Page 45 of Thorns of Blood
“Will she talk to us over the phone?” Kingston’s voice came through, cool and collected, and I guessed that Louisa was too shaken to carry on.
“I don’t think so,” I lied. Did I feel guilty? No, not really. I’d bind Liana to me before introducing her to the world. Until then, let them believe she was dead. There were too many people out there who’d want nothing more than to sink their teeth into her. For her Volkov name, for the Volkov empire, or for revenge.
“Where was she?” Kingston asked.
“Venezuela.”
“The finger…” he grated, trailing off. “Did she say why she sent it to me?”
“We’re not exactly having heart-to-heart moments,” I grumbled. “Although, you should know, she has… had… a daughter. A protégé.”
“Maybe we can bond through Lara,” Louisa chimed in.
“Well,herchild belongs to Emory DiLustro and Killian Brennan Cullen.” I let the words sink in. “When I got to Liana, she’d kidnapped Emory, and a doctor was in the midst of operating on the woman.”
I heard their collective gasp and wondered how much more I should reveal. Would they have her best interests at heart? Put her first?
“You have to keep her protected.” Well, that eased my concerns. Point to Louisa. “The kingpins will come after her and—” Her voice broke, and if I was a better man, I would have told her I planned on marrying her sister in order to do exactly that. But I wasn’t. They would learn it in their own time. “Why… what was she thinking?”
“She didn’t kidnap the girl.” I could offer hersomereassurance; I wasn’t a total monster. “Gio DiLustro dumped the infant, some deal went awry between him and Santiago. Liana took the child under her wing and probably saved her in the process.”
“But she had Emory DiLustro kidnapped,” Kingston pointed out. “They won’t forgive that easily.”
The world probably wouldn’t be too quick to forgive or forget Liana’s hand in human trafficking and Marabella deals, but I didn’t think it wise to mention it. The less people who knew about Liana’s involvement, the better.
“Maybe you can approach them,” I suggested. “With being cousins and whatnot. You can assure them that Liana was devastated and desperate to save Amara. Surely they could sympathize and appreciate the lengths Liana would go.”
“Jesus, and here we thought Liana was a victim of human trafficking.”
“She was still a victim,” I countered, clenching my fists. “She did what she thought was best. She survived.”
“Thank you, Giovanni,” Louisa chimed in, her voice still shaky. “I can’t imagine many people will see it that way, but you’re right. She did what she had to in order to survive.”
“And now, we’ll see to it that she does,” I said firmly.
SIXTEEN
LIANA
Falling.
I was about to be pulled under and get swallowed by the darkness.
Caged like an animal. Starved. Naked. Beaten.
The strangers laughed while I silently recited my vow of revenge, memorizing their faces. My husband’s. His mistress’s. The Courier’s.
The metal door shut with a heavy thud, snuffing away the last flicker of light, and I was alone.
Shackled. Bloodied.
Shivers racked my frame as I pulled my knees to my chest, the iron shackles clinking against the concrete. Resisting the urge to allow my mind to wander, I imagined all the ways I’d make them pay. All the ways I’d make them suffer.
I focused on the darkness, letting it consume me and absorb all my rage and hate until it was all I could do to breathe. Until I became what I feared the most: empty, broken, and evil.
Like my mother.
My eyelids shot open, my chest heaving like I’d just run a marathon.
