Page 3 of LA Reign

Okay, well now there’s not a chance in hell I’m letting her go back there.

“You can’t just run away,” Alejandro says. “Did you even tell them you were leaving?”

She shakes her head.

“They’ll probably be worried about you though. You should call them,” I suggest, if only so they don’t involve the police and she ends up in more trouble. I won’t make her go back to a creep, but her just running away could make things worse.

Her pleading brown eyes fix on mine. “I’ll call them, but can’t I just stay here with you guys tonight?”

“No,” Alejandro replies immediately.

I rest my hand on his thigh. “Maybe just for tonight? It is late, and then we can work out something more suitable tomorrow.”

Alejandro shakes his head. “No.”

“Please?” Lucia pleads.

He doesn’t reply.

I squeeze his thigh, my fingertips gently pressing into his taut muscle. “Alejandro, it’s just one night.”

After what feels like minutes, he rolls his eyes. “Fine. For one night. Then you’re out of here and back to your foster family, Lucia. And if you don’t like that one, I’ll have someone find you a new one.”

She nods, a smile on her face as it floods with relief. “Thank you.”

“You’ll still need to call them and let them know,” I remind her.

“Of course. Can I borrow your cell?”

“Where’s yours?” I ask her, aware that she has one. No teenager I know would be without their cellphone for more than five minutes.

“The Bakers took it from me. They said it was too much temptation. In case I spoke to any boys.” She pulls a disgusted face and looks down at her rounded belly. “Like I’d want anything to do with any boys.”

“They took your phone?” I ask, incredulous that they’d do that to her after everything she’s been through. Alejandro’s lawyer assured me that the Bakers were a good family, but I guess our ideas of what that looks like might differ wildly.

She won’t be going back there, though. It will happen over my dead body, and if Alejandro has a problem with that, then I’ll just have to figure a way to make him not have a problem with it.

I’m sure I can think of a few ways to win him over.

Chapter

Two

ALANA

Ihand Lucia a pair of my pajamas and wait for her while she changes, sitting on the bed in the spare room she chose to sleep in, which is coincidentally the very same room I chose on my first day here. At least before Alejandro came storming in like a raging demon demanding that I sleep in his bedroom. It’s hard to believe that was just six months ago when in some ways it feels like a lifetime.

She comes out of the bathroom, smiling widely, gives me a little twirl, and then sits on the bed beside me. “Thank you so much for this, Alana. I really do appreciate it.”

I give her a sideways hug. “You’re more than welcome. I’m glad we could help you get away from the Bakers. They don’t sound all that nice.”

She shakes her head. “No, they’re not.”

She leans her head against me, and I’m reminded of just how young she is. At sixteen I’d only ever kissed a boy and had never left New York, and she’s already traveled the country on her own. She’s tough and smart, and I’m proud of her, even if I have no business being that.

“I want you to know something,” she says hesitantly. “I truly didn’t know who you were when I first met you. You were just Alana, no last name, a nice lady who I felt I could turn to. And then when I found out… well, I already liked you, and…” She shrugs and wipes a tear from her eye. “Not going to lie though. I suppose there was an element of self-preservation involved when I realized you were Alejandro Montoya’s wife, because I knew that if you cared about me even a little, then …”

“I do care about you Lucia. More than a little.”