Page 24 of Secret Seduction

Of course he caught on to that. Matteo doesn’t miss shit.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to you killing him,” a feminine voice says.

We turn around and find Vanessa standing in the corner, next to Matteo’s guy. She must’ve come down the stairs when the elevator didn’t work, thanks to Matteo’s guy shutting it down.

“Thank you for that,” she says, stepping closer to us.

Her arms are wrapped around her waist, and black circles are noticeable under her eyes. I want to feel for her—and to a certain extent, I do. But how she handled it was fucked up, and I can’t move past that.

“Do you think if I leave, he’ll follow me?” she asks, glancing out the door.

“You probably shouldn’t chance it,” Matteo tells her.

She nods in understanding and sighs, and I internally groan, knowing as much as I want to kick her ass to the curb, I can’t do that.

“Look,” I say to her. “You can stay with me until this shit is handled. But you are not to go anywhere near me or my son. You can stay in the guest room, and once Matteo says it’s safe, you gotta go.”

She swallows thickly. “How long do you think it’s going to take?”

I snort out an incredulous laugh. “How about a thank-you?”

“It’s not that I’m not thankful,” she says, backtracking. “I am. Obviously, I don’t want to be trafficked by this crazy Santiago person. But I’m in college, and classes start back up soon, and if I don’t show up, it’ll set me back an entire semester, and I’ll lose my scholarship.”

Jesus fuck, she’s still in college … because she’s only twenty-one.

“It’s going to take longer than a week,” Matteo says. “Even if Eric doesn’t come after you, Santiago will. You’ve been given to that psycho bitch by your stepdad, and something tells me Santiago won’t take kindly to him going back on his deal, which means she’ll be coming after you out of spite.”

“She?” Vanessa’s brow quirks in confusion.

“Leysa Santiago,” Matteo explains, “is a psycho bitch, who, based on her trying to buy you, has followed in her grandfather’s footsteps and is trafficking women. We’re trying to locate her, but until we do, nobody is safe. She’s unpredictable and a loose cannon. I’m hoping to find this bitch soon, but it could take days, weeks, or months.”

“Great,” Vanessa groans. “There goes my scholarship … and my job.” She throws her arms up in frustration. “All of this because my mother had to bag the most prominent man in Harbor Point, which is kind of ironic since she thought he was rich, yet she agreed to sell me because he’s in debt.”

She glances from Matteo to me. “I appreciate you letting me crash at your place, and I’m sorry for everything. But I need to ask you a favor.”

The reminder of what she did has my jaw grinding. She might be in a shitty situation, but she still drugged and tricked me into marrying and having sex with her.

“What?” I deadpan.

“I need to get my stuff from the dock. Hopefully, nobody stole it. It has my laptop and medications …” She sighs. “And I have stuff at Eric’s house and at my apartment on campus in Seattle.”

“I’ll have my men handle the dock and Eric’s house,” Matteo says, then glances at me.

“I’ll hire someone to pack her shit and bring it here,” I add, wondering what the hell I’m getting myself into.

9

Vanessa

One minute, I had my entire future mapped out, and the next, I’m married and hiding out in my husband’s condo from a sex trafficker who is determined to do what? Sell me to the highest bidder? Use me in a bordello? I’ve seen the movies where women are drugged and men force them to do ungodly things. Just the thought has bile creeping up my throat.

I shake myself from my thoughts.

I’m safe.

I did what I had to do.

I might be stuck in Harbor Point for the time being, but at least I’m safe.