Page 32 of Double the Redemption

“Why did you do it? I know they forced you, but couldn’t you have lied so no one would have known? You’re wicked smart. Or even smuggled out a note?”

Naomi relaxed. That was an easy question. “When I first started, Diego had someone else check everything I did. If I were off by even a single number or just a penny, he would have me beaten. By the time I turned nineteen, I was never wrong. Then, when I thought about smuggling out a note, I couldn’t find anyone to trust.

“Diego was smart. I think he saw I was getting desperate to get out. So he switched everyone randomly. There was never a set pattern. I could have one set of guards or staff around me one day and another the next. Sometimes, he would switch them during the same day. And no guard ever crossed me twice within two weeks of each other.”

“He had that many men at his disposal?” Glitch asked, brow arched.

“I figured out after the first couple that he was bringing in guards from other cartels or from criminal groups he owned. He couldn’t risk my escaping. He also had cameras watching every move I had in case I tried to kill myself.”

“Did you?” Karissa asked, with no judgment.

“I considered it, but other than trying to get a gun or hanging myself, there was no other way. I wasn’t allowed access to medications unless a doctor gave them to me, and each dose was monitored. Then, when I thought about actually ending it, I learned I was pregnant.”

“Damn, that must have been hard,” Glitch said, giving her bicep a comforting squeeze. “That was probably the last thing you wanted.”

Naomi tried not to let the guilt swamp her or let the tears building in the back of her throat form. “It was horrible to discover. I denied it for weeks. I refused to even discuss it when Diego tried to bring it up because he kept track of everything.” Her face flamed at that.

“I know it’s not what you would have wanted, but Asher is an amazing little boy,” Karissa said. “And that’s all you.”

“Is Diego …” Glitch lifted her brow.

Naomi flinched. “I don’t know.” She didn’t like to think about the night Asher would have been conceived. It was a memory she had worked hard to bury.

The curse of having an eidetic memory meant that while she could recall things easily, she would never be able to erase the memories she desperately wanted to forget.

The two women didn’t press, realizing that wasn’t a discussion she was ready to have yet.

Suddenly, a shoulder bumped hard into hers, and she staggered back, her drink splashing all over herself and the person who bumped into her.

“You fucking bitch!” a shrill voice screamed.

Naomi froze, and the entire room went quiet, but not before her hair was grabbed, and she was tossed to the floor.

13

NAOMI

She stared up at the woman towering over her, her head smarting. The woman’s dark eyes were wide with fury, her makeup caked on so thick it looked almost clownish, but there was no mistaking the intent in them. She wore five-inch stilettos, a miniskirt that barely covered her, and a sheer black lace top that ended just below her giant boobs, nipples on display.

A top that was now wet and dripping down her exposed skin.

“I should kill you for that,” the woman raged. “This is brand fucking new!” She lifted her foot, ready to drive her shoe, but Naomi was already moving, even as Karissa and Glitch barked a warning to the woman.

It was all the opening Naomi needed. She lashed out with her foot, sending the woman sprawling on her back. The woman screamed, reaching out to grab her, but Naomi easily sidestepped.

She realized the silence in the room, and when she looked around, everyone was watching her. Her face flamed. Great. That was just what she needed. Making a spectacle of herself. That’s one way to never be invited back to a party.

“I’m going to kill you, you cunt!” the woman roared, getting to her feet.

“Touch her, and we’ll kick your ass,” Glitch hissed. “You don’t have any power here, skank.”

“Fuck you, Glitch,” the woman snarled. “I’m going to be Ink’s Old Lady, so I have every right to take this cunt down for disrespecting me.”

“Disrespecting you?” Karissa scoffed. “How much have you had to drink, Kayla? You bumped into her. She wasn’t doing shit but talking to us.”

“She deliberately spilled her drink on me,” she shouted, her black acrylic nails pointing at Naomi. “What? You think because you’re new here, you’re better than me? You’re nothing more than a piece of ass, ready to be handed around.” She narrowed her eyes on Naomi. “Not that you have anything to tempt these boys with. No tits or ass to speak of.”

Naomi stared at her, unsure what to do or say. She wasn’t a fighter. The only reason she knew how to take her down was because she had seen a cat fight between two of Diego’s girlfriends one night. One he had purposely instigated. She remembered the other moves, but she wasn’t sure she could recreate them.