It will always be something else to drag you in deeper.
The words forced Valencia to understand that she would never be free of Ezequiel Simmonds and the hold that he had over her until he was dead.
She looked over at Geno as he drove and wondered if he would kill for her again.
Geno could feel Valencia’s eyes on him, but he kept his eyes on the road and his mind on what he was going to do. She didn’t have to ask him, he wanted to kill Ezequiel Simmonds the second that he saw him. That was what he wanted to do, what he planned to do, what he had to do was something different.
He looked at Valencia. Yes, she was beautiful and yes, he was in love with her, but they lived in different worlds. He knew that when this was over, she could very easily say, thank you for all you did. It was good seeing you again, and that would be that, and she would be gone from his life again. When that happened, he would still be a member of The Family and that was where his responsibilities firmly rested. That meant that he needed to find out what any of this had to do with Shy.
And then you can kill him.
When they got to the house, Geno and Valencia walked to the house and once she had settled herself, he rang the bell. A large, heavily armed man answered the door and showed them into the living room. He told them that Mr. Simmonds would be with them shortly and then he left them alone. Geno was surprised that he didn’t bother to search him or ask for his gun.
“A Bela Valência,” Ezequiel said, when he came in the room, followed closely by the heavily armed man. “As always, it is my pleasure to see you again.”
“I wish that I could say the same. I came here to tell you that I did what you asked.”
“And what was that?”
“You know that I went to the Bahamas.”
“Yes, I know. And I know that Jada West refused to see you. So how can you sit there and say that you have done what I asked? After Jada West refused to see you, did she suddenly have a change of heart and agree to arrange an audience with Mr. Black?”
“No,” Valencia said, and dropped her head.
“And that’s not going to happen,” Geno said.
“I believe I was speaking to the lady.”
“I don’t give a fuck who you were speaking to. I’m talking to you and I’m telling you that you sitting down with Mike Black ain’t gonna happen. Jada West runs those islands now, so you and Mr. Black have nothing to talk about.”
“Then why are you here?”
“You’re gonna tell me what all this has to do with Mrs. Black?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he looked at Valencia. “Therefore, you are correct, we have nothing to talk about.”
“Look, Ezequiel,” Valencia said, because she saw this was getting away from her. “Just tell me what I have to do to satisfy my debt to you, so I never have to see you again?”
“What debt?” Ezequiel paused and smiled. It made her flesh crawl. “Once again, I don’t know what you’re talking about. What debt do you owe me for?”
“For killing Gustavo.”
Ezequiel laughed. “For someone so beautiful and so smart, at times you can be so incredibly stupid and naïve. You owe me nothing, A Bela Valência.”
“What are you talking about?” a confused Valencia wanted to know.
“Did you ever take the time to ask yourself what I was doing at your house that night? Why all of the servants were gone?” Ezequiel paused. “Ever stop and think about why no one was there to come to your rescue as you were beaten and then raped? Have you ever wondered why I just happened to walk into your bedroom that night, A Bela?”
Ezequiel paused to enjoy the bewildered and puzzled look that covered Valencia’s face.
“Stupid and naïve to the last.” He laughed. “I was there to kill Gustavo. Fucking you, A Bela,” he kissed the tips of his fingers, “was merely a bonus. But now you truly have outlived your usefulness to me.” He glanced at the heavily armed man. “Kill them.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
“But it is so early. Do you really have to go?” Yvonne, Martin’s wife asked Shy as they walked toward the ballroom doors with Black and Martin following behind them.
“Yes, we do. I really don’t like leaving the children with my mother so late at night,” Shy said, knowing that the children were fine, but she was so ready to get out of there. She hated going to these events as much if not more than Black did.