Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 80139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Vega.
The room seems to shrink.
Robin steps closer.
Vinnie’s hand moves toward his pocket.
Raven takes Belinda’s hand and leads her out of the dining room, nodding to Star and Daniela. “Come on, Mom. Dani. Sav. Please. This doesn’t concern us.”
It does, but I understand what she’s doing. She wants her brothers and Robin to be able to speak freely.
They follow her without argument.
Falcon is already gesturing. “Record it.”
Vega chuckles. “Yes,” he says. “I heard that. Record the call. I’d expect nothing less from the Bellamys.”
My stomach turns.
He knows exactly where I am. Exactly who I’m standing with.
He probably figured out that I got on an international flight out of Colombia to the US. It couldn’t have been that difficult to pinpoint my first stop.
I had no doubt he’d find me quickly. Maybe he even let me come here. I knew the risks. But I had to come. Had to…
Had to protect Robin?
No. She has all the protection she needs. I’ve been through that.
I came because I love her. And I’m pretty sure she loves me, too.
Vega continues, “You may put me on speaker if you like. It’s best they all hear this.”
I press the speaker button with my thumb.
Vega’s voice fills the room. “Good evening, Bellamys.”
No one responds.
He laughs. “Such manners. I expected more from Texas royalty.”
“Say what you called to say.” Falcon’s voice is ice.
“Are you there, Vinnie?” Vega asks. “I know you ordered my death. But I’m not Jacinto Agudelo. You’ll have to try a little harder than a poisoned pastry at a football game.”
Vinnie says nothing, but his jaw is tense and his eyes are sharp. He’s holding it together. He has to.
“You called for me, Vega,” I say. “Do as Falcon says and say what you want to say.”
“Cruz,” he says. “why do you want to protect people who would never protect you if they knew the truth.”
I stare at the phone. “What truth?”
A pause.
Then, “Did you never wonder, Cruz?”
My skin goes cold. “Wonder what?”
“Why I chose you.”
The room stills. Robin looks at me, her eyes wide and confused.
Vega sighs. “Poor Esperanza. Beautiful girl. Too trusting, maybe, but beautiful. She never told you, did she?”
I tighten my grip on the receiver.
Do not react.
Do not give him the satisfaction.
But my pulse begins to roar. Because I already know what Vega is about to reveal. In a way, I’ve known it all along. I just never let myself think it.
“Tell me what?” I grit out.
“I took her one night.” Vega’s voice is smooth as snake oil. “Feisty little thing. She fought me, which made it all the better.”
Robin’s fingers go rigid around mine.
No one else moves.
“One night,” Vega continues. “But we all know that sometimes, once is all it takes.”
My mother.
My mother.
My mother.
“You’re lying,” I say, my veins turning to ice.
“Am I? I took you in after she died. Why would I do that? Because you were mine. My bastard. My blood.”
The receiver nearly slips from my hand. Robin catches my wrist.
“I’ve been training you all these years for a reason. Not because I enjoy charity. Not because Adriana found a pretty orphan and thought he might be useful.”
Adriana.
Did she know?
Of course she knew.
“You were my failsafe,” Vega says. “In the event something happened to my son.”
Diego Vega Junior.
The corpse in the barn.
The body I exhumed with my own hands and brought back to him.
Hawk curses under his breath.
I can’t speak.
“And now, thanks to the corpse you so faithfully returned, I’ve verified through dental records what I long suspected. My legitimate heir is dead. Diego Junior is dead. You brought me my son’s body, Cruz.”
My vision tunnels.
The old barn.
The dirt.
The remains.
The smell of death and earth.
And he sent me.
Me.
My stomach lurches.
“Cruz.” Robin’s voice is barely audible.
I can’t look at her.
If I look at her, something in me may split open.
“I’ve lost my only legitimate heir,” he says. “Daniela could have given me another, but Vinnie stole her from me.”
“She was a fucking child,” Vinnie growls.
Hawk punches the wall. Again.
“She was mine,” Vega says. “But you took her, and then you attempted to take care of me. I don’t look kindly on that.”
“Fuck you,” Vinnie snarls.