12. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
D ina steepled her fingers and fought to hold back the scream of frustration that threatened to erupt. She had expected the police to return to question Steve and Beto, but she hadn’t counted on this at all.
“You’re going to need more than this,” Miguel, one of the family’s lawyers, shook the paperwork he had been given by the investigators. “We are not going to let you dig through my client’s financial records.”
“We don’t need her records. We need her daughter’s records,” the investigator clarified.
“Not happening,” Miguel refused. “She’s fourteen!”
“We know someone has been sending money to Diego.”
“Probably his mother,” Miguel argued. “She’s been his biggest cheerleader and thinks he’s a saint who can do no wrong. The cartel might also be a good place to start.”
“Do you think we’d be here if we hadn’t done that first?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re clearly not using your brains if you think you can march in here and ask my client to open up her wallet!”
“Then let us talk to your daughter,” the lead investigator requested, turning his attention to Dina. “Let us figure out what she knows so we can find Diego and get him back into custody.”
Dina shook her head. “No, she’s already been through too much.”
“ Senora —.”
“No,” Dina cut in with a slash of her hand. “Listen, I appreciate your position. I understand why you want to speak with her. I want you to find Diego and put him back in prison.”
“But you won’t help us!” the investigator raised his voice in exasperation.
“Not if it risks my daughter’s well-being,” Dina stated firmly.
“If you think having her father running loose isn’t a risk to her well-being, you’re crazy.” The investigator gestured to his partner who had said nothing during the entire meeting. “Let’s go.”
Dina held her breath as the investigators left. Miguel glanced at her with concern. “They’ll be back.”
“I know they will.” Dina’s mind reeled as she wondered how best to protect Camila.
“I’m going to speak with them and make it clear they are not to come back here. I want this handled through my office.” Miguel patted her arm and hurried from the room, intent on catching up with the investigators.
Dina took a moment to compose herself. She covered her face with her hands and tried to control her breaths. From the wildly erotic almost-tryst she’d shared with Steve to Camila discovering them to learning that Steve was more connected to Diego than she had imagined, she was on the verge of absolutely fucking losing it.
“Why are you hiding in here?” Soila asked unkindly.
Dina gritted her teeth but kept her expression calm. “I’m not hiding.”
“There’s nothing to be gained from sitting in here crying alone.” Her mother walked into Rafa’s office and stopped behind a leather barrel chair. She placed her hands on the top edge of the chair and leveled a disappointed stare. “You always knew this could happen. You shouldn’t be so surprised.”
“Mama,” Dina said tiredly. “Can we please not do this?”
“What are we doing?”
“You know what you’re doing.”
“Is it wrong of me to encourage my daughter?”
“Encourage?” Dina snapped. “This is encouragement?”
“Don’t get angry with me because you’re filled with regret and embarrassed about mistakes you made!”
“There it is!” Dina shot to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at her mother. “You’ve been holding that in since Diego escaped.”
“Holding what in? What are you talking about?”
Dina glared at her mother who acted so innocent and unknowing. “Don’t act like you haven’t been waiting to throw it back in my face that I’m the reason this is happening. That it’s my fault that Papa and Abuelo are dead! That it’s my fault my daughter is in danger!”
Soila shook her head and waved her hands as if warding off evil. “No, I’m not going to fight with you about this. I’m not taking your bait.” She adjusted her watch and seemed to be trying so hard to remain calm. “You made choices in life, and now you have to deal with the consequences of those choices.” She lifted her gaze, her eyes dark and sad. “We all do.”
Devastated by her mother’s words, Dina stormed by her and out of the office. She walked without purpose, traversing hallways and crossing rooms until she burst out of a side door and into the dusk. The wind had changed, bringing with it the cool, wet air. She breathed in the earthen petrichor and let it cleanse her lungs.
Choices.
Mistakes.
Consequences .
She’d had so many quiet years since Diego went to prison. She’d been able to heal and get comfortable with her life. She’d been able to pretend that she didn’t remember the carnage that followed her stupid decision to date a bad boy when she was a teenager.
A dangerous, alluring, seductive bad boy.
Diego had been everything her parents hated. He’d come from a bad neighborhood, hadn’t finished school, didn’t go to church. He drove a fast car and flashed money. She’d been so stupid to believe all his lies. She’d been so blinded by love and lust that she’d let herself ignore the obvious warning signs.
Until it was too late.
Until she was in too deep with him.
How could she go to her mother and ask for help after being so nasty to her parents about Diego? How could she admit to her father that the boy she loved, the same boy he warned would hurt her, had hit her? Forced her to do terrible, painful things?
She’d been so humiliated and ashamed. She couldn’t bring herself to admit what an idiot she had been. She’d pretended it would get better. She could change him. If she couldn’t change him, she would learn to make him happy. She would do exactly what he wanted, and he would never hit or hurt her again.
But it didn’t work like that.
Abusers abused. Period. Full stop. He was never going to stop hurting her.
When she’d finally worked up the courage to leave, to tell him to go to hell, he had followed through on his meanest and most terrifying threat.
He’d killed her father and grandfather.
He’d destroyed her family.
He’d nearly killed her and Camila.
“Ama?” Camila approached cautiously from the same door Dina had exited earlier. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Dina lied and presented a fake smile. “Why?”
“Ama, it’s raining.” Camila gestured to the haze of raindrops falling all around them.
Dina blinked in shock and realized she had been standing out here getting soaked. She’d been so dazed and lost in her thoughts she hadn’t even felt the cold seeping into her bones. “Oh.”
“Come inside,” Camila urged, gesturing for her mother to follow.
“Yes. I should.” Dina followed her daughter into the house. Just as Camila shut the door, a flash of lightning struck nearby. A clap of thunder followed.
“Just in time,” Camila remarked. “You should get dry before you get sick.” Camila flicked the wet ends of Dina’s hair. “You know what Abuelita says about wet hair.”
Dina swallowed the bitter remark she wanted to make about her mother. Instead, she smiled at her daughter and fell into step next to her. They walked silently to the apartment-like group of rooms that had been remodeled for their use. Neither spoke, probably because neither wanted to ruin what was a peaceful moment.
Eventually, Dina had to say something. “I need to get out of these clothes. You should go eat dinner.”
Camila grimaced. “I’d rather be somewhere quiet.”
Dina didn’t blame her. Jasper would probably be in the throes of his evening grumpiness by now, and Lola and Beto would certainly be picking at each other. “You can bring something up here to eat in my sitting room.”
“Okay.”
Dina watched her daughter leave before making her way to the bathroom where she stripped out of her damp clothing. She used the bathroom, emptying her menstrual cup and noticing her flow was so light today she probably wouldn’t need anything more than a pantyliner tomorrow. She made a mental note to add that to her period tracker app. Her period was changing again, shortening in length but not getting any less intense.
I’m getting old.
Perimenopause? Wasn’t that the new buzzword all over social media lately? When did that even start? Late thirties? Forties?
After washing up and changing into a cozy lounge set, she emerged from her bathroom to find Camila at the small sofa with two trays of food on the coffee table. She’d turned on the TV and had an older episode of La Más Draga playing in the background.
“Tio Beto helped carry up the trays,” Camila said and made room on the sofa. “I couldn’t manage both.”
“That was nice of him.” She settled onto the cushion next to her daughter. “Who has Jasper for the night?”
“Tia Lola. She said Abuelita went to bed early with a headache.”
Dina made a sympathetic sound and reached for the beautifully plated tacos waiting for her.
“Tia Lola made the plates,” Camila explained. “I was going to make some sandwiches, but Tio Beto said he’d cooked all this food for us. I felt bad.”
“That’s why he said it.” Dina rolled her eyes. “He probably wants to get rid of the evidence of his overcooked meat.”
“I think Tia Lola must have gotten her hands on the grill. These fajitas aren’t even crispy!”
Dina had to admit the meat was cooked perfectly and so were the onions and peppers. Between the two of them, Dina and Camila polished off every last morsel of food, devouring the beautifully marinated arrachera along with the corn tortillas, guacamole and pico. The only thing that would have made the meal better was a giant margarita, but she made do with the ice-cold Coke Camila had brought.
Not wanting to push her daughter, Dina waited patiently for Camila to speak after they finished dinner and tidied up the space. They had settled back on the couch to finish the reality show episode. The drag queen contestants looked incredible as they completed their transformations.
“Steve told me everything,” Camila finally said, her voice calm and strong.
Dina held her breath, wondering what exactly that meant. Panic took hold. Had Steve said too much?
“He said you met a year ago in Dallas.” There was no accusation in her voice, just curiosity.
“We did.” Dina decided to answer each question carefully. She wanted to be transparent with her daughter, but she still had a right to privacy.
“Like a date?”
“Yes.”
Camila’s dark eyes bore into her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“That I went out with a man on a business trip?” Dina asked, surprised by the hurt in Camila’s voice.
“Yes.”
“Because it was just a date,” Dina replied with a careless shrug. “It didn’t mean anything.”
“Until he showed up here?” Camila fished for more information.
Cursing the curiosity her daughter had inherited from her, Dina sighed. “I didn’t expect to see him again. It wasn’t...it wasn’t that kind of date. When he appeared in Rafa’s office, I was shocked.”
“Did you know he was a cop?” Camila asked, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them.
“In Dallas? No.” Dina shook her head. “Not at first.”
“He said he didn’t recognize you, that he wasn’t using you as bait to catch my dad. Do you believe him?”
“I do.”
Camila seemed to relax. “I don’t think he’s a bad person.”
“Who? Steve?” Dina clarified.
“Yes. Steve.”
“He’s not.”
“He wants justice.”
“I’m sure he does.”
“He wants to protect us.” Camila leaned her cheek against her knees and stared at her mother. “I think he actually cares.”
“Yes, he does seem to care about protecting us,” Dina agreed. Like her daughter, she was bewildered it. The man barely knew them, after all.
“Ama?”
“Yes?” Dina reached over and trailed her fingers along Camila’s silky hair.
“I did something really stupid again.”
Dina’s hand froze. She swallowed hard and tried to remain calm. “What did you do?”
Camila’s lower lip wobbled, and she began to cry as she spilled the truth about her counselor. With each new revelation, Dina’s ire increased until it was a swirling firestorm in her chest.
I’m going to throttle that stupid, meddling—.
“Ama?”
Seeing how scared her daughter was broke Dina’s heart. “Come here.” She gathered Camila in her arms and embraced her tightly. “It’s going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make such a mess.”
“I know that.” It would be so easy to rail at her daughter, to scream and chastise, but that wouldn’t help. It wouldn’t change anything.
“I’m just so angry. All the time. I don’t like it when people lie to me, and you’re all lying to me all the time.”
“Camila,” she said tenderly, her heart shattering all over again. She was right, of course. Everyone lied to Camila about her father. Everyone kept secrets to protect her.
“I just wanted to know him. I wanted to know where I came from. I wanted to know what he was like and if he really was the monster everyone said. And then Senora Campos gave me that letter from Wela Mirta, and I needed to know. I needed to meet her, and I wanted to meet her. Senora Campos made it happen, and it was so nice to meet her, to find this new part of my family.”
“Camila, it’s okay.” Dina let go of the fury that threatened to consume her and focused solely on her daughter. Chavela Campos could wait. “Everything you’re feeling is normal, and I should have done more to give you the answers you wanted. I shouldn’t have kept so many secrets. I thought I was protecting you, but I put you at risk. It’s my fault this is happening.”
“It’s not! It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”
“It’s not your fault, either.” She refused to let her daughter take responsibility for being manipulated by adults. “Diego running free is the fault of the police. Neither side should have let him out or even considered offering him an extradition deal.”
“Is he going to hurt us again?” Camila asked, her eyes wide with terror. “Do you think he wants to kill us?”
Dina wanted to lie. She wanted to spare Camila the ugly truth, but after seeing how secrets had put her daughter at risk, she couldn’t do it again. She combed the damp hair from Camila’s face and wiped away the tears with her thumbs. Holding her daughter’s gaze, she admitted, “Diego wants to kill me. He’ll never stop wanting to kill me.”
Camila’s lip wobbled. “What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to be smart. We’re going to use our heads, and we’re going to be safe. We’re going to stay close to the house until he’s caught.”
“What if he isn’t caught?”
“He will be.” Dina couldn’t explain it, but she felt certain Diego wouldn’t be able to leave her alone for long. He wanted revenge, and he would come for her—just as he’d promised all those years ago at his sentencing.
“Ama?”
“Yes, mija ?”
“Can I stay with you tonight?”
Dina’s heart burst with motherly love, and she hugged her daughter close. “You can stay forever.”
Camila’s mouth quirked with a lopsided smile. “Ama, I can’t stay here forever. I have to grow up and leave eventually.”
“Eventually better be a long, long way away,” Dina said, not wanting to even think about Camila going off to college.
“You say that now, but in a few weeks, you’ll be fantasizing about sending me away to boarding school,” Camila warned.
“I would never!”
Camila leveled a knowing stare.
“Okay. Like— once .”
“I knew it!”