Delgano: A Dark Contemporary Interracial Romance

“Then what’s the problem?”

“What about Aron Price?” she asked.

Mora shrugged. “What about Aron Price?”

She didn’t know how to ask if Aron was her father without revealing how she’d gotten onto that train of thought in the first place. As far as Mora knew, she had never seen her actual birth certificate.

While she was beginning to suspect that Novi’s visit was tied to her mother, it was next to impossible that Mora knew about Atlas.

Perhaps that was why she sent Novi.

Mora probably had a hunch that she was getting information but didn’t know how. If she’d told Novi she recognized the names, it would have confirmed that she knew more than she said. The questions about Adrían had probably been for Mora to determine how much Adrían had told her, she’d told Adrían, or they’d told each other.

A knock sounded on the door.

Hannah entered without waiting for a response, walked across the room, and hopped onto the large wooden desk. “Aunt Mora, we have a problem,” she announced. “By now, I should have had Adrían eating from the palm of my hand…among other places.”

“He likes Sayeda,” Mora said.

Sayeda nearly fell off her chair.

“But that doesn’t matter,” Mora added. “Sayeda, stay away from him.”

If “staying away” was what they wanted, they should have never revealed that little tidbit. Mora thought she had every single disease in the diagnostic mental health manual. Maybe it was time for her to learn which one, or how many, revolved around defying orders from authority figures.

“Do you hear me?” Mora asked. “Don’t get any closer to him. Hannah can handle this. You can’t.”

“Thought I was hypersexual,” she quipped.

Mora shot her a look. “Go ahead, then. Let that man break you. Neither Hannah nor I will be around to pick up the pieces. This is what men do, especially those in this line of work. In this life. They don’t love you. You were nothing but a place to dump semen.”

She glanced at Hannah, eyes wide.

Hannah raised her eyebrows.

“Is that what happened with my father? Did he hurt you? Did he tell you he loved you and ran off with someone else? Let’s talk about it, Mora.” The window for them to get to know one another hadn’t passed. All her mother had to do was give a little. “Let’s talk about something other than what mental illnesses you think I might have.”

Mora pressed her lips together.

Hannah raised a hand. “Can I say something? No offense, Aunt Mora, but if Adrían likes Sayeda, maybe let that play out. I might not be able to hurt him if he hurts her, but I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. Plus, he’s not what we thought he was. There might not be any pieces.”

Sayeda sent her a smile of thanks.

Hannah answered with a look she hadn’t seen in years. It was the same look Hannah would give her after handling someone who had been messing with her at school. Beating people up, whether bigger or smaller, had once been the highlight of kid Hannah’s afternoon.

Mora stood and headed to the desk. “There’s nothing else to say about that subject. Have sex with Adrían, and I guarantee he will ruin your life.”

“But he’s kind of sweet in a cute way,” Hannah insisted. “Trust me, if you’re thinking he’s anything like Novi or, worse, Pozza, he’s not even close.”

Sayeda sat up straighter in her chair. “Novi? Novi’s the name of the man who stopped by the safe house a few days ago. It was the last time you were there. He left just as you showed up.”

Hannah slid off the desk. “What? Novi was at the safe house? Aunt Mora, did you know this? What the hell is Novi doing in Morocco?”

“I’ll handle it,” Mora informed them.

“If he’s here, at least let me move in with Sayeda and the boys for the time being.”

Mora slammed her palm on the desktop. “I will handle it. For now, nothing changes.”