Page 52 of Little Dove

She’s silent for a moment before she sighs. “What did he do to piss you off?”

“He’s being an overgrown controlling asshole who thinks he can order me around, and then try to make his point by kissing the shit out of me.” I search around the room until I find a largish gym bag, grabbing it and moving around the room to pick out the clothes that I’ll need for the next couple of days.

Days where I’ll be avoiding Lazaro completely. I’m not about to let him think he’s won. All that bullshit earlier was just that — bullshit.

“So what’s new? That’s pretty much every man in this place.” Rori chuckles.

“He forbade me from working on any man’s hair other than his,” I tell her bluntly, turning to face her after tossing some underwear in the bag. Which, by the way, look far more expensive than anyone should ever pay for scraps of fabric, if you ask me; no matter how soft and luxurious they feel.

Rori sighs. “Okay, yeah, I’m starting to see why you’re mad, but for argument’s sake, why did he stupidly say that?”

“Because he’s a controlling asshole, I already said that.” I wince, realizing that came out mean and rude. “Sorry. I’m just pissed, and I need to get the hell out of here before he gets back and tries to stop me.”

Rori waves that away. “No, I get it. And I’ll help you move whatever you want, but I need more information. What exactly did he say?”

“That he doesn’t like the idea of me leaning over other men, letting them get close to me. That he doesn’t trust them not to make a move on me. What he really means is he’s sure I’m going to throw myself at them, or act all flirty and seductive. That jackass. I should have known he’d do something like this. When I got in the car with Urso and him after the plane, Urso said something about wanting a haircut, and he freaked out then. I thought it was just a sibling thing and ignored it, but the man is obviously threatened by anyone else with a dick being around me. Which is insane, because he doesn’t own me. No matter how many times he tries to tell me I do.” I slam a few pairs of yoga pants and jeans into the bag, balling them up, uncaring how much they wrinkle.

“Hmm, yes, I can see how that would piss you off. I’d probably set Hades on him for saying that shit to me. But again, I feel like I need to play devil’s advocate here. Are you sure he’s not just jealous and being over the top? I mean, the guy iscrazy about you. It stands to reason that he’ll be all growly and pissy about you possibly being close to other men and feeling an attraction to one of them. It’s human nature.”

I turn to look at her, and maybe it’s because I’m so pissed that I tell her the truth. “I have spent the last decade being called the town whore, because I got the pastor and his son locked up for raping and drugging me while I was a foster child in their care when I was sixteen. Everyone in town hated me, and they constantly treated me like I was going to try and seduce their men when they sat in my chair. Like I’d throw myself at them, so unable to control myself, sucking them off or fucking them right then and there. Just before all of this happened, I was accused of breaking up a marriage by sleeping with a married man, and his fifteen-year-old son. I’d done it before, right? According to them, everything that was proven in court was a lie. I was just a girl looking for attention.”

Rori’s face is furious when I finish. “They fucking said that to you?” she grits out between clenched teeth. “Those disgusting pieces of shit. You were a fucking child!”

“They didn’t see a child, they saw a scapegoat to place blame on instead of themselves, because they could never accept that they had a predator in their midst, especially not one they respected so much. One they trusted, who told them all I was a wicked child that the devil was using to spread his plagues, to get them all to turn away from God.” I laugh bitterly. “It didn’t matter that there was so much evidence, that the jury deliberated for less than ten minutes. He and his son were convicted, and they have lost every single appeal because it was so iron-clad. I was the girl no one wanted, and I shattered their perfect little town. Eventually I was moved to a group home.”

“I’d have set fire to the whole fucking town. You’re a far stronger and better person than me. Jesus Christ, that’s sick.How did you manage to stay there for so long and put up with that?”

“I didn’t have a choice. No money, no way out. I built my salon there so I could start saving money to move, but it was hard. They wanted to make it as hard as they could for me to succeed, and even though they probably wanted to run me out of town, they also liked having me around to torment or point the finger at when shit went sideways. Hell, they hated me more than the town drunk who liked to beat on his wife and kids, more than the man who tried to set fire to their precious church. Hell, they said I probably drove him to it. Didn’t matter that he had only just moved to town and I’d never laid eyes on him in my life. My evil got a hold of him.” I shake my head at the memory. Being out of it now, I’m starting to realize I should have left that town long ago.

“Okay, that’s some messed up shit and I’m glad you’re away from them I can also see why you’re pissed at Lazaro. He basically accused you the same way they did.”See, she gets it, why can’t he?“Maybe some space between you two is a good idea, but here’s a little food for thought. Lazaro isn’t used to having a woman that he’s wanted as much as you, I don’t think. He’s probably going about things the wrong way, but I think his heart is in the right place. His words, not so much.”

“He told me he wants to possess me, Rori. What kind of man says that?”

Rori’s lips stretch into a wicked smile. “The kind that’s utterly obsessed. And just so you know, there are a hell of a lot of women out there that would love a man to say that kind of thing to them.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not one of them. I’m my own person, I’ve worked hard to be that way, and no one, especially not a man, is going to control me and act like he owns me ever again.” I grab some shirts and sweaters and shove them into the bag too.All I need now are some shoes, but it’s already filled to the brim and probably won’t zip easily. I look around for another bag, but nothing pops out. Damn it.

“Of course not. I know all about people who love to control you, so that makes me an expert on this subject. Control and the possession he’s talking about aren’t the same, Amara.”

“Whose side are you on?” I demand, pissed. I thought I finally found someone who might understand, who might be on my side, but clearly, I’m wrong. Again.

She holds up her hands placatingly. “Amara, I will always be on your side, but I’m also not going to let you think things that I know aren’t true. Not because I’m on his side, but because I know them myself, okay? Now, listen to me.” She pours steel into her tone, and I can’t help but stop and give her my full attention. “I have been around men who control their women, and that is not what Lazaro is doing. It might seem that way, but it’s not. The control I’ve seen, is a woman not being allowed to step foot outside of her own home without her man beside her, to keep her from getting away or speaking to someone else. Keeping her confined to her home, but only certain rooms, because he doesn’t trust her to follow everything he says to the letter. Having the house so full of cameras that she can’t even take a shit without him knowing about it. She can only wear what he tells her, no make-up, not even to cover the bruises that he gives her. That, honey, is control. Lazaro is not doing any of that.”

“No,” I agree. “Maybe he’s not going to that extreme, but telling me who I can and can’t work on in my shop is trying to control me.”

She pauses, then slowly nods. “Alright, I get your point. Maybe I’m jaded by the stuff I see and think that other things aren’t as bad, so it can’t be the same. I’ll have to work on that.Let’s get your stuff. Where are we going? Did you find an open room? Or talk to Sofia?”

“Oh, ah no,” I admit. “I was just going to wander around until I found one.” Not the best plan, I can admit.

Rori chuckles. “Well, we’re going to have to fix that out or we might get ourselves in trouble, ending up somewhere we shouldn’t. How about we leave your stuff here for right now and we go ask Sofia where she thinks is best? You can walk off some of your anger, and we can make a plan. Because we both know that as soon as Lazaro figures out you’re not in this room with him anymore, he’ll be hunting for you high and low.”

“It’s a good thing I’m good at hiding.” I sniff. “But how do we lose my guard? He’s like a freaking shadow.”

Rori nods. “Yeah, that is a problem. But don’t worry, we’ll manage it. For now, let him follow, but we’ll watch what we say until we can get ourselves away. And just so you’re aware, Lazaro is going to be even more pissed that you slipped him, too.”

“I don’t understand why I need to have a guard in the first place. I mean, Lazaro made this big speech about me being here and being safe. How if I stayed in Arizona, or tried to leave and make it on my own, I’d end up dead or in the hands of my so-called family who want to sell me off like some kind of cow. Or is this him being controlling too?”

“No, that’s not it. All the women here have guards. Hell, they have guards even when things aren’t going to shit, from what I understand. That’s a thing in the mafia. There is always the worry that someone can sneak in or betray them and hurt their biggest weakness. It happened with Gia already, so Nico isn’t taking any chances. Which means Alessio and Lazaro won’t take chances with you or Sienna. Hell, even Alonzo has been my guard for the most part, but I always manage to get away from him. I think they figure I’m safe enough with just Hades, but I’m not an idiot. I know they have people watching me.”

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