AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Two men approach from behind swiftly, startling me, though Zane turned to face them before they reached us.
“Bags over your heads, or we leave you to your deaths,” Natalia says.
Neither of us object, though I feel like I’m going to have a panic attack as they shove black woolen bags over our heads and shove us forward despite my protests.
“Forgive me, princess,” Natalia says, though she doesn’t sound the least bit apologetic. “It’s a security measure.”
* * *
It’s hard to judge how much distance is traveled when I can’t see where the hell we’re going. It feels like we’re on the road for hours. All I know is we’re in a speeding car, all around me are people speaking in Spanish, and that Zane is right beside me. I blindly reach out for his hand to hold. I relax—but only a little—when he laces his fingers with mine.
We’re shoved around like cattle. Up stairs, down stairs, down a long hall.
Someone forces me to sit in a chair before they rip off my hood. I squint against the light, my eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden contrast. I’m equally alarmed and surprised to find myself seated in a courtyard in the middle of a hacienda. The walls are a baked coral pink with red brick shingles on the roof. Around us is a gorgeous garden full of colorful flowers and palm trees, the granite arches giving the whole place a romantic feel.
It certainly beats being locked in a dungeon.
Before us is an elderly woman. She has kind eyes and an even kinder smile. Her hair is completely gray, pulled back into a respectable braid. The woman’s got a bit of a hunch in her back, but she moves about freely without any assistance of a cane. She casually inspects her flowers, humming a gentle tune.
What strikes me as odd and fascinating is the large glass cage resting atop a short wooden pedestal. Inside, a black viper curls around and around, his pink tongue flicking out to smell its surroundings. It gives me the creeps, but nevertheless, the woman smiles at the snake like one would an adorable puppy.
“You need not be afraid,” she says. “Guadalupe is perfectly harmless. Aside from her fangs. One bite could put a grown horse to sleep in an instant.” Her voice is sweet and rich like honey. “Welcome to my home, mi niña. You as well, Mr. Phillips.”
Zane sits beside me stiffly, keeping his hands firmly against his chair’s arm rests. The Marrones haven’t restrained either of us. I wonder if it’s because they don’t see us as a threat, because something tells me they’re definitely not stupid.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” I say. “Where are we?”
“You, my dear, are in Mexico.”
“How did you get us across the border?” Zane asks.
The woman smiles gently. “In this day and age, it’s not what you know, but who you know. Half the border guards are on my payroll.” She stands a bit straighter and walks over to me, chuckling to herself as she extends a hand to caress my cheek sweetly. She smells like cinnamon sugar. “My name is Renata Marrones,” she says calmly. “You, Willow Allegra, are my long-lost granddaughter.”
My mind reels.
I know I’ve only just met this woman, but I wholeheartedly believe her. Something about the way she looks at me, the way she feels like home resonates deep within my soul. This whole time, I thought I was alone in the world—trapped under my father’s punishing thumb. But I have a whole family I didn’t even know about, one that may very well have been looking for my mother and me for a very long time.
“I know you must have questions,” Renata says. “But there’s plenty of time for that. How would the two of you like some dinner before I give you a tour?”
I glance at Zane. He’s been uncharacteristically quiet, but I don’t think he’s necessarily upset. I return my gaze to her. “That sounds lovely,” I answer.
“Come with me, my dear,” Renata says, taking my hand and hooking her arm around mine. “You look so much like my darling Liana. Such a pity, what happened to her and Joseph. Those two always were always joined at the hip. I will have to introduce you to all your aunts and uncles.”
“I have more?” I ask, gawking as I take in the details of the hacienda.
“Oh, yes. Four aunts and five uncles. Well, only four now.” Her voice warbles, her pain obvious in her watery eyes.
“I’m sorry about Joseph.”
Renata composes herself. “We’re at war, dear girl. I will have to mourn some other time. For now, my priorities must shift.”
She guides Zane and me down the west wing of the building toward a large dining room. Several maids and a cook busy themselves by setting out four different meals. Natalia is already seated, digging in without so much as an upward glance. Renata takes the head of the table and has me sit next to her. Zane dutifully takes his spot next to me, eyeing the food suspiciously.
“You can relax, Mr. Phillips,” Renata says. “You are amongst friends here.”
“You’ll forgive me for being careful,” Zane says tightly. “It’s hard to know who to trust.”
“You soughtusout, remember?” Natalia scoffs from her side of the table.
