“Is that what they call me?” I chuckled and shook the other woman’s hand. Una was a Bloodshed. Her eyes were blue.
“Ludovica. She says it with love. She speaks highly of all her siblings.”
“All of us?” I asked.
They nodded and sat side by side on the couch. I sat back in my chair but remained stiff. What all had Elvie told them?
“How many were there?” Aleida asked her friend.
“Five or six.” Una stuck out her hand and began counting. “You’re the baby. Ludovica is right above you. The oldest is a woman, and Arsenio is the oldest boy. Oh, so maybe it’s just four. It always felt like more than that.” She frowned. I forced a laugh. I wasn’t entirely sure they weren’t lying.
“I’m glad to know Ludovica is still the shit talker she always was.” I laughed again, and Arsenio appeared a moment later with two large mugs of warmed blood. He handed them to his guests and joined me on the other side of the room.
“So, you were looking for your sister. She’s rather upset you killed her old boyfriend.” Aleida commented, sipping her drink.
“We don’t play games,” I told her firmly. “What happened to Basil could easily happen to you if you choose to not tell us where our sister is.”
“We told you.” Aleida shrugged. “Your brother saw her and spoke to her last night. She’s fine. Maybe she doesn’t want you to find her?”
“Why wouldn’t she?” I shot back. Elvie and I were just as close as Arsenio and me. She really could have been my biological sister.
“Maybe because she knows the monster you’ve become.”
I stood up then, and Arsenio leapt up as well, tossing his arm out to hold me back. I rolled my eyes. I could easily rip that arm off, and we both knew it. If I wanted to attack, I would.
“Please, sit back down.” Arsenio urged me. I did.
“Aleida, Una, I apologize for my brother’s temper. If you would please, tell us everything you know about how our sister came to become such a-”
“King Pin?” Aleida smirked. “Based on how you talk about her and act so confused, I think you give her far less credit than she deserves. It makes sense as to why she left. Ludovica is a beast at what she does.”
“Which is?” I asked, waving with my forefinger for her to get on with it. The girls smiled in unison, giving me an unsettling feeling in my stomach.
“Business,” Una said.
“Drugs,” I said, not asking. I knew what I saw in that house.
“Business,” Una repeated. “That is just one aspect of her dealings. There are tiers to things, and she’s at the top.”
“She smuggles? Makes it? Deals it? What?” Arsenio demanded. The pair shrugged.
“She dabbles in it all, although she doesn’t do much herself anymore. She has people. I’m sure you get that. You have money.” Aleida looked around the room with interested eyes.
“Did she send you here? To get us to stop looking for her?” Arsenio asked.
“No. We were told about Basil. We were all together. On vacation, actually. She likes to see the snow. She was really upset, but I told her I’d come tend to her brothers and let her relax. She’s fine, really. You can let her be.” Una pressured.
“I don’t trust you,” I said. “You can’t just come here, say hi, and then leave.”
“We’re not. This was our goodbye to our friend. We were on one last trip before parting ways. In fact, she mentioned maybe we could ask you for help getting on our feet.”
“I don’t open my home to strangers.” Arsenio snarled. He was suspicious of them as well. Good.
“We don’t want a place to stay. Just some leads for blood-friendly places. Apartments, jobs, furniture places.” Aleida nodded.
Arsenio and I instantly shot looks at each other. This was perfect. He turned back to them and grinned. “I think we can help with that. Consider it a favor for Ludovica, our baby sister.”
15
