at the open door of the main study. All four adults stood there gawking at the small child. Tristan and Leo laughed, using their hands to cover their mouths. Camille looked proud. Shandra, on the other hand, was horrified. She was shocked at her daughter’s words, but couldn’t help being a tad happy that she thought her mom and aunt were “bad assers.” They would definitely have to be more careful with what they said around her. She was picking up too much. Shandra would need to make sure Amina was not lingering in the room when they talked about business.

“Hi Mommy!” She hugged Shandra around the waist. “Hi Auntie. Hi baby in Auntie’s belly. I can’t wait to see you.” Amina had no idea how much chaos her words caused. Even Toni had a smirk on her face when seeing their reaction.

Leo squatted down on bended knee and opened his arms. Amina didn’t hesitate to leave her mom’s side and walk into his embrace. “Hey sweetheart. What was all that stuff you were saying to Ms. Toni?” She wouldn’t be in trouble. He would rather cut his heart out with a spoon than cause any hurt to come to Amina, but he was still curious.

“I was just telling Ms. Toni how cool my family is. It’s okay that you make peoples disappeared,” she said, looking between Leo and Tristan. “I’m a big girl. I know how to keep secrets. Protecting the family always comes first.”

Shandra knew she had to do something. Her baby girl shouldn’t know any of this. She sure as hell had no business talking about protecting the family.

“Honey, that’s not for you to worry about. All you need to do is focus on learning in school and having fun.” If nothing else, Shandra had to get things back on track.

“I know. And when you marry my Leo and have a new baby, I’ll be a big sister. I can’t wait to be a big sister and a big cousin to the big-headed baby in Auntie Camille’s stomach.” Unaware of the shock her words caused, Amina grabbed Leo’s face in her small hand. “It’s okay that I told her, right? You were talking to Uncle Tristan the day that mean lady was here, and I heard you. You didn’t know I was in the room, but I was. My heart was so big when you said that because I want you to be my Daddy and give Mommy a baby, and then we’ll finally be a real family.”

Well, when her eavesdropping resulted in little nuggets of information like that, maybe Shandra couldn’t be mad after all.

A pin dropped on the ground could be heard in the silence blanketing the room.

“Oh, shit. With that, I think I’m going to head out and check the perimeter. Let you all have a family discussion.” Toni backed away, hands in the air with a grin.

Leo wasn’t upset at all the things she overheard. However, he had some explaining to do later once he and Shandra were alone. He sighed before standing and lifting Amina in his arms. “So, tell us what else you’ve heard.”

And tell she did.

They would have to be extremely cautious about what they said whenever Amina was nearby. Her ears were always open, and at her young age, she could repeat something that should be kept private.