Storm realized she had seen the worst a man can do to another human being and she understood it in a way not many could.He shook his head in wonder, “And yet, you still came here to warn a man that you couldn’t have believed would take you seriously?You still came here to make a claim you couldn’t prove, knowing you couldn’t go back home again?”
Lucinda looked at him and said simply, “I couldn’t let them win, senor.I had to let Senor Leon know what was coming.I was a dead woman either way, so I chose to do the right thing.”
“What are you going to do when this is over?”Storm asked her.
Lucinda shrugged.“I am going to a place I can call my home.I stayed in Mexico for far too long.I should have left that place a long time ago.”She wiped her eyes.“I learned English at a very young age from the owner of that café I worked at.I knew I would need it someday.I will go where they don’t know who I am or don’t care who my family is.I can change my name, settle down and maybe stop looking over my shoulder one day.”
A long silence went by then Storm whispered, “Maybe you can stay here with me.”
Lucinda looked up at him and asked, “Why would I do that?”
“Because I think if we give each other a chance then maybe we’ll find something meaningful with each other.I think I’ve been waiting for you for a long time already.I knew it the first time I looked at you.Something inside me just clicked.You feel it too, I think.”
Lucinda went very still for a moment then she nodded.“I think I did.That’s why I asked you to stay with me.”She shook her head then said, “But I think we should wait until everything has played out before we move on this feeling.I know Pinta and Carlos all too well and they will fight back with everything they have.They won’t stop until they are dead or I am.Right now, they have too much to do and they won’t quit until someone bigger and meaner can stop them.If they know I got here first, that's dangerous for me.”
Storm got a look in his eyes that said a lot without any words.“I won’t let them hurt you, not ever again.”
Lucinda reached up and as soon as her hand cupped his cheek, they both felt the spark sizzle between them.She gasped and tried to pull her hand away but Storm pressed her hand against his cheek and kept it there.Then he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers.The spark between them grew as he deepened the kiss until he had to pull away.He just stared at her in wonder and said, “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Lucinda shook her head and pressed her lips to his.She moaned as her blood grew warmer.In shock, she broke the kiss and just stared at him in awe.“Ay, dios mio,” she whispered.
Two hours later...
A knock sounded on the door.
Storm reached for his weapon as he slid out of the bed they had been napping in.He strode to the door and opened it a crack to look out into the hall.
Leon stood there with his hands behind his back.Storm tucked his weapon into the back of his pants and opened the door wider.
Lucinda opened her eyes and sat up.
Leon came into the room and looked at her then at Storm.“John’s men followed Ortego and Silva back to the place they were staying.They counted the men inside and they think they found them all.There are twenty-five men staying in there and they’ve got pictures of all of them.We need you to identify them if you can.”
Lucinda nodded and slipped out of the bed.She went over to Storm.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him.
Leon smiled and nodded at them as if this situation made him happy.“Bene, bene.”Then he turned, leading the way along the hallway and down the stairs to the security room.
Frost, Tornado and Lightning were there along with John.
On the table were a stack of photos and after looking at them, Lucinda began naming names.John wrote down every name and then lined them up on a cork board on the wall, almost like a lineup of wanted posters.
When she saw the last photo she had to gasp and her hand trembled as she stared at it.
Storm moved forward and wrapped his arm around her.“What is it?Or rather, who is he?”he asked her quietly.
Lucinda swallowed hard and tried to speak but no words came from her mouth.She trembled as her stunned gaze never left the photo.Still staring at the old man’s photo she whispered, “He is my mother’s father.I call him Poppy.He lives in our village.He told me what my mother was doing when she was younger.When she caught Paulo’s eye, he often told her she was shameless for sleeping with a married man but my mother didn’t care.It came out that my mother didn’t care about a lot of things.While her belly grew big and round she flaunted it in front of everyone, even Paulo’s wife.After I was born, she finally saw that he wasn’t going to give her any money.He refused to acknowledge her or me in any way.Her father was the one that cared for me when I couldn’t take care of myself.For my mother, she depended on the fact that I was her meal ticket, but because Paulo wouldn’t acknowledge me then I was no good to her either.She just dumped me on Poppy’s doorstep and she walked away as if I was nothing to her.Then when I was four, my mother came and took me from him to her house.I was old enough then for her to use me to keep her house clean and she taught me how she liked things done and how to cook her meals.”
“Wait, wait.Hold up.”Storm stared at her.“Four?She had you cooking and cleaning at four years old?”
The room went silent.
Storm’s guys shook their heads.
Lucina nodded.“I just turned four.She saw no reason for me to go to school or learn my letters and numbers, but she taught me to cook and clean her floors.As soon as she left each evening to go to the bars, my grandfather would come over and he would teach me my letters and numbers.He told me that his daughter was selfish but he wouldn’t let me down.”
“If all that is so, why is he here now?”Leon wanted to know.
