"Though there was this one time that she loosened up enough to talk to me for more than two seconds. I asked her where she came from since she had a slight accent. I was surprised when she actually answered. I got the feeling she was proud of her hometown. Like she felt disgusted at having to be here. At the time it didn't really blip on my radar, but now, it does seem weird that a woman with a well-established interior design business in Florida would rather be in Mexico."
Excitement jolted through Vee and her hands shook when she clasped them together. "Where was she from? Where was her hometown?"
He didn't even pause, as though he remembered every detail of the conversation with the fake Daniela. "She was from the Durango region in Mexico, outside the city, up in the Sierra Madres."
Vee felt both elation and terror as she realized exactly who had come in close contact with her daughter. Desi. The woman who came to Sotza's Venezuelan island with her lover, Nicolás Garza, to kill them both and take over the Venezuelan cartel. Mateo had hunted down the man behind the attack, but he hadn't been able to find Desi.
And if she was being honest, Vee had to admit that none of them had put a whole lot of effort into finding Desi. As far as they had been concerned, Desi was Nico's second-in-command, she'd been forced to follow his orders, then she’d run away when things got hot.
Well, Desi had just become a priority. Vee was going to hunt her down and play with her insides.
Vee thanked Lincoln for his help, handed him a roll of bills and told him to buy his team a round of beer, then she turned on her heel and walked away with Danny at her side.
"Do you know who Desi is?" Vee asked Danny.
"Yes."
That one simple word held a grim finality to it. If Desi was still after Raina, then Raina was in very big trouble.
They drove back to Danny's house in silence. They would have to come up with a plan, but for now Vee needed to decide what she was going to do with this information. Did she keep it to herself or did she discuss it with Mateo?
Mateo would be furious if he found out that she'd interfered, but he would be less furious if Vee shared the information. Vee didn't need to make an enemy out of Mateo. Still… What if he didn't take this seriously, what if he didn't take the proper steps to protect Raina?
Vee was still contemplating what action she would take when they arrived at the house. She got out of the car and started walking toward the house, so lost in thought that she didn’t see the car with tinted windows until a door opened and a man got out.
He was tall, distinguished-looking, handsome and controlled. He wore his suit to perfection. Her heart stuttered when she caught sight of him. He strode angrily toward her, his face darkening into a thunderous frown.
"Elvira."
Dammit, he only ever called her that when he was furious. Well, two could play this game.
"Sotza," she said, using his last name, something she only did when he was being a dick.
Chapter Forty
"We need to talk." Sotza's voice was cold and hard.
Vee was in very big trouble. Then again, she’d known she would be in trouble the moment she decided not to get on the airplane back to Venezuela. This was her reckoning.
Sotza eyed Danny who was standing slightly beside and behind Vee. His posture was somewhat protective but both men knew that Danny wouldn’t make a move against the Butcher.
"Someplace private," Sotza said, jerking his head toward the house.
Sotza took Vee's arm in a tight grip as Danny unlocked the door, pushed it open and ushered the other two inside. Vee continued down the hall, showing Sotza to the bedroom she'd used the night before.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Vee began defending herself. "I had to stay, Isaac. Raina is my daughter, nothing else is more important."
Sotza took a step toward her, forcing her to back up until she hit the door. As he approached, she lifted her chin in defiance. He towered over her, placing a hand on the door next to her head. Though he wasn't being overtly threatening, his body language hinted at it.
"Agreed," he said quietly.
Vee was shocked. She hadn’t expected such an easy capitulation from her husband. He was king of the underground in many South American regions and had to maintain a hard exterior in order to preserve his role. Even with Vee, he was often dictator-like. He frequently curtailed her decision-making powers. She was to go where he told her to go, stay where he told her to stay and do what he told her to do. Despite that, Sotza did respect his wife and held her to a high standard. She worked, lived and loved at his side.
"You agree?" she asked, off-balance.
"I do." His voice was deep velvet, though she heard the underlying steel. He was still angry with her. "But you do not have my permission to go off on your own. You knew when you made this choice that I wouldn’t approve. There will be consequences."
"What kind of consequences?" she asked quietly.
Sotza could be breathtakingly brutal, even with his wife. She'd seen him working in his dungeon, experienced his anger firsthand. She wasn't eager for the consequences that he spoke of.
"You don’t need to worry about that now. For the moment, we will concentrate on the safety of our daughter." He paced away from Vee, though he didn't go far given the limited space in the bedroom. "Unlike you, Mateo has been updating me with information on this potential threat against Raina. First, you will tell me what you’ve learned and then we will talk to Mateo. We’ll find this Daniela bitch and we will remove the threat to our family."
Tears rushed to Vee's eyes. She felt guilty that she'd underestimated Sotza and his care for her daughter. She had acted impulsively, a character trait that some might call a flaw. A trait she had in common with her daughter. Vee threw herself at her husband and hugged him tightly around the waist pressing her ear to his heart.
"Thank you."
He stood stiff for a few seconds and then she felt the gradual loosening of his muscles. He lifted his arms and wrapped them around her, his hand cupping the back of her head as he held her to his chest. He dropped his head and pressed a kiss against the fine blonde hair.
"Raina is well loved, none of us will allow anything to happen to her. Mateo will hunt her enemies to the ends of the earth and beyond. He’ll sacrifice himself for your daughter. You must trust him and trust me."
"I do," she insisted, sniffling back tears. She tipped her head up so her chin rested on his chest. He looked down at her. "I'm sorry I didn't give you the respect you deserve. You should've heard about this from me, not Mateo. I should've trusted you to help me. I just…"
"I'm not your ex-husband, Elvira. I will always take care of you and yours. Raina is my daughter as well and I will move heaven and earth to ensure her safety."
"I know," she whispered.
She was deeply moved by his words. There was a time, a few years ago when they had to fight hard for their love. Vee had denied him her daughter. She had told him to his face that he was not Raina’s father. Now she knew better. Raina had two fathers; Joe Duncan and Isaac Sotza. Either one would die for her.
"Will we be staying in Miami?" she asked hesitantly.
This was a large part of the reason why she hadn't told Sotza that she was planning on staying behind. She feared he would order her to get on a plane, and if she didn't comply, he would've sent Mateo after her. Now, she feared something different. She worried that he would send her home to Venezuela and stay himself. A result of her own screwup.
He nodded. "Yes, we’ll stay in Miami for now. But if you put one hair out of line, you'll find yourself back on the compound in Venezuela so fast your head will spin. You will be locked in your room until I can arrive to lay down your new law."
She wanted to argue with him, as she often did when he went all patriarchal on her, but she was so grateful to have him here and to have his support that she nodded. "I understand."
He stepped away from her, though he kept a hand on her back. He looked around the room
, his eyes narrowing. "Grab your things, we’ll be staying somewhere else. I don't think we'll both fit in the bed."
Vee giggled as she glanced at the tiny princess bed that she'd slept in the night before. A perfectly wonderful bed for a five-year-old girl, a complete nightmare for an adult.
Chapter Forty-One
Raina watched dismally as her things were moved from her old room into Mateo's room. She was sitting on her soon-to-be old bed with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed as the men moved everything out. They attempted to get her to come to Mateo’s room and tell them where to put it all.
She bit her lip so that she wouldn't reply with, "Up your ass". It wasn't their fault that she and Mateo were fighting.
Fighting felt like such a weak word for what was happening between them. More like a catastrophic shift in their relationship. Raina was more confused than ever about what she felt for Mateo. True to his word, he hadn't touched her during the night. They had lain side by side, neither of them sleeping for a long time. She hadn't been afraid of him, not exactly. Even though he hurt her, she still trusted him when he told her that he wouldn't touch her.
But the fact that he had hurt her at all, deliberately and mercilessly, told her that he could do it again. And that was where most of her confusion came from. She wasn't going to delude or lie to herself; she was in love with Mateo, had been in love with him for years. He was a hard man to resist. He was devoted to her health, safety and comfort.
But the problem was the order of his priorities. Mateo would always put her health and safety above her comfort. Yet, Raina would argue that a person needed happiness for survival as much as they needed the basics.
That morning, she had woken up tucked against his side, her back to him, her butt pressed against his hip. Her hands had been underneath her head as though she had curled up against him in her sleep, seeking warmth. She didn't move; didn't want to move. In fact, she wanted to roll over against him and watch him as he slept, but she didn't. She still couldn't deal with her emotions over what happened.
They had sex. No, not sex. Sex was consensual. Mateo had attacked her, and she’d been forced to take it. And much to her shame, her body had betrayed her during the ordeal. Realistically, she knew that women were capable of orgasming under extreme circumstances but knowing that and feeling it were two different things.
Mateo had demonstrated to her, with his actions, how different their worlds were. Raina wanted love, respect and a marriage built on a foundation of equality and mutual caring. She didn't want a husband who would lay down the law, force her compliance and treat her like a prisoner if she dared to voice her dissent.
But Mateo inhabited the world of organized crime. A place where the rules were different. Raina would be naïve not to pay attention to that world; to assume that she wasn't a part of it because she didn't want to be.
The fact was, Raina was born to the mafia. She didn't have a choice. She'd never had a choice. That was why Sotza had ordered Mateo to pick her up two years ago, to bring her to Venezuela to meet her birth mother.
Now, like it or not, Raina was firmly entrenched in Mateo’s world. It was a depressing thought; one she didn't want to linger on. She pushed herself off the bed and stood, then headed for the door. She nearly ran into one of the bodyguards coming in for another load.
"Excuse me," he said politely and then went around her. He lifted Raina’s makeup table in one arm as though it weighed nothing.
Mateo had told her that morning that he wanted her permanently moved into his room. He didn't want her thinking that she could escape back into her old room, pushing him out. He had informed her that her things would be moved over and that she didn't have a choice.
She had informed him that he could go fuck himself. She’d had the pleasure of watching his body tighten in annoyance, but he left without saying a word, denying her the fight she so richly wanted. The scratches visible on his face from their fight in the bunker would have to suffice her thirst for vengeance.
Raina went in search of Danny, hoping he would agree to take her shopping. She didn't really need to go shopping, nor did she have a strong desire for it, but she wanted to get out of the house. She couldn't sit there and watch as all her things were moved into Mateo's room.
Raina knocked on the door of the security office. A feminine voice told her to come in.
"Hey Angela." Raina tried to sound more upbeat than she felt. "Danny around?"
Angela shook her head and leaned back in her chair. "Nope. Mateo asked Danny to join him for the day. Mateo wants to reach out to some of Vee’s old connections and thought Danny would be able to help."
"Oh." With all the turmoil of the past few days, Raina had forgotten that Mateo had a big job to do in Miami.
A tiny part of her forgave him for his actions of the day before. Not only was he trying to establish the boundaries of their relationship, but he was under a great deal of stress. He was taking over one of the most important underground international hub cities in the world. The job was dangerous, though she had no doubt he would succeed. She couldn’t imagine a world where Mateo didn’t get exactly what he wanted. He wouldn’t allow it.
"Did they take any bodyguards with them?" Raina asked, worried for Mateo’s safety.
Angela smirked at her, as though she thought Raina's concern was cute. "You do know that both Mateo and Danny acted as bodyguards in a professional capacity, right? Danny was Vee’s bodyguard for years, even before she became a boss, and Mateo has been Sotza’s protection for more than two decades. They can take care of themselves."
Raina huffed. "I know, I know. I guess I just worry more now. Especially since I’m more informed about the inner workings here."
It was true. No one was attempting to sugarcoat Raina's new existence. She wondered if it was a group effort to keep her informed for her own safety. If she knew how bad things could get, then she might be less likely to place herself in harmful situations. Angela more than the others gave Raina the bald truth every time. Raina was grateful for that.
Angela seemed to take pity on her. "You don't have to worry about them. Not only are they capable of taking care of themselves, but they also took several men with them. I don't think they were doing anything particularly dangerous, but these days they seem to be taking back-up everywhere. They’re protected and the house is like Fort Knox. We're all in good shape."
Raina smiled. "Thanks for the reassurance."
"No problem, chica,” Angela said, putting a foot up on the desk. "What can I help you with? You came in here looking for Danny. What did you need him for?"
Raina shrugged. "Nothing much, I wanted to get out of the house for a few hours. I was hoping he would take me shopping. But it's not a big deal, I can go another time."
Angela pushed herself away from the desk and got to her feet. "I'll take you. I can use a timeout from the desk. Who knew house security would involve so much paperwork? We’ll grab a couple of the guys, eat some lunch and hit up the South Beach shopping. You haven't had a chance to check it out yet, have you? I've been dying to get over there myself, but Mateo’s been keeping me busy."
Raina was surprised to hear Angela talking about wanting to shop. Angela was a no-nonsense kind of girl. She never wore makeup that Raina could tell, she kept her long dark hair knotted tightly at the base of her neck and she always wore militaristic clothes. Cargo pants, basic T-shirt and combat boots. She also tended to wear a utility belt with a variety of weapons.
Raina would be massively intimidated by Angela if they hadn't spent several weeks getting to know each other. Raina had discovered a total softy in Angela; a woman who had to put on a tough exterior to live in a man's world, while still managing to maintain her compassion. She cared about others. She checked on Raina often and Raina knew that Angela had conversations with Mateo, making sure that he was being safe and that he knew he had an ear if he needed to talk over any of his plans. Angela was well suited for house duty, organizing protection details
and security. Raina was pleased that Mateo seemed to be grooming her for that particular job.
Twenty minutes later they were on their way to South Beach, Angela in the driver’s seat, Raina in the passenger and the bodyguards in the back.
"Do you miss Venezuela?" Raina asked casually. "Do you think you'll go back there?"
Angela didn't take her eyes off the road, but she shrugged. "I don't have any family in Venezuela, but I do love the country. I'll definitely go visit. For now though, I prefer to remain at Mateo's side, whether that's here or somewhere else."
Raina nodded thoughtfully. She had felt a strong connection to her parent’s farm. Her upbringing had been happy, and she wouldn't trade it for the world, but when she'd been kidnapped by Mateo and taken to Venezuela, her eyes had been opened to the wider world. After, when she'd gone on the run for two years, she had discovered in herself a deep desire to explore other places.
Though Miami was starting to grow on her, Raina still wanted to explore the world. Another unknown in her relationship with Mateo. Would he allow her to travel further abroad, or would he try to keep her in Miami? She didn't know, and not knowing was one of the fundamental issues with her relationship. Mateo would lay down the law and she would be expected to follow. How much autonomy she had in those decisions was yet to be established.
Raina had a surprisingly good time shopping with Angela. She discovered a hidden Barbie in the other woman. Angela loved colours in a way that Raina would not have suspected based on her tendency to wear only dark clothes when she worked. Angela chose several feminine items, including a pink dress, a red leather mini skirt that she paired with a bustier, a new pair of heels and a few items of jewelry.
Raina didn't buy much since she already had more than she needed at the mansion, but being out and about, breathing the fresh air with a hint of ocean and spending time with another woman helped to reorient her. She felt more like herself and more able to put the events of the past twenty-four hours into perspective.
Born a Queen (The Queens Book 3) Page 22
