“Also okay. One of the men took the family to a cousin downriver.”
She heard the sink and realized he was cleaning his privates. She shrugged on the loose dress she’d bought from the gift shop. “And the others?”
He explained about the men.
“And that woman, Tia?”
“At the San Carlos medical center.”
Jacinta spun around to find Demon wearing black pants and pulling a T-shirt over his head. “She was hurt?”
“A gash from a piece of glass that needed stitching. Nothing serious. Real piece of work, that one.” Demon scanned her outfit. “If it weren’t for your breasts, you’d look all of fourteen.”
“What does that mean?” She folded her arms.
“That I’m a scumbag cradle robber. Let’s go. Sooner this is over, sooner we can have that long conversation I’ve been wanting to have from the second I set eyes on you.” His stride deliberate and purpose filled, Demon reached the door before her, opened it, and waved her through.
They walked in silence, and he didn’t attempt to touch her. The separation had begun. Jacinta suppressed a long sigh.
Satan greeted them in the lobby. “We’re set up in the library. I didn’t want any interruptions and no outside ears.”
“Sounds good.” Demon set his hand to the small of her back, and they both followed Satan down a narrow hallway.
“Mother Superior won’t be joining us. Sister Helen doesn’t want her nerves frayed for the trip. Jacinta, isn’t the Mother Superior the one who’s supposed to be in charge?”
Demon snorted.
“She’s in charge of our spiritual guidance.”
Satan halted at the door and shot her a sidelong glance. “That explains a lot. I want to keep this breakfast short, so I’ll be playing quarterback.”
Never would she understand English. “Quarterback?”
“He means that if we wander off topic, he’ll bring us back.”
Demon’s explanation only added to her confusion.
They entered the library, and Jacinta’s gaze met Sister Helen’s. She held her breath. No. She had so prayed that the worst of it had been hearing Pedro call her daughter. And she was not ready to acknowledge any of it. Demon knew. And he had avoided the issue, let her call Pedro uncle earlier. But she recognized the expression on Sister Helen’s face and knew more bad news would be forthcoming.
Jacinta shot Demon a side peek and studied every detail of his beautiful face. The stubborn, tempting forelock, his luscious mouth, the harsh angles of his cheekbones, and her belly cramped. Never had she met a kinder person. Never had any one person striven so hard to cocoon her from harm. Never had a single individual taken over her whole world, her whole universe. Leaving him would be sheer torture. The thought of a lifetime without the smell of him, the feel of his hardness, the taste of him left her bereft.
“Jacinta, sit next to him.” Sister Helen angled her head at Demon.
She needed to be separate from him. Didn’t Sister Helen understand?
“That is not a suggestion, young lady.”
Jacinta flinched, grabbed Demon’s hand, led him to the lone sofa in the room, and met his stare. “Please. She will not relent.”
“Happy to oblige.” He not only sat next to her but draped his arm over her shoulder and dragged her so close their bodies aligned.
Satan took the chair opposite Sister Helen’s. “What’s up?”
“I would like him to state his intentions. Now.”
“He wants to marry her.” Satan growled the statement, crossed his arms, and glared at Sister Helen.
“From
his
mouth. And
you
will remain quiet.” Sister Helen narrowed her eyes.
Demon withdrew his warmth and shifted away from Jacinta. “I know what I should do. Let her go. Let her live on her own for a while. I’m not that honorable a man. I can’t let go. I want to marry her. Give her the babies she wants.”
The small room seemed to take on a life of its own, spinning dreams and fantasies. Jacinta saw not Sister Helen or Satan, but her and Demon, that porch, and the chubby, tiny replica of him.
“I bastardize your English. I know nothing about proms or country clubs. I do not deserve you.” She pressed a hand on her quivering lips.
Demon dropped to his knees before her. He captured her wrist. “I’m the one not deserving. You’ve no idea how tarnished I am.”
“You are everything a man should be. A true warrior. An honorable knight. I know nothing of your world—”
“Enough.” Sister Helen stood and rolled her eyes. “It’s obvious you two are meant for each other. Stop being idiots and figure things out. Jacinta, you had sex with this man. Oh, don’t give me that look. I know you, young lady. And I know you wouldn’t give yourself to anyone without giving your heart. Uh-uh, shut up.”
Jacinta snapped her jaw back in place. This was so not the Sister Helen she knew.
Demon squeezed her hand and returned to his seat. “Spit it out. Jacinta’s getting upset, and I won’t have that.”
Sister Helen smiled. “You’ll do. I’ll tell you everything I know. I beg your forgiveness first, Jacinta. For I fear both Rosa and I have wronged you in this.”
Saliva vanished from Jacinta’s mouth. She cleared her throat. “Demon said it right the other day. You’ve been my only parent. Rosa was my mother, but you raised me. I could forgive you anything.”
The nun gave Jacinta a pale imitation of a smile. “I will not hold you to that. I met your mother when she was fifteen. I was in FARC then, and Pedro was an ally. We were stationed at his ranch.”
Demon cuddled Jacinta close. “Was Father Lawson in FARC too?”
“No. He had always been destined for the priesthood. Our parents were convicted IRA prisoners. The organization sent my five brothers and me to Colombia after my parents’ conviction. There was a price on our heads.”
Sister Helen picked up the teapot on the coffee table and poured two cups of tea, added a liberal dose of honey to one, and offered it to Jacinta. “Here, child. Has she eaten?”
“No.”
Jacinta glared at first one, then the other, but accepted the mug. “I can speak for myself.”
“Continue.” Satan reached for the coffeepot.
“Everyone thought the baby was Jose’s. Pedro thought it was his. He is not your father, Jacinta.”
The cup slipped sideways, and hot tea splashed onto the floor. Jacinta stared at Sister Helen, unable to believe, striving to stifle the hope spiking her heartbeat and depriving her lungs of sweet oxygen.
Demon snatched the saucer and teacup before they hit the floor, and set them on the table. “Sweet mother of—Is this true?”
“It is. You must understand Rosa matured early, both physically and mentally. You couldn’t live with Pedro and remain innocent or a child if you wanted to survive. When she turned fifteen, her body blossomed. Pedro began to notice. We, my five brothers and I, were all stationed at his estate. My third brother, Deaglán, who was seventeen at the time, fell in love with Rosa, and she with him.” Sister Helen stopped speaking, her hazel eyes went distant, and Jacinta knew she was reliving the past.
She registered the change in Demon’s breathing and shot him a sidelong glance. His normal tanned complexion had paled. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” When Demon opened his mouth to urge Sister Helen to continue, Jacinta tugged his wrist and shook her head.
He captured her hand and kissed each knuckle. No one spoke for long seconds.
Jacinta noticed Satan had sat forward, his concentration absolute and focused on Sister Helen, waiting for her to continue.
Sister Helen flinched. “Rosa told me that Pedro had started coming into her bedroom late at night and touching her inappropriately. At that time, Pedro was the number three man in the Colombian cartel. Pedro was called to Cartagena suddenly. He was gone for three months. By the time he returned, Rosa was pregnant but not showing.”
A small kernel of joy grew low in Jacinta’s belly, and tears pooled in her eyes. “You are my aunt.”
“I am, and my brother Deaglán is your father. Both your parents would be so proud of you, child. I only wish they could see you now.” Sister Helen’s voice wavered on the last few words.
“My father?” Oh saying the word washed away the stain of sin she had refused to face, but her relief tempered immediately at the strained expression on Sister Helen’s face. She picked up the teacup, cradled it with both hands, and sipped the tepid liquid, hoping the brew would soothe her pinging nerves. “He is dead?”
“Yes. Two days after Pedro returned, we found Deaglán’s body at the bottom of a gulley.”
Deg-lahn. Jacinta repeated her father’s name mentally, marveling at the musical quality of the syllables.
“We never knew if it was an accident or not. Soon after that, Pedro took Rosa as his mistress. She let him think the baby was his and begged me to help get the baby to safety. She was so afraid that Pedro would abuse the baby too.”
The tea tasted bitter even with all the honey. Jacinta set the teacup and saucer on the table. “How old was my mother?”
Sister Helen squeezed her eyes shut for a second. “Sixteen and a half by the time she had you. You came almost two months early. We were lucky because Pedro was away on one of his raids. We told him the baby was stillborn. Patrick, Father Lawson, took you to the cloister.”
“Why would they accept her?” Satan asked.
“Mother Superior. She’s a relative,” Demon, not Sister Helen, answered.
“My aunt. It’s why we were sent to South America. She was in a convent in Colombia before joining the cloister in Brazil. I will care for her, Jacinta, so get that notion out of your head. You are not returning to the cloister.”
Jacinta narrowed her eyes. “I will not allow anyone to make decisions for me any longer.”
Demon grasped her wrist. “Don’t be ornery, kitten. You were the one who said you weren’t going back.”
All of a sudden, the realization hit Jacinta. “Mother Superior is my great-aunt? I have an aunt and a great-aunt.”
“We are your family, child. Always have been.”
Jacinta turned to Demon. She touched his cheek. “Family. I have family.”
“Calling quarterback here. Go on, Sister Helen.” Satan leaned back in the chair, cradling the cup and saucer in his hands.
“Rosa had tried to escape from Pedro twice before her pregnancy and failed. She so desperately wanted to be with you that she appealed to Rafael Vilas for help. He was Pedro’s trusted accountant at the time. We waited for six months. When Pedro was away on another of his missions, Rafael took her to Brazil. Not to the cloister, but to an orphanage near São Paolo.”
“That’s when he kidnapped Elvira?” Demon hugged Jacinta closer.
“It was a terrible time. We had decided I would stay on for a while, so as to not arouse his suspicions. Rosa and Elvira had been friends. When Rosa heard what had happened, she offered to return to Pedro if he would free Elvira.”
“He was a monster.” Jacinta shuddered. “I am glad that he no longer walks this earth, and I am so grateful that I am not his daughter.”
“Rosa was so afraid Pedro would find out about you, and she was terrified that he would find out who your real father was. Pedro locked Rosa away. There were guards everywhere. He’d always let me see her, but not after Rafael’s interference. Then my other three brothers disappeared. That’s when I knew he’d become suspicious. No one knew Patrick, Father Lawson, was my brother. At that time, there was a terrible dysentery outbreak. We pretended I had died. Before I went to the cloister, I managed to see Rosa one last time. She asked me to train you. To make sure that you could always protect yourself.”
Demon pulled a tissue from a box on the table and handed it to Jacinta.
Confused by his actions, she looked at him.
“You’re crying, kitten.” His arm tightened. “Tell us about the money.”
Sister Helen bowed her head for a moment. “I don’t believe Pedro was ever normal—mentally. He grew more and more strange. Earlier this year, he became convinced we lied about the baby. We, Patrick and I, never could figure out how. Rosa was petrified and certain he’d eventually find you. She decided money was the only way to protect you. Pedro’s new financial man was about the only one allowed inside the estate. She started an affair with him. Learned the location, account numbers, and passwords for all Pedro’s banks.”
“She must’ve known he’d find out.” Satan refilled his coffee cup.
“I believe she lost the will to live after so many years of abuse. She sent the information via Patrick after she finished transferring the money. We both decided the only person who should know all the information was you. Patrick gave parts of the codes to each of us. Not a single one of us knew the whole. I taught you some of them. Mother Superior taught you others. And so did Sister Concilli. And Sister Claudette.”
Jacinta rubbed her aching temple. “I do not understand. When? How? I remember none of this.”
“The last term of physics you so hated—the lists and lists of numbers that made no sense.” Sister Helen leaned back on the chair. “Your photographic memory is a great gift.”
“Just how much money are we talking about?” Satan studied Sister Helen intently.
“Millions.”
“I do not want it. It is blood money.” Jacinta hugged her arms. “I will never feel clean again.”
Demon fingered her cheek. “Legally you can’t keep it anyway. And you
will
feel clean again. I promise you that.”
“He’s right, child. Give it time. And never forget, the sins are all Pedro’s, not yours. You are your mother’s and Deaglán’s child first. She wanted you to live a full life. To have all the things she couldn’t. I’m not speaking of material things, but of a husband and family, of love. This man loves you and you love him. Love between two people is a rare, precious gift. Grab it and run.”
Jacinta shrugged out of Demon’s embrace. “I am so confused. And scared. My whole world has gone turvy-topsy.”
Sister Helen pushed off the chair, squeezed between the coffee table and the sofa, knelt, and framed Jacinta’s face. “I raised you better than this. You are a woman now. You knew this man was your mate. Marry him. Have those babies you always talked about. Be happy.”
Tears streamed down Jacinta’s cheeks. “I do not want to leave you.”