Page 69 of Trapped

As far as Lucia was concerned, he was family, and she was safe. The whole situation makes me uneasy and yet, in a strange way, I am grateful that he found her and grateful that Claudia didn’t hurt her.

“He took Gen,” Ariella says, her voice shaking. Lucia looks up at us at Gen’s name.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. Tio Cass told me he was going to find Gen. He was going to rescue her like you did my mom,” she says, turning to Silas.

The gravity of the situation becomes clear. He had used this situation to benefit his own motives, but what could he possibly want with Gen?Wait.Did Lucia just call me Mom?I’m overcome with emotions. I move toward Lucia and bring her into my arms. I squeeze her tightly.

I had been there when she said her first words: Go, no, Luca. I listened when she started to form sentences and name the people around her. When she said Mom for the first time, it wasn’t for me. It was for Olivia. Every time she said it after that, I answered her requests as if she were talking to me. Olivia caught on to it, but she never said anything. I can’t help but smile. A short-lived smile that fades when I look at Ariella’s face.

“Hey. Come here. Don’t cry.” I reach out and pull her into a hug with us. The three of us on the floor hugging.

“We’ll find Gen. I promise,” I say to Ariella.

“Tio Cass will be nice to her,” Lucia says.

We release our embrace and let Lucia drag on with her stories before I walk with Ariella back to her house. I help her take a shower and tuck her in with Guapo. I rub her head until she falls asleep, then shut off the lights. When I go to leave, I run into Nero outside her room.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask.

“I was told to make sure she’s okay,” he says.

He doesn’t look at me. He just stands there in his suit with his hands crossed in front of him. When I get back to the penthouse, everyone is sound asleep. Rosalinda, Maikel, and Josefina all lay together in the back room. Tomorrow, they would take off to Arizona and start their own journey to healing.

Silas lays stretched out on my bed next to Lucia. They are both fast asleep, looking identical with their jet-black hair, longlashes, and mouths hanging open. I let out a small laugh when I see all the butterfly clips in Silas’s hair. I pull out my phone and snap a picture. He groans at the flash, then looks up with drowsy eyes.

“Diablita. What are you doing?” He pulls me on top of him and closes his eyes again.

“Silas,” I protest and push off him. I take them in. Mi familia.My family.Silas sits up and slowly removes each of the colorful clips. He leaves his hair loose, and I desperately want to run my fingers through the strands.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing. I’m just… I’m just glad Cassiel didn’t hurt her,” I confess.

“Cass is a lot of things, but I couldn’t see him hurting a child,” he says.

“Cass?!” My eyes narrow on him, and he lets out a sigh.

“You know him,” he says.

“Yes. I knowofhim. Psycho half-brother who killed Mireya’s mom. How do you know him?” I push up off of Silas and cross my arms.

“No. Youknowhim,” Silas says. I watch as he drags his hand over his face.

“I don’t know who he is personally. Not enough to call him ‘Cass’ or make the assumption that he would never hurt a child,” I say, making sure to emphasize the nickname Silas had used. It was the same thing Lucia had called him. Tio Cass. A name I assumed only those close to him used.

“Leather Face,” Silas says, holding up a hand.Leather Face?My jaw drops at Silas’s confession.

“That scary fucker? With the scar? That’s Cassiel? That is our daughter’s hero?” I whisper yell, trying not to wake her.

“Like I said, he’s fucking crazy, but he’d never hurt a child,” Silas says.

“What did he want with Genesis?” I ask.

Conejo called Aurelio and let him know that Genesis had been dropped off at Conejo’s ranch a few hours ago. She hadn’t said a word to anyone about what happened. Mireya was going over there and would check in on her.

“I don’t know what exactly he wants from her, but I do know it’s not something you want to get in the way of,” he warns.

I don’t try to argue with him. I’m too exhausted to fight, and I’m learning to pick my battles. These two people right here are all I need to concern myself with. I can’t take on the weight of the world.

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