Page 48 of King of Hearts

I spun back toward the coffee machine, trying to hide my watering eyes. Busying myself with the buttons, I didn’t notice Maria sneak up behind me.

“You’ll have to develop thick skin if you’re going to be in this family.”

I looked over my shoulder, hoping my tone wasn’t as rude as I currently felt. “My skin is made of Kevlar. I’m not fragile. I am, however, petty as hell.”

Maria laughed, swiping a few crumbs from the counter.

I brought my coffee to my lips, sipping it while I waited to hear Maria’s piece. If she noticed I hadn’t made her coffee, I had no idea…but my kindness evaporated while being called a whore.

“You have to understand…Anna and Manuel, Juan’s parents…they were in love for so many years. El Peligro has never had a queen, but if it did, she would have been it. Her husband was the leader, and her son the young prince of the outfit. Back then, product was being moved between Mexico and the southern border…and it was Manuel’s father who decided to move it up the coast, into New York. He built this business with his bare hands.”

I continued nursing my cup of decaf, listening, and gathering up all the information she was giving freely.

“Anna loved her husband and son, but she hated this life. She was depressed and anxious all the time. Manuel cheated on her, often…he was so handsome and powerful, it was hard not to be drawn to him.” She tucked a few pieces of hair behind her ear, a rosy coloring filling her cheeks, and I wondered if she had been an admirer of Juan’s father. “Anna once caught him with someone in their bed, and that was the last straw. She left with Juan, going down to Mexico for five years. She met Leo, a simple cook who worked for the outfit, but only on the fringes. She fell in love, or at least something similar to what she had with Manuel, although most of us knew she’d never love another the way she loved that man. Regardless, she allowed her son to be raised by another man, a good man. It didn’t change the fact that Manny had Juan with him while he worked and tried to harden his heart with the evil he exposed him to, but he had a good man at the helm who led him onto a different path.”

My mind tugged at the pieces; how eerily similar Juan’s life was to my own. Both sired by monsters, both saved by brave mothers who found better men to raise us, now forced to return to the mess our fathers created.

“His mother never wanted this life for him. She’s scared, but give her another chance to show you who she is.” Maria pressed her gentle hand to my shoulder while moving out of the kitchen.

I nodded, watching her retreating form. Of course I’d give his mother another shot…her words had been mean, but as I pressed my hand to my growing belly, feeling my baby kick—I could understand where she was coming from. I’d want my child to have the best life possible, and being born into my family, I’d murder someone if anyone ever tried to drag them back.

Taking my mug, I sipped it while walking toward the back patio doors. Shattered glass had been everywhere the night before, at least that was what it had sounded like. Now, there was nothing to show for Juan’s family breaking in, save for a piece of plywood along the back wall.

Every morning, if I had the time, I liked going out there. I liked the way the sun rose over the orchard and the orange and purple streaked along the sky, like a toddler using crayons. I usually took a history book, my coffee, and a blanket to curl under. Juan had tried to accompany me a few times with his own book, but after the bed incident when I jumped out of his lap, he’d stopped.

There were men walking around the perimeter of the house, carrying guns…and once again, it was like someone had opened a portal and I was transported back to my childhood. This wasn’t what I wanted, yet I knew I’d never outrun the life my father had planned for me. Just turned out I’d tricked him by shuffling the deck. I had no idea what I would have done if it weren’t for Juan pretending to be mine.

“Hey.” He broke into my thoughts, taking the chair across from me.

I smiled at him. “Hey, your mom okay?”

His grimace told me he wasn’t happy with her, and the way his lips turned down made me want to crawl into his lap and hug him.This is all my fault.

“She’s just worried about all this. Word spread pretty rapidly about this whole situation…my mom and aunt were here before I even woke up.”

“They love you.” I tried to lean forward to set my cup on the glass table, but my belly was making it difficult, so Juan reached over and grabbed it from my hand.

“They do…in their own way.”

“I guess I can understand that…it’s why my mom tears Mallory down. She sees her as a threat to me, or my position in my stepdad’s eyes. For a long time, she tried to get me free of this by marrying me off to a wealthy, connected man.” I ducked my head, feeling shame wash over me. What must Juan think of my mother and me? He had called her a gold digger last spring…he wasn’t wrong, but it clearly showed his opinion of her.

“Speaking of…your father will be here in a while, and before then, I need to talk to you.” Whiskey eyes settled on mine, reflecting the same fear and confusion I had about how all this would work out.

I nodded my agreement and allowed him to grab my hand and help me up.

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere private.”

Chapter Eighteen

Settlinginto the plush chair near Juan’s window, I suddenly wasn’t feeling so bad that he had chosen to sleep in it the night prior. The buttery fabric was soft and instantly relaxed me. I noticed someone had brought up its twin, positioning it right next to the one already stationed there so there were two by his large window. My heart jumped a little at the notion that he’d thought of this, of sharing his space with me, for however long this ruse lasted.

“We don’t have long. Tell me the basics first,” Juan said, propping his elbow on the arm of the chair and resting his knuckles under his chin.

I let out a tiny sigh, leaning back into the plush cushion. “My father is Ivan Varga, or as you referred to him last night, Ördög.” I watched as Juan’s eyes stayed steady on me, encouraging me to keep going. “I found out I was promised to Markos Mariano when I was thirteen years old. The custody arrangement at the time was that my father had me every summer…my mother used to joke that the custody was just a string my father liked to pull on when he grew bored or wanted to punish her. It didn’t really mean anything to him, seeing as he could easily take me whenever he wanted, but it worked for his schedule to only have me a few months at a time. Anyway, when I learned about the arrangement, I went back to my mother and begged her to find a way to get me out of visits.”

“Your father went along with it?” Juan asked, leaning down to grab my ankle. He pulled my bare foot into his lap and began rubbing the soles of my feet, and while it was still early in the morning, they were already aching.

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