Page 75 of Born a Queen

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.

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