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“You did nothing wrong, Val. You don’t deserve this pain.” I place my hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat beneath my palm, “but I promise you won’t face it alone. Whatever you decide to do, run with me or do whatever it is yourputofather wants, I’ll be right beside you.”
“I have to know what my father is into, Noah. I have to go. But not because I want to help him…”
She doesn’t elaborate but based on the sudden speed beating of her heart, I know what she wants to do. She wants to kill him.
“I’ll be there for that too. Somos tú y yo, verdad?”It’s you and me, right?
She leans up and places her lips to mine, shocking the hell out of me. It ends as quick as it started—a quick peck and nothing more.
“Yeah, it’s always you and me.Mi vida.”
She rolls onto her side, her tears dripping off the bridge of her nose as she closes her eyes. I drop my ass to the floor and lean my back against the bed, my ear close to her face where her breathing raises goosebumps along my neck.
I don’t know how long I sit there, replaying the way her lips felt on mine, but when she mumbles my name, I know she’s dead to the world.
Time to have a talk with her mother.
NINE
* * *
‘LAY ME IN THE RIVER’ BONES
Valentina sits at the table,her head in her hands as she stares at something silver sitting on the tabletop between her elbows. I make my way over to her, pulling the chair beside her out and facing it to her.
I sit and rest my elbows on my knees, “Why does Roberto want Val? You said this Society is like a fraternity, so I’m gonna take a wild guess and say it’s a men’s only kind of club. What does Roberto need with Val now?”
Valentina shrugs, lifting her head and staring at me with almost dead eyes. Val resembles her mom, but there's such a vivid difference between them that I hadn’t noticed before. Val has the spark of life in her eyes whereas her mother looks like she’s ready to lay her bones down.
“I wish I knew what Roberto’s plans were, but I was never privy to them. My best guess is he’s going to say she isn’t his by blood, claiming his so-called son as his true heir and forcing them to marry. His reign would stay intact as he would puppet master them from behind the scenes. Just like he did to me.”
My blood boils at the mere thought of Val being tied to some illegitimate asshole who is probably worse than her father ever was just for Roberto’s political gain. I don’t know the guy, but I already want to kill him.
I sniff, rubbing a thumb across my brow as I sit back in my chair, “What’s this guy’s name? He’s a bastard, but does anyone know his father’s name?”
She shakes her head, “No. I tried finding out who the father was to Helena Navarro’s child, but either someone scrubbed the information, or the girl never exposed her lover. His name is Rey. I know nothing else about him, just that he’s been groomed to take over Roberto’s position one day.”
“What is his position?” I ask after a second of silence.
She blows out a breath, “He’s the president.”
“Seems like a bunch of trouble to go through with when originally, he just wanted Rey as his heir. There’s got to be something more to this.”
Valentina scoffs humorlessly, “It’s a riddle I’ve never been able to figure out, and this is no trouble in comparison to wiping out an entire family. Making people their puppets is a cakewalk. When Roberto wants something, or someone, he gets it, no matter who has to go through. He’s far too powerful to fight.”
“Is that why you didn’t run?”
I reach over and grab the silver piece, ignoring how she stares at me as I inspect the pendant. It’s a depiction of a person, a bust of someone wearing a mask with two devil horns. It looks as though it’s coming out of a mirror. I flip the thing over, noting Val’s last name carved into the silver as Valentina answers me.
“I didn’t run because it wouldn’t have just been me who they would have killed, Noah. Anyone—and I do meananyone—close to Val would have been used as bait. Just as they did with my mother and father, my kid brother…they would have done it to you, to Rico, to Leroy. Do you think I want their blood on my hands too, or see Val blame herself?”
I want to slap the shit out of the only woman I’ve ever considered my second mom for the images she put into my head. I want to tell her not to use me or anyone else as an excuse for cowardice, but she’s partly right. Val would blame herself, but the most painful thing I can imagine is losing her to all of this. The fact is, Val is a selfless person and without hesitation she would throw herself in the line of fire before she’d ever let one of us be hurt.
“I’m going with her.” I say plainly.
“I know.” Valentina replies as she stands up and makes her way toward the staircase, “I also know that if it comes down to it, you’ll protect her better than I ever did.”
“What’s the name of this Society?”
