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I open the door and am halfway across the threshold when his next words stop me in my tracks and have my heart pounding in my chest and the hairs on the back of my neck rising. “If you want to know who she is, go see your dad or mine, Mateo. She’s lying to you, and believe it or not, I am not the one here with intentions of harming you.”
Chapter 22
Mia
“How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there's no help in the truth.” Sophocles
Thanksgivingwastwodaysago, and to say it was the most miserable Thanksgiving I have ever experienced wouldn’t be a stretch. My grandmother insisted on us staying put and not traveling to join her in Manhattan for our usual Stratford Thanksgiving.
I’m pretty sure Stella is still angry at me for, you know, agreeing to be strong-armed into marrying Diego to save Theo and Carter, despite her trying to do the same thing to me. I had to watch Isabella mope around all fucking day, complaining about missing the parade and her friends.Lord, give me strength not to throttle her.
Our cook did a fantastic job cooking up a Thanksgiving feast, but no one seemed to have an appetite or a festive attitude. Finn was allowed to return to his parent’s home to join them for Thanksgiving, and he has yet to return. Not having him here is starting to mess with my mind. You just want them all under your thumb as much as you protest against it, my mind whispers.
Mateo also made the trek to see his ungrateful and neglectful parents; why he felt the need, I am not sure. Diego, the snake, decided at the last minute to accompany him. I do not doubt to see Manuel, who once again has gone underground to hide from the FBI. The treacherous snake’s absence directly impacted my darling sister’s miserable mood, and we all had to suffer for it.I should stab him once and for all; she would have to forgive me eventually…right?I’m still not over his words from that night and have yet to determine how he knows who I am. Somewhere there is a leak, and I mean to patch it with Diego Cabano’s rotting head.
Raven, thank fuck flew back to Manhattan to spend the long weekend with his own family. Here’s hoping that he decides to stay there instead of returning here. One less uninvited guest would be a blessing at this point. Although it seems like my bestie might disagree with my sentiment, she would probably never admit it though.
Raegan’s mom came to the house to join us for a late Thanksgiving lunch. It was so lovely to see them together. Their relationship is so genuine and easy that it makes me ache for a time when mine and my mothers was the same. Speaking of my mother, she’s still locked up in one of our European safe houses. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t have a single nice thing to say to me when I spoke to her. I can’t really blame her; she’s angry that Vincent duped her and distraught that Stella won’t release her from captivity.Let’s be honest here; Stella is hella enjoying that. My mom doesn’t seem to want to believe that Vincent could harm her to get to me.My mother has no idea about the world we are actually living in; maybe the Botox has gone to her brain.
Theo, Carter, Isabella, Raegan, and I are all sitting in the Media room, trying to watch that new show about a dragon queen who everyone is trying to dethrone.The irony is not lost on me, trust me.I would love to tell you it has captured my rapt attention, but I have no idea what’s actually happening. My thoughts keep returning toJames Jarvis, Mateo wanting to return to his parents, and the fact that no one has spotted Vincent in over a week. Yet, another one of his associates has been found, this time strangled to death within Casbury town limits.
Once again, the worry of who is killing off Vincent’s men is making my shoulders ache and my head pound. Where is that psychopath? Could it be Vincent killing them, so they don’t come forward and divulge what they know about him? Somehow I don’t think that is what is going on here. Someone out there hates Vincent Saint-Lambert as much as we do and is taking this opportunity to clean house.I just hope they are on my side and not a new enemy.
“No word from Mateo or Finn?” Carter leans into my body and tries to steal the snacks I’m distractedly eating. I turn my body towards him. He’s half lying, half hanging off the theater recliner. Looking hot as fuck in nothing but a pair of low-hanging navy joggers and a black sleeveless tank. His colorful tattoos, a bright kaleidoscope of color against his shirt, and the dark gray leather of the seat.
He’s been giving me heated looks all day. He’s antsy, bored, and by the feel of the hard dick that poked my ass when we came in here, horny as fuck. He’s not the only one. My traitorous core has been sending me little smoke signals ever since. Honestly, a good, rough fuck right now would do wonders to improve my miserable disposition. Since only two of my kings are left here, and one is currently avoiding me like the plague…Carter, it is.Like that’s such a hard thing to bear, my mind screeches back at me.
“What the fuck is this?” Carter questions while spitting out the veggie straw he just stole from me. His face tilted up in disgust and outrage. “You trying to kill me with this healthy bullshit, babe?”
“Shhh…you two-legged hound, we’re trying to watch this!” Raegan yells at him from down the row of seats.
“Rae, you better watch it. You think I don’t know you’re currently sitting on a mountain stash of gummy bears, girl.” Carter grins maliciously in her direction.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you walking Ebola virus,” Raegan smirks back with mischief. Honestly, these two are too much on a good day, constantly going at each other, and I usually enjoy the banter, but I’m tired and cranky. Maybe I’ll go up and take a nap, and if I’m lucky, a foul-mouthed deviant will join me and shove his hard cock inside of me.
I’m about to rise from the chair to head upstairs when the loud pounding of feet makes its way down the hall toward the media room. I look up just in time to watch a filthy and haggard-looking Diego run into the room.
“What the hell happened to you?” I’m on my feet so quickly that I drop the bowl holding the rest of my precious veggie straws, and they tumble to the floor. Theo is moving closer from his position in the room’s farthest corner, and a hush has come over Isabella and Raegan.
“We were attacked! FUCK!” Diego rakes his hands through his hair roughly. He has a cut bleeding across his forehead, smoke soot all over his face, his shirt is torn, and I’m pretty sure those dark spots are blood.What the fuck happened to him?
“Who was attacked? Where were you attacked? Where is Mateo?” My mind is in a panic. Are we under attack here at the house? Did something happen to them on the way back from the Cabano estate? Where the hell is Tom and our men stationed here? This fucker needs to spit it out already.Where is one of my blades when I need them?
“Answer her, Diego! Are we under attack?” My sister’s shout makes the hairs on my arms stand on end. I turn to stare at her, but she’s already moving past me toward Diego. When she reaches him, she doesn’t hesitate, lifting his shirt and exposing a bleeding wound on his upper chest.
“Not here, at Mateo’s parents’ estate. They surprised us; we weren’t prepared for the sheer number of them. We couldn’t fight them off with the small number of men I had with us.” He pushes her hands down from fussing at his wound, capturing her fingers in his and not releasing her. I watch all of it as if I’m not really here in the room but some voyeur watching from the outside.
‘WHERE IS MATEO!” Theo roars, his whole-body trembling and spittle making its way out of his mouth. He looks like he’s about to go nuclear any second. His shout has me refocusing on the situation, and then fear slithering down all of my limbs, and I can hear my heart thumping in my ears.
Diego never takes his eyes off of me, even though Theo is one step away from swinging at him. A block of ice settles in my chest, and I know whatever will come out of his villainous mouth will cause my whole world to be turned upside down. I look past him towards the doorway, hoping Mateo will walk through at any moment.
Theo grabs Diego’s arm and swings him around, getting right into his face. Diego never releases Isabella’s hand; she ends up sandwiched between the two of them and tries her hardest to separate them. I reach out and grab onto Theo’s arm, but at the grasp of my fingers, he turns with a snarl in my direction and wrenches his arm away from me.
“You got one second to speak bitch; then I’m gonna put that ugly mug of yours through a wall, cousin or no cousin.” Carter comes around Diego’s other side, boxing him in. Diego gives each of them dismissive looks, like they’re not over six feet, and packed with muscle.Brave fucking snake.Brave or deranged, either way, he’s standing there not showing any fear.
“Diego, where is Mateo?” I try to keep my voice calm. Diego loves to push everyone’s buttons just because the dick can, and I have no desire to give him anything that he covets, including my damn sister.
“They took him.” Those three little words hit me like gunshots. They. Took. Him. There’s no way I heard him correctly. This has got to be some sick joke they’re playing. I’m not finding any of this fucking funny.
