Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Alejandro
Tía Elle stands in the doorway like she’s guarding a castle. Her expression is unflinching, and she could be carved out of stone. She stares at Vita, and it makes me regret bringing the woman I’ve fallen for straight into the lion’s—lioness’s—den.
“I’ll let you enter my home, Vittoria, but it doesn’t mean I’ll let you leave.”
Well, that’s not at all ominous.
I definitely regret my decision now. Has my tía just put a bullseye on my maybe-girlfriend?
Tía Elle backs away and makes room for us to pass.
She stares at me and my arm wrapped around Vita’s waist. She’s laser focused, and it feels like her gaze could burn straight through.
She closes the door behind us and follows us into the living room.
As though she’s not enough to take on, Mamá, Tía Margarita, and Tía Luciana are there with Tío Enrique and Papá.
Tío Luis is traveling right now. He’s dealing with some forgetful men in Bogotá. Their memories need refreshing. They owe us money if they want to avoid a rival gang going after them in prison.
I guide Vita over to one of the love seats. The living room in this house is massive with two sofas, three love seats, and four armchairs.
Mamá and Papá sit in the love seat next to ours. Everyone’s gaze is riveted on how I hold Vita’s hand between us. I want to draw them onto my leg to reassure her, but that would do the exact opposite for her.
Tía Elle and Tío Enrique sit on a sofa, his arm draped around her shoulders. My parents sit the same way. Tres J’s each take an armchair, and my other two tías share the last love seat.
“Thank you for having me here.”
Vita sounds unsure of herself, and her tone is so contrary to what I know that I give her hand a squeeze.
Tía Elle’s hand rests on my tío’s thigh. When he opens his mouth, I suspect she applies a little pressure because she’s the one to speak next.
“It’s been a long time, Vittoria. You’re looking better than you did the last time we saw each other.”
That comment sucks the air from the room. My gaze darts to my parents, and Mamá’s eyes narrow. She’s forgiven Tía Elle for the danger I was in because Tía Elle spared my life. But now Mamá’s questioning my good sense, bringing a woman into our family who clearly has a past with a fellow mercenary.
“Elodie, I’d say we both came out no worse for wear.”
I’ve never seen that expression on my tía’s face before. It could freeze lava.
“I see your arm works just fine.”
I shift my gaze to Vita for her reaction.
“I see your breathing’s not so labored anymore.”
There’s color rising in Tío Enrique’s neck and up into his ears. It’s hard to tell with his perpetual tan, but I know him better than most. I recognize it better than anyone because the same thing happens to me when my temper is about to combust.
“Ellie, what are you two talking about?”
His tone could cut diamonds. My tía cocks an eyebrow as she stares at Vita, daring her to explain.
“Your wife shot me, Enrique.”
I don’t notice how tightly I’m squeezing her hand until she flexes her fingers. I glance down at them and realize she’s probably lost feeling in most of her hand by now.
“Well, you did break my ribs and left me to find my own way to the hospital in Budapest.”
Oh, fuck.
Oh, fuck.
Oh, fuck.
Tío Enrique is going to lose his ever-loving mind. None of us carry guns in each other’s homes, but we all still have knives in our pockets. He may kill Vita here on the spot. My heart’s racing as I wait to see what’ll happen next.
I’m ready to throw my body in front of hers. Realizing I’d protect her means I’d choose her over my family. It might make my heart stop. It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted to choose someone who doesn’t share my DNA.
Vita’s chin comes up, and her gaze doesn’t soften as she shifts it from Tía Elle to Tío Enrique.
“We both lived to tell the tale, and if anything, Enrique, I think that proves you couldn’t find a better woman than Elodie.”
Once my heart beats again, I know I’ve found the perfect woman for me. Assuming we both make it out alive, that is. I want to cut in, but Tío Enrique’s stare makes me snap my mouth shut. There’s no changing the subject yet.
“Ellie, explain.”
He doesn’t exactly bark an order at his wife, but we all know this is the jefe de jefes speaking.
“Kiko, it was a long time ago.”
How long ago could it have been if Vita’s only been in this job for two years? Perhaps it was while she was a spy.
As though she can read my thoughts, Vita looks up at me.
“It was while I was with AISE. Our paths crossed.”
“You worked for Italian Foreign Intelligence?”
I think there’s a smidge of respect in my tío’s tone that wasn’t there a moment ago.
“Yes, for six years.”
“What made you leave?”
I’m unprepared for Tía Elle to come to Vita’s rescue. “Kiko, that’s a story for another day.”
Only my tía calls him that. No one else would dare. Sometimes, Mamá, Papá, and my other tío and tías call him Rique, but never the other diminutive.
My gaze meets Tía Elle’s, and I realize she knows more about Vita than I guessed.
She must be aware of what happened to Vita’s brothers and what happened to Rafael.
She’s protecting Vita in front of my father.
I dip my chin, hoping it’s an unnoticeable movement to anyone but her.
However, both of my parents and Tío Enrique’s eyebrows shoot straight up.
For fuck’s sake, can no one in this family have a private thought or moment?
It’s Mamá who jumps in. “What isn’t Elle telling us?”
Tía Elle shoots Vita a questioning expression, but instead of watching her, Vita looks up at me. I release her hand, and there’s a flash of fear in her eyes that I hate. It’s not what I intended, so I’m quick to wrap my arm around her shoulders and nudge her closer to me.
“Do you want me to explain?”
She shakes her head. “I wish you could, but it’d be better if I did.”
She swallows before turning to look at my parents.
“I had two brothers, an older one and a younger one. They were both murdered. My older brother died in Monte Carlo.”
She pauses to see whether my parents can infer what she’s talking about. I see recognition in both of their gazes, but they give nothing else away. I’m not sure if they’re giving her enough rope to hang herself with, or whether they wish to hear things from her perspective.
“Rafael De Santos Rúiz murdered my brother.”
The declaration’s met with silence, which I suppose is better than yelling and knives drawn. She must agree because she continues.
“I grew up Mala del Brenta. Rafael grew up cartel. He knew who my brother was, but he did it anyway.”
My gaze locks on my father while I hold my breath. This can only go one of two ways.
“I’m surprised that little shit lived as long as he did.”
I wait for my father to say more, but that’s it. I rub small circles over the back of Vita’s shoulder, trying to calm her, since I can tell she’s still unsure of how things stand with my family.
I can guess her thoughts. She’s probably wondering if my father’s trying to fool her into believing he’s fine with what happened, but all the while plotting her death.
I shoot my father a look he understands. While I bear the closest physical resemblance to Tío Enrique, my mannerisms, expressions, and speech mirror my father. It’s the same expression he’s always given me, and it means “make this right.”
“Vittoria, Rafael was more trouble than he was worth for most of his life. It surprised no one when he died. It had only been a matter of when and how, not if. Even if no one in my family knew the mercenary who did it, it was obviously a hit. You did a clean job, but you sent the message.”
My brow furrows since I knew about Rafael’s death, but not all the details.
“What do you mean?”
“It was obviously a professional job, but she also made it obvious that it was only about him, not about our family. We all thought whoever commissioned it had a personal grudge with Rafael and that it had nothing to do with business. Rafael made a lot of stupid choices in a short time. There were too many people to count who’d likely want to off him, so nobody dug that deep to find out who orchestrated it. ”
“I worked alone. Even my parents don’t know for sure that it was me.
They heard he died, but no one came out and said it was me.
It would be speculation anyway, since before admitting this to Alejandro, the only person who knew was Rafael himself.
My parents wondered if someone had done them a favor, but when no request for reciprocation came, they figured he’d angered someone else.
It was just a pleasant surprise for them. ”
When Tío Enrique nods, it catches my attention. “Is there anything else we should know?”
I glance over at Vita, and I can tell she’s flashing through her memories, considering whether there’s anything else that concerns my family.
“I can’t say that there isn’t, but nothing comes to mind. There might be something that involved your family that I didn’t know connected you to me. If anything comes out later, it wasn’t because I intentionally hid it.”
“That’s fair.”
Vita looks at my parents. “We all know why I met Alejandro. I can’t change who I’ve been any more than any of you can, but this job ended well before today.
I’ve had assignments that have taken me weeks to accomplish because of the amount of surveillance I’ve needed to do and evidence I’ve had to gather.
Ones that were far more logistically complicated than this one.
I didn’t want to admit it to myself and certainly not to anyone else, but the job was over when I met Alejandro. I’ve never hesitated before.”
She speaks clearly and without reservation. I know my parents won’t entirely believe her yet, but I can tell they recognize her sincerity. If I attempt to vouch for her, they’ll accuse me of being biased, which I am. My gaze locks with Tía Elle, and it’s her turn to dip her chin.