Page 31 of Nocturnal Sins
CHAPTER TEN
Santana
“I just got a notice that the university won’t be pressing criminal charges as long as you uphold your expulsion, Santana.” Pop tossed a letter on my bed and I barely looked at it. I was studying the pagers and I was working on my last one. School seemed like it was light years in the past.
“You still sound mad at me,” I said, pushing the letter from Dartmouth aside. A week had passed since I aired out his family secret about being a kingpin. He spoke to me enough to keep up appearances at the restaurant but once we were at home, things fell silent.
On the other hand, things were amazing with Sammie and me. She slept in my bed every night and every morning I woke up and buried myself in her warm pussy. I was in my own world when it came to her. We’d always been close but now our relationship was on another level.
“I don’t know what to say to you anymore, Santana,” Pop confessed. His feathers were still ruffled. He stood in my room like a bird of prey ready to shred me apart if need be. I didn’t want that though. No matter how pissed I was at him for keeping Sammie and me out of the loop, I loved him and I respected him.
“How about you tell me what’s really on your mind?” I leaned back in my chair and regarded him.
“I’m noticing a change in Sam and I don’t like it. I feel like it’s because she knows about the operation now. I just want my princess to go to school and not think about any of this shit. It’s not something she needs to worry about.”
“What change have you noticed in her?” I quizzed, resting my elbows on my knees. Pop leaned against the wall and shrugged.
“Her wheels are spinning but I can’t tell what she’s thinking about. Can’t be school because she hasn’t mentioned it to me once. Before, she was excited about Dartmouth in the fall and now it’s like school has vanished and been replaced with something else.”
I couldn’t tell him that one of the things heavy on Sammie’s mind was me. The other thing was Pop’s operation. She wanted to see it. She wanted to know everything he’d kept from her for so long. She knew damn well he wouldn’t show it to her though.
“So you’re still pissed at me becauseSammieis acting differently. O…kay,” I chuckled.
“If you hadn’t told her about the operation then none of it would be happening. Sam would be all about graduation and school in the fall like she needs to be. Instead, I know she’s thinking about what I do behind the scenes. I know she is.” Pop let out a tired sigh.
“So, basically this is all my fault?” I stood up and plopped the last pager in his hand and he closed his fist around it. Garlic and peppers clung to his t-shirt. The smells reminded me of the kitchen. Even when I was off, the restaurant still found its way to me somehow.
“It is, Santana. Why couldn’t you leave well enough alone?” He tossed a hand in the air and patted his pockets for a pack of cigarettes.
“Because as much as you want to believe everything was well, it wasn’t, Pop. Sammie had questions. She noticed things weren’t right and I couldn’t keep avoiding her.”
“You could have told me and I would have steered her in another direction. I would have found something to occupy her time.” He pulled out a slim white stick and pushed it between his lips before lighting the tip and inhaling long and deep.
“You can’t keep rerouting her. She’s not stupid and she would have found out eventually. She’s already pissed that you kept something like this from her and she has every right to be.”
“Are you still pissed that I didn’t tell you about your mother?” He asked, his guard softening a bit. Pop may have been all iron and nails on the outside but when it came to Sammie and me he was a ball of cotton.
I shrugged at his question and shifted in my chair a bit. “I’m getting over it. I just would rather you talk to me about it instead of acting so pissed off all the time. I want to know about that part of Mom. You’re the only person who can tell me about it.” The space in my chest that ached when I thought about my mother started to throb.
I cast my gaze down to the floor and tried to force the ache out by taking deep breaths. Pop walked over to me and rubbed my shoulder. He said, “She was amazing, Santana. It’s not often that you find a woman who can stand at your side when you do the type of work that we do but Alina? She was one in a fucking million. She’d send a bullet tearing through a motherfucker at the drop of a dime. My men feared her just as much as they did me.”
The way he looked when he spoke about my mother as this new person that I never knew made my chest squeeze. I wanted to know that side of her. I felt that side of her running through my veins.
“Listen to me, mijo. You’re my heart and soul. So is Sam. I would never do anything to make you two upset on purpose. All I wanted was a better, safer life for my kids. I wanted this shit to end with me. Don’t hate me for that.” For the first time, I saw vulnerability lurking in Pop’s green eyes.
His brows were pinched together like being that open pained him so I met him halfway and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. It felt good.
“I’m not mad at you for wanting to keep us away from this life, Pop. I just wished you told us without me having to drag it out into the open. It’s out there now though and I think you need to talk to Sammie about it later. She’s understandably curious.”
The weight of acceptance made him nod his head as if he were ready to resign himself to the fact that he would have to show Sammie what he did even if it were only once. Pop tousled my hair a bit as he squinted at me through the haze of gray smoke. “I don’t know what the hell I did to deserve kids like you and Samira but I thank god for you two. You keep my head on straight, mijo. That’s why I know you’ll end up running my organization. It wasn’t what I planned but I’ll be proud no matter what. Just Keep Sam out of it, will you?”
“Hey, I can’t tell her what to do. She’s like you. She does what she wants.” I said, holding my hands up. Pop sighed and shook his head while his lips moved in prayer to one of the saints I’m sure.
“I’ll be back, Santana. I’m going to the warehouse to pick up supplies for the restaurant. If Dom comes by, take the package he has and lock it in my safe.” I nodded my head in response and watched Pop leave my room.
Things would start to smooth out around the house. A light feeling settled in my chest and spread out into my limbs at the thought of it. Outside, a car door slammed and two light, airy giggles floated up to my bedroom window. I peered through the blinds to see Sammie coming up to the house with one of her friends from cheer squad.
She glowed in the sunlight. Millions of golden silk strands glittered as her ponytail swished back and forth. Her green eyes darted up to my window and I nodded at her. I watched her slow in her stride and give me a small wave as if she were royalty.
