Page 79 of Vicious Seduction

CHAPTER 42

ORAN

I hada bad fucking feeling about this. I’d seen what Wellington’s kid was capable of. I knew how slim the chances were that Lina’s sister was alive, let alone able to waltz back home like nothing had happened.

Where there was smoke, there was fire.

And the whole goddamn sky was black with soot from where I stood.

However, I understood why Lina needed to go see for herself. If I’d been in her position, I’d have been compelled to check it out, too. There were hardly two more motivating words thanwhat if. When that simple phrase was given power by the mind, it could lead aperson to incredible accomplishments or crippling devastation. Only time would tell which outcome would come to pass.

I ensured my cousins knew what was up before returning to the warehouse where I’d dropped off Lina. The second I texted to let her know I was outside, she burst through the front entrance and rushed to the car.

The twenty-minute ride over felt like an eternity. Lina practically vibrated with nervous energy, eyes glued out the window and her spine stiff as a board. I considered another cautionary warning, but she was too keyed up. Nothing would settle her except learning the truth, however good or bad that might be.

When we finally arrived, Eliza Brooks greeted us at the door.

“Carolina, this is a surprise. And I see you brought company.” She looked me up and down in a way that made me want to take a bath in acid. “Please, come in.” She held open the door and stepped aside. “Your father and I were just in the lounge catching up with an unexpected visitor. I imagine you must have heard, or you wouldn’t be here.”

“Stepfather,” Lina corrected her as she led us inside. “Gloria called. Is it true? Is Amelie here?”

“It wasn’t her, mija,” the tear-filled voice of an older woman called from the other room. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

Before I could stop her, Lina shoved past her mother. I followed her into a large sitting room where Charles Brooks sat drinking a martini with an older Latina woman tied to a chair across from him.

“There’s the little princess. So good of you to join us,” he said dryly.

“What the fuck, Charles?” Lina cried. “Why is Gloria tied up?”

Gloria spoke before he could answer. “I don’t understand, Lina. Why did they pretend that girl was Amelie? She looked so much like her, but when I went to her room to give her a hug and saw her up close, I knew.” The woman’s face was wrought with devastation and confusion.

Lina had to be heartbroken, but she was too busy comforting the older woman to let it show.

“It’s okay, Gloria. I knew it probably wasn’t her.”

“Why, mija? Where’s Mellie? What’s going on?”

That was when Eliza pulled a gun from her pocket and pointed it at me. “You’re a fool. That’s what’s going on,” she said to Gloria, though she kept her eyes trained on me. “You were so damn gullible. You even believed Amelie up and moved to Paris out of the blue.”

She stood about five feet away to my left with a small end table between us. Reaching her before she could pull the trigger would have been difficult, and the woman was deranged enough to make charging her too risky.

“What the hell is this about, Eliza?” Lina demanded. “What do you think you’re going to accomplish with this? Oran isn’t a member of the club anymore. You won already. I’m out of your life.”

“If only that were true.” Lawrence Wellington seized his moment and joined us with two gun-toting thugs behind him.

So that was the visitor Eliza had referenced. Clever.

I’d been ready to confront Lina’s parents, but I hadn’t counted on Wellington being present, let alone with reinforcements. This new arrangement left us woefully outnumbered. And when Wellington took the gun from Eliza, the glint of madness in his eyes set me even more on edge.

This was really fucking bad.

“Two for the price of one,” he said through a tight smile. “You two did well.”

Eliza preened. “Of course, Lawrence. You know we’re at your service anytime.”

I wondered how many times in a row a person could be choked to death and brought back. Maybe I’d use her to find out.

Wellington strolled over to where Lina still stood next to a sniveling Gloria and placed the barrel of the gun against Lina’s head. He then speared me with his stare. “You don’t fix what you’ve done, and I’ll redecorate this room with the inside of her head.”

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