Chapter Twelve
Guadalupe Brown was a naturally beautiful woman. She had amazing skin, gorgeous brown eyes and a wealth of shiny black hair that was thick and fell in soft waves to her shoulders. She was forty-six years old but easily looked ten years younger. She didn’t appear to have a line on her face.
She was all smiles, greeting each of the women, with the exception of Raine, with a familiar hug. Harlow couldn’t detect any hesitation on her part when they embraced. She fussed over Raine and looked for a moment as if she might burst into tears.
“I heard you had a terrible fall and there was a rumor of a rattlesnake biting you,” Guadalupe greeted Raine. “I can see those rumors aren’t far from the truth.”
Raine nodded. “I did get bitten and fall from a boulder I was climbing, but fortunately Rainier was already on the way, so I was able to receive medical treatment immediately.”
Guadalupe looked around the house at the great room, the dining room and kitchen, everything that could be seen from her position.
“Shabina, this is amazing. The interior is gorgeous, and it smells like a dream. It isn’t at all the same house that you purchased.
You’ve managed to make it far more beautiful than it already was. ”
Shabina looked pleased. “Thank you. I love this place so much. The moment you showed it to me, I knew this was the one I wanted to settle in.”
“Did you envision these changes right away?” Guadalupe asked, wandering around the room looking at the windows and great arches that led from one room to another.
Shabina nodded. “I knew what I wanted, and luckily, I had a little help. Rainier has always been in charge of my security, and he had a lot of ideas.”
Guadalupe laughed. “Trying to get in here was like entering a military base but much more difficult.”
Harlow met Raine’s eyes briefly. Why would Guadalupe know about getting onto a military base? She was a real estate agent. She wasn’t married to a military man. What reason would she have to go onto one?
“My husband is Rainier Ashcroft.” Shabina laughed and made a little face. “He owns an international security company. They even train the dogs on this property, so we constantly have a rotation of new dogs along with ours. He definitely looks out for me.”
“I read the newspaper reports, Shabina. I had no idea you’d been through all of that.” Guadalupe’s voice was soft and sincere. If she was acting, she deserved an Oscar. “I’m so terribly sorry.”
Shabina kept her smile. “I have Rainier, Guadalupe, and my friends, including you. Let’s eat while everything is hot. I made several of my favorite dishes, hoping to impress you. I happen to know you’re a very good cook.”
Guadalupe threw her head back and laughed, the sound so enticing it was difficult not to join in. Eventually, as they made their way into the dining room, where the food was set up in warmers and ice trays, Guadalupe denied Shabina’s statement.
“I despise cooking. I always have. When I was a kid, I worked with my mother cleaning houses. She also cooked for some of her clients. I did not like it one bit and was always willing to do any of the cleaning if I could stay out of the kitchen. Later, I chose three dishes that were easy to make and I knew most people liked. That way, if I had company, I could feed them a decent meal. If you’re only cooking three things, you can get fairly good at it. ”
Harlow joined in the laughter, but she exchanged another look with Raine.
The girl who had become pregnant had worked as a cleaner in the senator’s home.
It was possible if she had lost her mother, she would have tried to be hired to clean because she already had a background in that type of work.
Or maybe Harlow was trying to make everything fit because deep down, she wanted to find her brother.
“See.” Zahra filled her plate with portions from each of the offerings. “I’m not the only one with brains here. Guadalupe, I applaud your strategy. I am not a cook and in fact have been known to set the best cookware on fire when it was said to be impossible.”
“Girl, you don’t have to sound so proud,” Vienna stated, handing Guadalupe a plate. “I’m capable, but nowhere near Shabina’s expertise.”
“I get by,” Harlow said. “Any inclination I had to cook was beaten out of me very early.” She stated it matter-of-factly and didn’t look at Guadalupe to see her reaction. The security cameras would capture her expression, and Raine would be watching.
“I find it so strange that I learned my love of cooking from my captors,” Shabina said, “and you weren’t allowed to set foot in the kitchen without the senator beating the holy hell out of you.”
“Why would he do that?” Guadalupe asked. “Why wouldn’t he want you to cook? And he really beat you?”
Harlow concentrated on putting food on her plate.
Anytime she talked about her family, she felt a mixture of guilt—she’d been trained never to talk about the truth—and embarrassment.
Her father was under investigation, but so many of the people who always voted for him didn’t believe he could possibly be guilty.
They thought his enemies were conspiring against him.
She kept her political face on—the one that everyone believed in the photographs, even though she might be bruised from head to toe.
Harlow shrugged casually. “Don’t believe anything you read or even see in the news.
It’s very easy to manipulate these days, and the senator and my mother are masters.
I was of little use to them unless I appeared as the perfect daughter at all times.
That included my weight even as a child growing up.
I had to act a certain way to pull off the perfect family for the senator’s constituents. ”
“You definitely always looked that way.”
She glanced sideways at Guadalupe. “Beatings, shoving, slapping, the belt, his fist—believe me, he was very inventive with his punishments. I once had to stand on a bucket that was turned upside down and balance with my arms straight out, holding two pails of water. That was because I crashed my bike when they were riding bikes in a photo shoot that apparently was very important. He said if I couldn’t balance, he would teach me a lesson I wouldn’t forget. ”
“He sounds sadistic.”
“Those things he’s accused of? I believe he’s guilty. Absolutely guilty. I got away from him by turning down any help from my parents and cutting them out of my life. That time he came here last year was the first time I’d seen him since I graduated high school.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?” Guadalupe followed her back into the great room, taking the chair opposite Raine. Shabina had already set up a tray of food for Raine.
“I tried. No one would believe me. My guess, he has some of them in his pocket, but that isn’t something I can prove.
I certainly couldn’t as a child and can’t now.
I actually have a brother somewhere. The senator sent his pregnant mother away because she wouldn’t cooperate with him.
I don’t know the entire story. The very sad thing is that no matter how much I questioned my parents, they wouldn’t give me information that would help me find my brother or his mother.
I spent thousands on a PI but got nowhere.
In fact, I have a small trust from my grandparents on my mother’s side—that’s what I used to purchase my property, but quite a bit of it went to trying to find my brother. ”
There was a hitch in her voice she couldn’t prevent.
She was nearly certain her brother was dead, another victim of the senator and her mother.
“Lives don’t matter to either of them—not mine, not my brother’s, not a single woman he hurt.
Only power and money matter. I walked away, put myself through nursing school and keep as far from them as possible. ”
Raine heaved a sigh and waved her fork in the air. “They’re doing their best to make that impossible now that they’re in trouble. They call and threaten to ruin her reputation and even go after her nursing license if she won’t comply.”
“That’s terrible.” Guadalupe sounded genuinely shocked. “Can he do that? Take away your nursing license?”
“He knows a lot of people,” Vienna answered for Harlow. “And before you ask, yes, he would really do it if he could, if Harlow doesn’t do exactly what he wants.”
“Then you’ll comply?” Guadalupe asked into the following silence.
Harlow’s head snapped up. “Absolutely not. I’ll destroy my entire world before I ever comply with that man or my mother.
They’re evil. In the world I grew up in, if you make one compromise, they own you.
You become a puppet dancing to their tune.
If I have to give up nursing and selling my photographs, I’ll find something else. ”
Again, there was a long silence. Harlow meant every word, but she feared they might have overplayed their hand. It was a lot of information about her past. Guadalupe might be questioning why, after all these years, Harlow was disclosing the details of her childhood.
“This is not just about Harlow,” Zahra said, not looking at Guadalupe but at their circle of friends. “Harlow isn’t just upset because of the continual threats and harassment to her.”
Harlow shook her head. “Zahra, no. You don’t have to explain to anyone.”
“You saved me. That night, you saved me. I know your father beat the crap out of you, and even though your mother did everything to help me, it was only because you refused to back down. You stood up for me, and it is because of you that I have citizenship and a good job. Because of you, he didn’t do to me what he did to all those other girls. ”
Harlow couldn’t look at any of her friends. She had spent years not crying, and now she was so emotional she couldn’t breathe. Her throat felt raw, burning with what seemed to be such a large blockage she couldn’t even swallow down the emotion. She put her plate down and forced herself to her feet.