Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
But I’m not ready to burst this bubble we’re squatting in just yet. Two interlopers. Almost happy. Almost because we both know the end is coming. These are stolen moments.
She calls her brother and Ivy almost daily. She asks to listen to the baby coo. Asks questions about how Ivy is doing. How the baby is doing. What it’s like to feed her. To hold her. She has sent countless presents for the baby. Two full wardrobes and enough toys to stock a shop. But she has only seen Elena three more times since she first met her.
I disagree with Santiago on this. He should give her more of himself, more of them. But he keeps her on the outside, and she is abundantly clear of the fact.
Mercedes is napping before dinner, and I don’t tell her when I pay a visit to the De La Rosa Manor. Calling would be easier, but I can’t risk her overhearing my conversation with her brother. Santiago and I settle into his office after a brief visit with Ivy. She’s still skittish around me and won’t be alone in a room with me. I understand even though I try to be as innocuous as possible.
“She will learn you are no threat to her,” Santiago tells me as he pours us each a scotch.
“I understand. It will take time.”
“I heard the night with Clifton Phillips was not quite a success.” He says it with a small grin.
“I didn’t think it would be. He’s a child. Neither capable nor worthy of Mercedes.”
“You’ve gotten to know my sister well. Better than I, perhaps.”
“She is different, Santiago. You should get to know this true Mercedes.”
“In time. The courtesan’s brother… has there been any word on his location?”
“No. Nothing. He’s all but disappeared. I have the houses of both Solana and Georgie under surveillance as well as their shops. My home is secure. No one will get to Mercedes there. And I, or should I say she, hasn’t received any more threatening texts on the old phone.”
“Which is worrying.”
“Agree.”
“And she still doesn’t know about him?”
“I haven’t told her. I thought it would be best.”
“And this Ezra Moore, you trust him?”
“I do. He’ll find him. He has resources and will use them.”
“Good.”
“How is your brother?” I told Santiago about the attack on him but left out the part where Mercedes was concerned.
“Recovering, according to Ezra. I will pay him a visit soon.”
“And he’ll return to the house?”
“We’ll see.”
“What happened between you two? There’s bad blood. I can smell it, Judge.”
“It’s hardly worth discussing. Not when Hildebrand is looking for blood himself.”
“Fucking asshole.”
“I’ve put him off for a few weeks, but I will pay him a visit once I leave here. I want to talk to him privately. See what he knows and if I can influence the consequence.” Consequence. Mercedes’s punishment. Hildebrand, much like my grandfather, is a stickler for the rules. A crime must be punished. Balance restored.
“What will he demand?” In Santiago’s voice, I hear his concern for his sister. She’d be comforted to know it.
“I don’t know,” I tell Santiago. “She was deceived. I can’t imagine more than community service.”
“Which will humiliate her.”
“But it’s better than a harsher sentence.” Payment in flesh.
Santiago nods because he understands. “She doesn’t go into The Tribunal building without you or me at her side. She doesn’t set foot on the compound without us. I don’t trust him not to take her into custody.”
“We’re on the same page. I will protect your sister, Santiago. I won’t let them lay a finger on her.”
His head tilts just a little, such an infinitesimal movement it’s almost imperceptible.
I clear my throat. “As your sister, I care for her, much the same as I do you, Ivy, and your child. I wouldn’t let anything happen to any of you if I could help it.”
“Thank you, Judge.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I ignore it, and we fall into a different conversation. But whoever it is is insistent.
“You’d better answer,” Santiago says, hearing the buzzing.
I reach into my pocket and see it’s Ezra, so I do because he’d leave a message unless it was urgent.
“Ezra?” Santiago drinks his scotch as he watches me.
“Judge. We’ve located the maid.”
“Miriam?”
“Yes. She’s in Florida. Enjoying the sun and sea.”
“Give me an address.”
“No need. I believe at this point it would be a waste of your time. I confirmed she was the one who gave Douglas your location the day of the attack on Mercedes. She also told him about her allergy.” There’s a pause, and I think I hear her in the background. “Tell me what you want me to do. I can go through legal channels.” There’s a silence. “Or not.”
“Not,” I tell him, angry but somehow calm. “A limp, I think. Something that will remind her of what she did for the rest of her life.”