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‘Lucy! Are you okay?’ I asked as I crossed the room to her.
‘Yes,’ she said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve.
‘Come on in. Have a seat,’ Alejandro snarled as he signaled the armchair. ‘And then you can tell us all why you’re really here, can’t you, Lucia?’
As he spoke his last word, her face paled and she visibly started to tremble as she stood there looking at him. Then, in a few seconds, it was as though she regained her composure and she transformed in front of my eyes, her jaw tilted in defiance as she tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder.
‘So you know who I am?’ she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Alejandro scowled at her. ‘Of course I do. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t find out? I take a particular interest in anyone who gets close to my wife, and you of all people should know that.’
She glared at him.
‘What’s going on? Lucy? Or is it Lucia?’ I said as I looked between the two of them.
‘Tell her,’ Alejandro snapped.
Lucy looked at me and my heart started to hammer so violently in my chest, I thought that everyone in the room must have been able to hear it too.
‘My name is Lucia Ramos. I am the only surviving member of the Ramos family.’
‘Ramos?’ I repeated. The name sounded familiar to me.
‘Yes,’ she said softly.
‘Why do I recognize that name?’ I asked.
‘Because they were one of the biggest firms in Chicago. At least until two years ago when the entire family was wiped out. All except Lucia here,’ Alejandro answered.
I stared at Lucia. I recalled the story vividly. It had been all over the news at the time. A father and two sons were slaughtered in a gangland style execution in their own home. The body of his teenage daughter had never been recovered and she was assumed to have been kidnapped and murdered. Or worse.
I swallowed as I remembered how often I had wondered about the fate of that poor girl and how many times I had prayed that she had escaped.
‘Please, have a seat, Lucia,’ Alejandro said again as he indicated the armchair. ‘And tell us what really brought you to LA, and why the hell you have dragged me and my wife into your fucked up life.’
I shot him a look of annoyance. She might have lied, but she was still just a child. Did he have no compassion at all?
Lucia walked further into the room and sat down and I followed her back toward the sofa. Alejandro reached for me and took my hand, pulling me to sit beside him. I was thankful to have something solid beneath me as my knees trembled.
She stared at us both and then she took a deep breath. ‘I watched my father and my brothers slaughtered and when they came for me, I ran.’
‘And that’s it? You just ran and they never caught up with you? You expect me to believe that?’ Alejandro asked, his handsome face pulled into a frown.
Lucia glared at him defiantly. ‘I used to run track for my high school. I was the best in the district. I also knew my neighborhood better than any of those goons. So I ran, and then I hid. I lived on the streets for a few weeks until the heat died down a little. But I knew I needed a long-term plan. It was only a matter of time before my father’s enemies came looking for me, or the state found me and put me into care. So I went to see one of my brother’s friends, Blake. I thought that he’d be able to look out for me. And at first he did. He got me false papers. He told me he loved me. We were planning to move to Boston and get married, but it seemed he was just after the kudos that marrying a Ramos would give him. He was still seeing his ex-girlfriend behind my back. I caught them fucking and laughing about what a sucker I was. So, I ran. Again. I caught the first bus I could find and I ended up here in LA.’
I sat in stunned silence, wondering how the hell this poor kid had coped with all of the tragedy in her life. But Alejandro didn’t seem to share my concern and he narrowed his eyes at her. ‘So it was just a coincidence that you ended up in the shelter where my wife works?’ he snapped.
I frowned at him and was about to tell him to back off, but Lucia was already answering his question.
‘Believe it or not, it was. A very fortunate and happy coincidence, but I didn’t seek Alana or you out, Mr. Montoya.’
Alejandro snorted and shook his head in apparent disbelief.
‘But why would Lucy seek me out? Or you?’ I asked. I was completely bewildered by this whole thing.
Lucia’s lip trembled and I heard Alejandro sigh deeply. ‘Because, Alana, the family believed to have murdered Lucia’s family are… I mean, were our biggest rivals in Chicago. Our family is very well known in Chicago. And, as Lucia well knows, sometimes our enemy’s enemy can be our greatest ally.’
‘They were your biggest rivals?’ I asked, wondering at the meaning behind his deliberate use of the past tense.
