Betrayed (The New Yorker) (12 page)

“I haven’t slept for a long time. I
am starting to feel like a zombie,” he teased.

“Then maybe you should go home.”
From the frown on his face Lisette knew that he had taken her sign of concern
the wrong way. “You need to get some sleep. Who else is going to help AJ bury
that bastard’s body?”

Lisette breathed a sigh of relief
when he smiled. He didn’t answer her though, DJ did. “I can. If AJ and Reno
weren’t looking after us, and if you weren’t wasted we could have all been
here, sharing stories of my father’s past.
Catalella
wouldn’t have had to go anywhere to get her fill of romance. Right, Dad?”

Lisette winced at the steel in DJ’s
voice. His eyes were slits, a dark eyebrow raised as he stared daggers at his
father. Dennis on the other hand, didn’t move, or show any sign of being
affected by his remark.
Issadora
, however, did show
the pain she felt.

Daniela looked like she didn’t have
a clue. Something else besides
Catalella’s
disappearance was going on, and DJ seemed all too ready to let everyone in on
it.

“My father is better at juggling
women than I am.” DJ let out a sardonic chuckle. “You see my dear sister, this
guy…” DJ said as he hooked his arm over Reno’s shoulder, “…is our brother.”

Lisette fell back into a chair, the
weight of the news knocking her on her ass. She stared at Reno, his jaw
clenched,
a look of anger shadowed his face. Then he glanced
at Daniela, the anger was gone, and concern took over.

“Is that what you meant by, you
needed to talk to me?” Daniela asked in a broken whisper. “You are my brother?”

* * * *

Reno felt his heart drop into his
stomach. Why would DJ do that? He was still angry, that was obvious by the way
he was looking at Dennis. Daniela didn’t need to be part of the anger. Reno
waited for the seventeen-year-old reaction, screaming and tantrums, but they
didn’t come. Again DJ and Daniela proved how alike they were. She sat in
silence, absorbing what DJ had said, every now and then shooting him a look,
one he couldn’t read.

“I heard Mom and Dad talking. I
thought I had a sister,” she said.

“You were eavesdropping on our
conversation?”
Issadora
asked.

“That’s not the point. Besides, you
were shouting. I hardly had to put a glass up against the door.” Reno watched
as Daniela swallowed hard. “So who is the girl you were arguing about?”

“My sister, I mean our sister,”
Reno said. He took a cautious step toward Daniela. When he didn’t see any sign
of repulsion, he sat next to her. “She’s DJ’s age. She disappeared when she was
two years old. I was six, I couldn’t protect her. I promise we will find her,
and I will always protect you.”

Reno drew Daniela near when her
shoulders started to tremble from her silent crying. He watched as DJ moved
toward them. He sat on Daniela’s other side, his arm draped over her tiny
shoulders.

“Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean
for you to find out this way.” DJ said as he pressed a kiss on her temple.

“That’s not the reason, stupid. I
just can’t believe I now have to suffer two brothers and not just one.” She
smiled through her tears.

Reno breathed a sigh of relief. But
that breath got hitched in his chest as he watched Lisette rise from her seat
and walk away. He got up, but before he could go to her, the door flew open and
Michael and
Catalella
walked into the room.

Reno watched as AJ took a step
toward the new couple. He gave him a discouraging shake of the head and shot
Lisette a look. As if she read his mind, Lisette took her scared sister into
another room. Reno silently urged
Issadora
, Rosalinda
and Daniela to follow. As soon as the women were out of the room, he, DJ and AJ
pounced on the unsuspecting groom.

“What the hell do you think you are
doing?” Michael asked in a panicked gasp.

“What the hell is wrong with you?
My sister is just seventeen.” AJ asked as he tossed him across the room and
into Reno’s arms.

“I think we should throw him over
the balcony. Say it was a suicide.” DJ growled.

Reno shook his head discouragingly.
“He won’t die at this height, but he would make a handsome cripple.”

“What? You wouldn’t!” Michael, like
a panicked mouse, looked around the room for a hole to crawl into. “The police
will catch you.”

“Uncle Adrian is a damn good
lawyer. He’ll get us off, won’t you? And Dad, he can just pay off every single
person who comes into contact with your mangled body.”

Reno lifted Michael off the ground
and pushed him toward the balcony.

“Enough,
boys!”
Adrian barked.

Reno released him and Michael
crumpled to the ground.

“Daniela, call
Catalella
in here,” Dennis said.

Reno looked back and for the first
time noticed Daniela, wide eyed and standing in a corner. “I’m never bringing a
boyfriend home,” she coughed.

“Keep that in mind, if you ever
think of getting married behind our backs,” DJ warned.

“You wouldn’t.” Daniela
terror-stricken eyes landed on Reno.

“We would,” Reno affirmed.

* * * *

Lisette couldn’t believe what
Daniela had told them. She was angry that they didn’t let her get a turn with
the gold-digging snake. They stood around the living room, as if they were the
grand jury called in to decide on a murder charge. Never in a grand jury would
her body feel the way it was now, standing next to Reno. She stared into his
smoky eyes as they widened. Her eyes roaming over his muscular physique,
wishing she could touch everything under his clothes.

“Stop it,” he whispered into her
ear.

“Sorry.”

“This is the thing, Michael.”
Lisette looked up and watched as her father passed his judgment. “You have
decided to take responsibility over our daughter and we shall let you.
Catalella
will move in with you, and you will provide for
her. Don’t worry—her college fund has been set up and the money will
automatically be paid to Harvard Law. You will not be able to touch it.”

“What about my trust fund?”

Lisette could see how nervous
Catalella
was getting.

“You are seventeen. You have no
access to that money, and if you do not meet the requirements that have been
stipulated, you will never see that money. It will be passed on to your
children and an independent executor will make sure it is not misappropriated.”

“Where are we going to live?”
Michael whispered.

“Your apartment.”
Adrian
growled. “Did you marry my daughter not knowing where you were going to take
her? Or did you think you would come and live here, or I would provide you with
an apartment.”

Lisette knew that was exactly what
Michael thought. He was depending on their father to go soft on
Catalella
, give her everything she asked for. She could see
his head spinning. When she saw him drop
Catalella’s
hands as if they were a hot piece of coal, she knew Michael was rethinking his
decision.

“What if we have children before
she meets the requirements for her trust fund?” He asked, throwing one last
coin into the wishing well.

“You will provide for them.” Adrian
shot him a taunting smile. “You will keep your job at the firm. Your salary
will not change. If you pass law school and your bar exam you could take up an
associate position in the firm.”

Lisette could feel the protests
dancing on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say anything. Her father
seemed to have a plan.

“So,
nothing.
No money—just a job that doesn’t pay
enough to eat in a five star restaurant? But we keep the car?”

“No.”
Catalella
swallowed hard. “The car remains in Papa’s name until we receive the first
installment of the trust, or a job that will pay for the insurance.” Lisette
watched as
Catalella
lifted her gaze to AJ. She saw
the pout on her lip and knew she was about to pull an emotional blackmail on
AJ. One he might not be able to refuse. “Please, talk to Papa.”

AJ stared at her, tears in his
eyes, an indication of him caving in. His jaw clenched his fingers balled into
fists, and without a word AJ grabbed his jacket and left the apartment.

“Lisette?” a now crying
Catalella
turned her plea toward her elder sister.

“We’ve been kicked out too, because
of you. I have to pack my stuff and head to my new apartment,” Lisette said. “I
hope Michael is worth it, considering everything you are giving up.”

Lisette turned around and walked
away, quickening her steps as she tried to outpace her sister’s sobs and pleas.
When she reached her bedroom, she turned around to find Reno behind her.

“Do you want to get out of here?”
he asked as his palm cupped her jaw, his thumb smoothing over her trembling
bottom lip.

“Yes.”

Chapter Seven

Reno flipped on the light to his
small apartment. He suddenly felt ashamed of his meager space. He had seen how
Adrian had given Michael a dressing down. If Dennis hadn’t claimed him, he
wouldn’t be able to maintain the lifestyle she was used to. He now saw the
advantage of Dennis accepting him into the embrace of the Kent name. Reno was
sure that with a proper job, there was no way Lisette would ever want for the
necessities. For her though, necessities included some things normal people
would see as vain. He would still have to live in the student apartments. It
was that or the projects. Reno knew no matter how different Lisette was, living
in that kind of neighborhood would be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Welcome. It’s not much but—”

“Do you have a bed?” Lisette asked
a note of fragility in her voice.

Reno watched as Lisette walked into
his closet apartment. She wasn’t looking around. Her eyes were focused on the
wall in front of her, staring at nothing. He didn’t think she was looking at
anything particular, nor was she taking in her new environment. Lisette seemed
to be in a trance.

“Of course I have a bed.”

“Good,
because we are going to need it.”

Quiet settled as quiet does.
Lisette turned around and settled a steady gaze on him. He knew what she wanted
but Reno didn’t think he could give it to her, not like this. He had fantasized
about the first time he would make love to Lisette. It was the sort of
fantasies you would expect from a little teenage girl and not a six-foot-five
lineman. In his mind, it was supposed to be roses and daisies. The only people who
were supposed to be there was him and Lisette. Now the whole Ross family had
tagged along with Lisette, and who could forget Michael. Plus he also had the
Kent family with him. He wanted a special moment between the two of them
without the family baggage.

Dread settled heavily in his
stomach as he said, “We can’t make love today, Lisette.”

“I don’t want to make love—” Reno
blew out a sigh of relief, but his breath caught when she added, “I want a
quick fuck, something to take my mind off what’s happened today. Are you going
to be my designated guy, or should I go elsewhere?”

“What do you mean go elsewhere?”
Anger glinted off him like sparks beneath a hammer. “You are not leaving this
apartment, Lisette, you can bet your life on that.”

“You can’t keep me here.” Sparks
flew, along with the lid of her temper.

Lisette took a step toward the
door, but Reno shut and locked it.

“You need to deal with what your
family is going through without doing something you will regret later. Lisette,
think about your family.”

“The same way you think about
yours?” Her sharp retort made him take a step back. “Don’t tell me how to
handle my family when you can’t deal with your own.”

Her words cut him like a hot knife,
slicing his heart. “My situation is different.”

* * * *

“How about we keep our problems to
ourselves and continue with being broken up?” Lisette could feel the anger
sizzling beneath her skin. But she wasn’t angry with Reno, she was angry at
herself…angry at how her mistake could cost her little sister everything.

“Lisette.”
She
retreated when he took a step toward her.

“You don’t understand. This is
entirely my fault. If I hadn’t brought Michael around, if I had realized just
how desperate he was to be associated with my family, I would have gotten rid
of him a long time ago.” Her head dropped to her chest as she tried to hide the
tears streaming down her cheeks. “Now
Catalella
is
stuck with him, for God knows how long.”

“It’s not your fault.” This time
Lisette didn’t step back when he reached for her. “Do you know how much I love
you?”

The embers simmering low in her
body flared to life at the softness of his voice. She laid her head on his
chest as her hands roamed all over his back. Her fingers felt so smooth over
the hard muscles of his back. Daring a chance, she moved her hands under his
shirt. When flesh came into contact with flesh, Lisette could feel a zing of
awareness zip through her body, his low moan rippling through her like a
caress.

“Are you still so sure, you don’t
want me?”

Reno growled and held her at arms’
length. Lisette let out a whimper of disappointment as her hands left his body
and fell like logs at her sides. “I want you. You can’t believe how much. But
right now, we can’t afford the distraction. We need to talk about us first.”

“You broke up with me.”

“I was an ass for doing so.”

“Now you want me back?”

“I need you back.” He pulled her
closer and rested his forehead against hers. “You have no idea how much I need
you to be with me. I feel like you are the only thing anchoring me down to this
world.”

“Dead
weight?”

“No, as my
other reason for being.”

“The other
being, your sister.”

“Yes, I should tell you about her.”

Reno felt like he was poking at an
open wound.
Rhyne
had always been his. Even with
Kono
still alive, he had always known that
Rhyne
would always be his and his alone. Now he had to
share her with Lisette. An open relationship was what he was going for. Lisette
would have to understand why at a moment’s notice he would have to drop
everything and go search for
Rhyne
. Her sightings were
becoming as rare as the white Rhino. He pulled Lisette down on the bed beside
him and let out a labored breath.

“You don’t have to tell me if you
don’t want to.” The sound of her voice was reassuring, soothing even. And when
she combed her dainty fingers through his thick hair, he let out a purr like a
content kitten.

“You got to stop doing that if we
are going to talk anything out tonight.”

“All right, I’ll stop trying to
seduce you.” Lisette took his face in both her hands then gently kissed him.
“I’m listening.”

“As a child, as young as I was I
always knew there was something wrong with my parents’ relationship. Dennis was
always in and out of the picture. I had everything a little boy could ever
want. I had all the latest toys and gadgets to keep me distracted. Dennis made
sure of that.” Reno snorted. “When
Rhyne
came along,
I knew she would always be mine.” He
smiled,
the image
of her tiny fingers curling around his thumb warmed his heart. “I know they say
kids don’t remember much of their childhood, but I could never forget the day
Rhyne
came home. She was so tiny and so pink at first. I
felt proud to be a big brother. She was my star, the light in my eyes.”

“Kind of like how AJ and I are?”

“I don’t know. AJ had to get used
to the little girl in pig tails taking over his territory,” he teased. “But
with
Rhyne
, it was love at first sight. I wouldn’t
let anyone near her. She was my responsibility, mine to protect. That’s what
Dennis said.”

Reno shook his head in disgust as
his memories fast-forwarded the two years after
Rhyne
had come into his family…

* * * *

“You need
to understand my love,” Dennis coaxed.

“Understand
what?”
Kono
was getting hysterical. Her long curly
tresses stuck to the sweat on her face. Her eyes were wild,
her
screams of protest hysterical. “This is your family, Dennis. Reno is your first
born,
Rhyne
your second. They are your heirs. How
could you want to create another family when we are here?”

“I have a
son,” Dennis whispered. “His name is Dennis Junior. He is my heir. That is how
my father has said it would be.”

“Coward!”
Kono
flung herself on the sofa and Dennis sat
next to her. “You are married aren’t you?”

“Yes.” was
the feeble response. “I have been married for almost three years. DJ is the
same age as
Rhyne
.”

Kono
spun
around, the look of the devil in her eyes. Slowly she began to understand what
he was saying. At lightning speed she leaped off the couch and grabbed for the
vase. She launched it at Dennis but he ducked it with expert precision. “This
whole time, you have been lying to us.”

“I love
you,
Kono
.”

“No, you
don’t!” She launched another vase in his direction and this caught him squarely
on his face. Blood rolled down the cut on his forehead but
Kono
did not rush to help him.

Reno
appeared from his hiding spot and took a defensive position in front of his
father. He was trying to protect Dennis. His innocence couldn’t let him
comprehend the situation unfolding before him. All he knew was that something
was terribly wrong.
Kono
reached for him and he
ducked. She tried again and this time she grabbed his arm.

“Your
father is leaving us. He doesn’t love us anymore.”
Kono
got down on her knees and spun Reno to face her. “Do you hear me bubba? Your
father doesn’t love you—”

“Stop lying,
Kono
,” Dennis shouted over her desperate attempt to
turn his son against him.

“—and he
doesn’t love
Rhyne
,” she went on.

That
settled in Reno’s mind. Like a poisonous infection it festered in Reno’s mind
and heart. His father didn’t love his little sister. He turned to face Dennis,
contempt marring his boyish features. “You don’t love little
Rhyne
?”

“It’s not
that.” Dennis got to his knees and hugged Reno, “I love all of you, but I have
to leave. I can’t be here anymore.”

Reno pulled
out of Dennis’s embrace. He pushed as hard as he could and Dennis fell back,
“You are leaving. That means you don’t want to be with us, you don’t love us.
If you don’t love us, then we don’t love you either.”

“
Kono
, please.”
Dennis begged, “My father would take away
the money. What would we live on?”

“We could
survive without his money. We could both find jobs. We could survive, live here
on the island.”

“How long
would that last?” Dennis got to his feet and paced around the room. “I have a
Ferrari, a Porsche and a G5—you want me to give that up? I have a lifestyle
that I can’t give up.”

“Not even
for me, the woman you claim to love. Not even for your children?”

Rhyne
toddled
into the room. Drool dripped out of her mouth as her pudgy hands clapped and
her chubby legs stomped on the floor. She was the picture of beauty. Dennis
reached for her before anyone could get in his way. He picked her up and kissed
her, his little darling.

“
Dada
!Dada
!”
Rhyne
didn’t know, but she had rewarded the man who was about to abandon her with the
most precious gift of all.

“Dada loves
you.” He turned to Reno, tears blurring his eyes, “I love you too. Don’t ever
forget that, no matter what anyone tells you. I’ll take care of both of you.
You will never want for anything.”

Dennis was startled out of his
memory when his phone blared. He stared at the picture of his daughter all
grown up. She was a young woman now, her smile still as brilliant as it was
when she was a baby. She would always be the little voice in his head calling
Dada,
a sign that all would be
forgiven—the sound of innocence. Dennis slumped to the carpeted floor of his
office and wept bitterly. He was a failure and he didn’t deserve the love of
any of his four children.

* * * *

“So Dennis just left, without
looking back, he left you.” Reno wiped the tear rolling down Lisette’s cheek.
“He chose his Porsche and Ferrari over his children?”

“Don’t forget the G5,” Reno teased
and laughed bitterly. “That day I knew—I could be traded for something more
expensive. I realized material things mattered more than your flesh and blood.”

“You will always come first to me.”
Lisette climbed onto his lap and held him.

“I saw the look in Michael Mathews’
face when he realized that marrying
Catalella
didn’t
mean marrying into the Ross fortune. For a second I considered being in his
place—”

“You could never be like that
snake. For starters, my parents love you and your father has given you a
fortune of your own.”

“What happens if you decide you
want something else more than you want me?”