“How has your stay with Lance been?” he asks.
I shrug. “He’s been kind.”
“Good. I’m paid an arm and a leg for him to keep you, so he better be nice.”
Unable to stand the tension, I ask, “What’s going on? What are you going to do to me?”
“Well, first we’re going to eat. Then, we’re going to talk. And finally, I’m going to take you home.”
“Home? What home?”
“To my penthouse. The one you’ve yet to go to.”
“But…” I look at my mother, but her eyes are glued to the table. “What’s going on?”
“It took me a while, but I’ve arranged a meeting with one of your Web’s ‘Sacred Mothers’. She should be here shortly.”
I gasp. “Are you kidding! She’ll have us all killed.”
The door jingles and Mateo looks over his shoulder, his brow knitting in confusion.
I look too, and see Mateo’s mother walking toward us. When she takes a seat next to my mother, Mateo says, “What the hell are you doing here?”
I already know.
She sighs and lifts her sunglasses onto her head. “What the hell do you think?”
“I’m trying to…” Mateo’s voice trails as he works out what his mother’s presence means. “You’re a part of all this, aren’t you?”
“I am, but I admittedly do very little.”
“But…how?”
“It’s what I was born into,” Bella says. “I didn’t want Maria to have to carry the burden, so I retired, but given my status, I was offered a role as a Sacred Mother.”
“And my father?”
“He was a terrible person, Mateo. I did what I had to do with him, and I don’t regret it.”
Mateo looks at me, my mother, then his own. “And me? Did you do what you had to do with me? Were you okay with having me killed?”
Bella chuckles. “No, never.”
“Then why?” He looks at me, clearly confused.
“Because your granddad was too impatient for his own good, and I had no chance to meet your blushing bride before you walked her down the aisle.” She glares at me. “When I found out she was a Sister, I knew I had to find out where you were staying, so I could form a plan to ensure you came out unscathed. Then, you disappeared.”
“I found out who she was on my own,” Mateo says.
Bella folds her hand over her son’s. “You can’t turn her over to the police.”
“I don’t intend to. She’s my wife and will remain by my side.”
“Even though she intends to kill you?” Bella chuckles. “I raised a damn fool.”
“I would never kill Mateo!” I insist.
“Bullshit!” Bella snaps.
