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Lucia laughed. ‘Before their boss and his second had their heads chopped off and put on spikes.’
Alejandro flashed her a look and she stopped laughing and clamped her mouth shut in a dramatic, teenage fashion.
‘What?’ I looked at Lucia and then Alejandro. ‘Did you have anything to do with that?’
‘Alana!’ he snapped. I should have known better than to ask such a question in front of Lucia, and I looked down at my hands. I felt completely out of my depth here.
Alejandro reached for my hand and squeezed it before he carried on addressing our guest. ‘Let’s pretend that I believe you ended up in LA and at the shelter by chance, what brings you here to our door tonight, young runaway?’
‘Oh, that,’ she said with a sniff. ‘I hate that foster home. They hate me too. They tried to make me go to church to confess my sins. They think me being pregnant means I’m this complete lost cause and that I need to repent. They made me read the bible after dinner! And the guy is a creep!’
‘Lucy,’ I said, still unused to her real name. ‘You can’t just run away. Did you even tell them you were leaving?’
She shook her head.
‘They’ll be worried about you. You’re going to have to call them,’ I insisted.
‘Okay. But can’t I stay here with you guys tonight?’ she asked, her eyes wide and imploring.
‘No!’ Alejandro barked.
I put my hand on his knee and squeezed. ‘Maybe just for tonight? It’s late.’
Alejandro shook his head.
‘Please?’ Lucia pleaded.
He rolled his eyes. ‘Fine. One night. Then you’re out of here and back to your foster family.’
She nodded eagerly. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’ll still need to call them,’ I reminded her.
‘Of course. Can I borrow your cell?’
‘Where is yours?’ I asked her. No teenager that I knew would be without their cell phone for more than five minutes.
‘The Bakers took it off me. They said it was too much temptation. In case I spoke to any boys.’ She pulled a face and looked down at her rounded belly. ‘Like, I’d want anything to do with any boys!’
CHAPTER 2
ALANA
I handed Lucia a pair of my pajamas and sat on the bed in the spare room she had chosen to sleep in. It was the same one I’d chosen on my first day here, before Alejandro had come storming in, in a rage, demanding that I sleep in the master bedroom. It was hard to believe that had been just six months earlier. It felt like a lifetime ago.
‘Thank you so much for this, Alana,’ she said softly as she sat on the bed beside me. ‘I truly didn’t know who you were when I first met you. And then when I found out, well, I already liked you, and well…’ She shrugged and wiped a tear from her eye. ‘I suppose there was an element of self-preservation involved when I realized you were Alejandro Montoya’s wife. I should have told you. I wanted to. But I also want to leave Lucia Ramos behind. I want to be Lucy Callaghan,’ she sniffed.
I squeezed her hand. ‘I understand why you didn’t tell me.’
She blinked at me. ‘You do?’
‘Of course. You’ve had no-one to rely on but yourself. You did what you needed to do. You are an incredibly brave young woman,’ I said, and I meant it. I could hardly even begin to imagine what she’d been through, seeing her own family murdered, then living the past two years in fear.
I watched as the tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘You remind me so much of my mom,’ she sniffed loudly.
I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and she rested her head on my chest until her tears were soaking my shirt. ‘I wish she was here,’ she sobbed.
I held her while she cried. There had been no reports about her mom in the shooting at her house and I wondered what had happened to her. I had so many questions about this young girl beside me, but they would have to wait for another time. Right now, all that mattered was that she was safe here.
