Bow Down(193)

But I was done writing about human trafficking. The thought almost made me sad, but I took a deep breath and wouldn’t allow myself to feel down. I’d done so much, and I had a child growing inside me. I wasn’t going to regret anything. I wouldn’t allow it.

I headed down a path and heard the sound of a slow-moving stream up ahead. Curious, I stepped through a break in the trees and the underbrush and stepped out onto the bank.

I stopped short at what I saw.

Standing in the water was Louisa Barone. She wore a loose, white button-down shirt and khaki pants that were rolled up her calves. She waved as soon as I stepped out.

I nearly jumped out of my shoes. I had never expected to see someone so deep in the forest, much less Louisa Barone standing calf-deep in the middle of a stream.

“Cassidy,” she called. “Come join me.”

“Uh,” I said, “no thanks.”

“Get out here. It’s lovely.”

I paused. “I don’t want to get wet.”

“Take off your shoes. You’re wearing shorts.”

I frowned. She had a good point.

Reluctantly, I took off my shoes, intensely aware of how weird the situation was. I waded out to her, being careful of where I stepped.

The water was cold, but it felt surprisingly good. The rocks were smooth and river-worn under my feet. I walked out toward her and stopped a few feet away.

Louisa smiled at me. I was struck all over again by how beautiful she was.

“How are you?” she asked.

“I’m okay.”

“I heard about Rafa. I’m glad he survived.”

“I am too.”

“He’s a good man.”

“He is.”

“How’s your stay here so far?”

“Good. I mean, great. This place is beautiful.”

“It is. Arturo works very hard to maintain it.”

“You must be proud.” I felt stupid for saying that.

“Not really.” She looked downstream.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked her.

“Waiting for you.”

I gaped at her, surprised. I finally smiled. “Good one. I was out here looking for you.”

“I’m not joking.” She crossed her arms, still staring downstream. “I was standing here in this cold water waiting for you, Cassidy.”

I cocked my head at her, still assuming she was kidding. “Why would you be waiting for me?”

“Because we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“The Spiders.”

My smiled slowly slipped away. “What do you know about them?”

“Did you know that my father has listening devices rigged up all over this forest?” She laughed, shaking her head. “He listens to everything that goes on around here, including the birds.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“My people told me that you were headed out to the forest, so I followed you. The path always leads people right to this stream, so I took a shortcut and waited for you, out in the middle.”

“Why?”

I didn’t understand what was going on. At first I had thought she was kidding, but the way she spoke made me think that she wasn’t.

Which was even worse.

“Because this is the only place in this entire compound that’s truly safe from my father. He doesn’t listen to the vast majority of the tapes, and usually they get destroyed, but I can’t take a single chance with what I’m about to tell you.”

“What?” I said, completely mesmerized.

“I’m in charge of the Spiders,” she said slowly. “I run them. I’m the Spiders, Cassidy.”

I shook my head, unable to believe her. The Spiders were the enemy of the Barone family. The Spiders had killed many of her father’s men. And she was telling me that she was their leader?

“I don’t believe you,” I said simply. “That’s insane.”

“I’m sorry if it seems crazy. It’s the truth.”

“The Spiders are your family’s enemy.”

“No,” she said harshly. “They’re my father’s enemy. My father, the man who forced me to begin my own mafia because he was too proud to allow his daughter to join him.”

Her face was livid and angry, and I could tell that an old wound had opened up. She looked away, back downstream, her face slowly relaxing to its normal, resting pose.

But in that moment of anger, I believed her. It was too real to be faked.

And I was terrified.

“Why would you tell me this?”

“Because I need you to help me, Cassidy.”

“You nearly killed Rafa.”

“No. My people nearly killed him. I ordered them to take you and to disable him, not to kill him. Unfortunately, Rafa is more skilled than I realized.”