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“What are we going to do to fix this?” I ask seriously, my eyes staring at the stoic face of Romero Herrera beneath the headline. He has black hair that matches his soul, a clean shaven face with angular features that make me want to take a knife to the pretty boy.
He’s rarely seen in public, but when he is, his photos usually show up in the local gossip magazine along with a sleazy tale of his womanizing ways. The least the guy could do is keep his dick-wetting business on the low. He makesmafiososlook like moronic playboys.
“I have a plan.” Marío’s eyes glitter the way they do when he’s ordering the death of someone.
I open my mouth to ask what this plan is when Vicenta enters the room wearing a god-awful dress that even a prostitute would laugh at.
The wrap around dress is loose and the color of literal shit. It has a ridiculous bow on her shoulder that she pushes away from her neck in a self-conscious way.
“Ah, my—” Marío starts when he sees her, before turning to me with his face morphed into confusion. “What the hell is she wearing?”
“Lupita left clothes for her. She has nothing else,” I say, cocking a brow at Vicenta, hoping she follows along.
Surprising me, she walks over to my father and runs a hand down the dress. “It’s lovely. Thank you for gifting it to me.”
My father scoffs and shakes his head. “You look like a ten dollar hooker.”
Vicenta turns red, anger flaring in her eyes for a second before she slips her mask back in place. “Perhaps you’re right. I didn’t want to be rude.”
My father’s lip curls as he looks at the dress once more, before gesturing to a chair beside him like an asshole. I stand and move around the table like the gentleman my mother raised me to be and pull out the chair for her, ignoring the eyes I feel on me.
“Gracias,” she says softly, and I note her shaking hands as she sits and casts a nervous look at Marío, but he looks back down at the paper.
I move back to my place and retake my seat as Lupita brings Vicenta a plate of eggs and bacon with a couple of pancakes. I shake my head at her when she offers the same for me.
Vicenta takes a few small bites of her breakfast, watching Marío from the corner of her eye as he types away on his phone.
She jumps when he loudly puts the phone down, his eyes on her. “Vicenta, I’m sure my son has told you why you are here, no?”
She swallows, her eyes casting a quick look to me before she answers. “I am my father’s payment.”
Marío chuckles. “You are so much more than a payment, little one. You will be the bearer of this family’s legacy.”
She grips the fork tightly before carefully placing it down on the plate. “Forgive my ignorance, Marío, but I see your legacy sitting across from me. What do you need me for?”
I kick her foot under the table, warning her with my eyes to shut the hell up.
“I mean no disrespect,Jefe, please know that. My father, for all his faults, deserves punishment for his failures, but there are many ways to skin a cat.”
It’s quiet for a few breaths, my father assessing her. It makes me both nervous and furious. I told her to play her part and the first thing she does is speak her mind as though Marío will heed it.
“You remind me of someone I once loved.” Marío surprises me with his softly spoken statement of my mother.
He lifts a hand and it takes all my strength to stay in my seat. He cups her jaw softly, ignoring how stiff Vicenta is. “Now she’s dead. You’d be wise to learn from her.”
He shoves her away from him, letting me breathe easier when he’s no longer touching her.
“What I do to your father is no longer your concern. His punishment is in play and I will see it to the end. You. Are. Mine. It would do you well to adjust to your new life.Me entiendes, niña?”
He stands from his seat as she drops her head and mumbles her answer.
“Do you understand me?!” he yells at her, making her jump and whimper.
My fingers ache from their hard grip on the armrests of my chair.
“Yes. I understand,” she repeats louder,firmer, her eyes locking onto Marío’s.
I can see her pulse racing as she turns away, her eyes avoiding mine.
