14. Vinnie
14
VINNIE
“ P lease,” Daniela says. “You have to help me.”
I look around. “Are we being spied on?”
She shakes her head. “He can probably see us. I don’t know. Sometimes he has drones flying around that I swear to God are invisible to the naked eye. But no one can hear us out here. I’m sure of that.”
I turn to Elmo. “Do you believe her?”
“Hell, I don’t know. His setup is every bit as good as your grandfather’s.”
I hold back a wince at his use of the word grandfather .
Elmo doesn’t know. No one knows.
“What is it that you need?” I ask Daniela.
“I don’t want to marry that old man.”
I nod slowly. “I hear you. I don’t want to marry the person I’m supposed to marry either.”
“My father…” She bites her lip. “He said he’d give me to you.”
I nearly fall off my feet. “You just told me you were promised to Vega. Your father knows damned well that I’m already promised too.”
“He said he’d make it part of the deal. Part of the deal with your grandfather. He would marry me to you if I could get you to ask for my hand.”
“I’m twice your age, Daniela.” And I’m desperately in love with someone else, though I have a feeling her father already knows that. He’d be a fool not to know everything there is to know about me.
“I want to go to the States,” she says.
“There are plenty of ways to go to the States,” I say. “Get a student visa. You seem very intelligent. I’m sure you could get into one of the many schools that have openings for international students.”
She shakes her head with a huff. “You think he’d let me go to school?”
“You’re not in school now?”
She frowns. “I have private tutors. This is my last year. If this doesn’t work, I’m going to be forced to marry that old man. Vega.” She tugs on my arm. “Please. It’s my only chance to get out of here. We could get an annulment once I’m in the US. You don’t even have to sleep with me if you don’t want to. I don’t care about any of that. I just want to get out of here. I want to go to the US and pursue my dream. I can’t marry Senor Vega. I just can’t.”
“You’d rather marry me?” I shake my head. “I’m not available. And I’ll never love you.”
“At least you’re handsome. Tall. I only see a few gray hairs at your temple.”
“And what will he offer me,” I ask, “if I take you off his hands?”
“I doubt it will change any deal you’re making with him,” she says. “This is for me. To get me out of marrying Vega.”
“And you think this man loves you?” I scoff. “I’m disgusted by what fathers do to their daughters in this world.”
“In his way.” She looks down. “He doesn’t touch me.”
“But he lets other men touch you.”
She nods, biting her lip. “Yes. But no one has ever been abusive.”
I lift my eyebrows.
“All right. Not horribly abusive.” She swallows. “Maybe I’ve been slapped around a little here and there.”
“Is the slapping consensual?”
She shakes her head slowly.
“Then that’s abusive, Daniela.” I pace around her, shaking my head. “It makes me sick how people like you have been raised to not even recognize abuse when it’s happening to you. Just him letting other men have you is abuse. It’s sure not love.”
“Do you? Do you know what real love is, Senor Gallo?”
I don’t answer.
She can probably see it written all over my face anyway. Because I do know what real love is. I know what it feels like to love a person so much that it hurts, to love a person so much that you’ll leave her to keep her safe.
To love a person so much that you’ll kill for her.
I sigh.
Fuck.
Am I actually considering this? A marriage in name only, just to get her out of here. Away from her father. Away from the men he forces her to service.
I don’t know what the marriage laws are in Colombia, but with her father’s permission, we could probably tie the knot here. I could take her home, get the marriage annulled, and once she’s eighteen, she can apply for legal status.
I don’t want to marry her. There’s only one woman I want to marry, and I can’t have her.
But if we can strike a deal with Agudelo, get Mario involved, break my engagement to Belinda…
Will Raven understand?
Then I nearly laugh at the absurdity of the thought.
I left Raven. I left her for her own good. I can’t be with her, so it really doesn’t matter who I marry.
All that matters is that I take down my family. Put an end to this legacy built on blood and money.
If I can help Daniela in the process, I should do so.
Just as I’ll help Belinda if I can. Get her removed from her father’s home.
But would that be a disservice? That little girl has everything. What if she got stuck in some foster home where she’s mistreated, perhaps hurt in a more horrific way? Or worse, stuck in a group home where she gets no attention at all?
She needs to study music. Pursue her gift.
I draw in a breath. I make a choice. Because really, what other choice is there? I’m not some knight in shining armor. Far from it. Hell, I’ve taken two lives, and I’ll take more before I’m done.
The voice of the old Tibetan monk haunts me.
Go now, with the strength of your spirit. Embrace the unknown. Continue your journey, and live your life to its fullest potential.
What good am I if I don’t help those who need helping? How could I live with myself? This must be part of my journey. Part of why I’m here in Colombia.
The deal with Agudelo is not the main reason. I can get that wrapped up in the next couple weeks, and Mario, Agudelo, and Vega will all be content.
I’ve learned that Vega—or at least someone claiming to be him—is not dead and buried, and I’ve learned that Austin Bellamy is involved in some dirty dealings. I’ve learned that the old woman in that photo factors into all of this somehow.
And I’ve learned that I can’t resist a damsel in distress.
All part of the journey. All part of living up to my potential.
I’ll save Daniela.
I’ll save Belinda.
And somehow I’m going to get back to Raven and save her too.