Page 72 of Her Passionate Hero

“Call Lottie Rodriguez,” she said into her phone. She waited for the four longest rings imaginable.

Lottie answered, “Are you okay? Why are you calling so late, Aliana?”

“Did Darla’s brother rape her?”

There was silence on the phone.

“Did he?” she asked softly.

She knew what the silence met. Tears froze in her heart. Keep it cool.

“When did this start, Lottie?”

“You know I won’t answer that.”

“I asked you a question,” she said politely.

She was met by silence.

“When did this start?”

She remembered the first time she pulled the girl into her office, the thick eyeliner, the bright red lipstick that went with the sneer. The foul language. “Was it happening that first time I wrote her up?”

“Aliana―”

“Tell me!” she shouted.

Warm arms circled her. She didn’t want that. She didn’t deserve that.

“You didn’t know, Honey. You couldn’t know,” Lottie said softly.

“I was tormenting this girl when she was being abused. I was adding to her abuse.”

Lottie was silent. “You didn’t know, Honey. You would never knowingly hurt anyone.”

She felt a tear fall. She dropped the phone on the bed. Hunter picked up the phone and said something, she didn’t know what. She was lost in her own head. Remembering every fucking time she had run into that girl in the hall. Every single time she’d told her to straighten up, or that she was watching her.

She didn’t even realize she was crying until Hunter pulled her into his arms.

“Ah, Cariña, you’re breaking my heart.”

She pictured Darla and that evil, twisted, sick brother of hers forcing her to have sex. He was a demon. He needed to die.

How many other children had she misjudged over the years?

“Aliana, talk to me.”

She couldn’t. “Hold me.”

“Always.” She burrowed closer. He’d always been her talisman.

“Láska?” her grandmother asked from the doorway. Aliana looked up from Hunter’s arms. Babička was in her robe. “What happened?”

“I’m fine. I just heard some bad news about one of my students. It happened a long time ago.” She cleared her throat and swiped at some of her tears. “Go back to bed.”

“Do you want me to make you some cocoa?”

Aliana gave a weak laugh. “I already had some Babička. I’ll be fine.”