The Slayer (Untamed Hearts #2)(135)
“What?” Alaine turned and frowned at the bathroom.
“Is he okay?” Sofia asked as she came out of the bathroom, her light eyes watery. “Did they—” She gestured to Alaine. “Does Chu know they tried to hurt you? They didn’t, though, right? Junior, he helped you. Marc said he helped.”
“Yes, Junior helped. They didn’t do…anything,” Alaine whispered as she frowned at this stunningly beautiful woman, realizing that the argument she and Marcos had in Spanish obviously included a brief recap of what happened at the house. “Are you Chuito’s mother?”
“Yes,” Sofia said like she assumed Alaine had known all along. “Marcos said he sent you to me. Who else would I be?”
“I just—” Alaine was at a complete loss for words. “You’re so young and so pretty and—”
“Gracias, chica.” She smiled as she came to the bed. “You’re pretty too. Very pretty, but it’s not always such a gift. Sometimes it’s a curse. You tell me what happened. Tell me the woman version. You take a bath, and we’ll talk.”
“Okay.” Alaine nodded and got off the bed, finding that her legs were still weak. “I’m usually stronger than this. I don’t know why I’m so shaky.”
“We’re strong.” Chuito’s mother wrapped an arm around Alaine’s waist and walked with her to the bathroom. “We’ll cry together. No muchachos here to know about it.”
After stripping down for Junior, getting naked and crawling into the bath in front of Chuito’s mother wasn’t a big deal, especially because the water was so warm. Sofia had one of those big, luxurious garden tubs, with candles and all sorts of soaps and bath oils decorating the bathroom.
It was like stepping into a spa.
Alaine was grateful when Sofia dumped a copious amount of something oily that smelled of flowers into the bath, making it foam up so fast around her that even if she were prone to being shy at this point in the game, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Alaine just lay back and closed her eyes, appreciating the warm bath in a way she hadn’t before and smelling the flowers that were oddly soothing. “What is that scent?”
“Lavender,” Sofia offered. “It’s good for stress.”
Alaine let out a broken laugh. “There is not enough lavender for the amount of stress I’ve been through in the past twenty-four hours.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a good start,” Sofia said and sat down on the floor on the other side of the tub. Then she reached out and touched the curve of Alaine’s neck. “Did they do that?”
Alaine cupped her neck self-consciously, for the first time remembering the love bites. “No, um, those were—” She felt her cheeks heat. “That was from before.”
“From Chu?”
Alaine second-guessed her decision not to be shy. “I’m sorry.”
“Why be sorry? You know, Chu, I used to worry about him when he was young. He wasn’t like Marcos. So angry. No women. No love. No fun. Only anger.” Sofia sighed. “But he really does love you?”
Alaine nodded. “I think he does, yes. Enough to—” She choked on the words and closed her eyes. “Maybe too much.”
“That’s not your fault. His anger. It’s my fault. Do you know how he got here?” Sofia asked softly.
Alaine nodded, knowing what she was asking. “I do.”
“I didn’t want him to know, but people, they talk.” She looked away, tears brimming in her eyes. “I should have left Puerto Rico before I had him. Gone somewhere that no one knew, but I was young. So young, chica. I needed my family. My sister, she helped me. I moved in with her because it made my mamá so sad to see it. My father too, but my sister, she understood. She loved him like I love him.”
“I’m so sorry about what happened,” Alaine whispered, feeling tears roll down her face when she thought about Tino’s confession in the house. Knowing Chuito was a child of rape and looking at this beautiful, loving woman who gave birth to him was a humbling experience. “But thank you so much for having him. I love him so much.”
“Well.” Sofia gave Alaine a dazzling smile. “I didn’t have him for you. I had him for me. I earned him. I hurt for him, but God gave him to me to make it better. He was my gift. Good things come out of even the most horrible mierda you can imagine. Chu is good. He’s always been good, even if he doesn’t know it. He bought me this house, you know?”
“It’s beautiful,” Alaine said, because from what she’d seen, it was.
“I’m proud of him.” Sofia smiled again. “And I’m happy he found a nice woman. I’ve wanted that for him. I’m sorry this happened to you, chica. To both of you.”
“I’ve loved him for a long time,” Alaine whispered as she looked down at the bubbles. “I didn’t want him to stay in that house. I think he—”
She covered her face with her hand and cried again, knowing that Chuito had lost another part of his soul in that house. She couldn’t get the image of the dead Russian lying on the floor in that bedroom out of her mind. Or the smell downstairs, coppery and pungent, like the scent of death just setting in. She was so glad she didn’t give in to curiosity and look; smelling it had been bad enough.