Page 34 of No Sweeter Poison
A knock on the door sets my teeth on edge. I’m almost tempted to tell whoever’s there to get lost but don’t in case it’s Doña Ana. She’s only ever been kind to me and there’s already a language barrier. I’d hate to hurt her feelings and then lack the capacity to apologize.
The door cracks open. “Dahlia?”
It’s Lettie.
She walks in and closes the door behind her. “I brought something for you.”
Lettie settles herself onto the love seat across from me and sets a large, rectangular box down on her lap. Tapping her fingers together nervously, she extends the box to me. “Happy birthday.”
My gaze flickers to the gift. I give a soft shake of the head before returning to my window gazing. “I don’t want anything.”
“But…it’s your birthday. You should wear something nice,” she says, voice uncharacteristically gentle. “We’re going to go out tonight. All four of us.”
I’m not sure what she means by “go out.” I don’t even think Alejandro is here right now—I haven’t seen him for a few days. His presence in the villa is sporadic; he comes and goes with the wind, here for three days, gone for two more. To be fair, I don’t leave my room enough to notice. Or at all, as a matter of fact.
“It’ll be fun. We’ll go to El Rey, have drinks, gamble a little bit. Listen to music.” Lettie folds her hands over the box, never a hair out of place. She’s so perfect I sometimes wonder if she’s real. “No one should spend their birthday cooped up alone in their bedroom.”
“This isn’t my bedroom. It’s a room that I’m in but it isn’t mine.”
Lettie attempts to reach me from a different angle. “Alejandro would really like it if—”
My head snaps around. “I don’t care.”
“You know, if you were smarter, you’d have my brother eating out of the palm of your hand.” She quirks a brow at me. “A hunger strike and self-imposed isolation will piss him off for sure. But it’ll have the same effect on him as traffic during rush hour or someone getting his order wrong at a restaurant. Why not try taking that anger and doing something useful with it?”
“Like what?”
“Like making him pay for it.” She waves a flippant hand. “You can’t change the fact that you’re here. The least you can do is make your time here as miserable for him as it is for you. You’re a woman, Dahlia. A very attractive one. Start thinking like that instead of as a captive.”
What does she want me to do with that information?
Lettie extends the box again and this time I take it, too dejected to put up a fight. She’s already decided she’s going to be here a while so I can kiss the peace and silence goodbye.
I open the box and gently push aside the tissue paper. I remove the garment inside and shoot her a look.
“I’m never going to fit in this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Lettie, I’ll be lucky if I can squeeze in a single ass cheek.”
She waves a finger at me then reaches for the dress. Gripping the edges, she pulls until the fabric stretches at her command. “It’s latex!”
SHADOWS OF NIGHT
Alejandro
I barely make it back from the airport in time to catch Lettie and the others before they leave for El Rey. My sister and I cross paths in the hall where she’s giving Dimitrio, our head of security, instructions for the evening. She’s not dressed yet, instead wearing a long silk robe, but Lettie always does that last. Her hair and makeup are done which is enough of an indicator for me that I’m running egregiously late.
Catching sight of me, her lips purse. “Alejandro—”
“I know, I know,” I run up the stairs. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”
She swings her head over the railing, calling up to me. “We’re leaving in twenty! Get Dahlia on your way down. Diego’s bringing the cars around.”
I showered on the plane but forgot to bring a tux with me. Shuffling through my closet, I grab the first one my eyes land on and dress in record time. Lettie will hang me by the neck if I’m in anything less than full formal dress, down to cufflinks and a bow tie.
Throwing my jacket over my arm, I head down the hall to Dahlia’s room. I pass by the hallway window on my way and notice Diego’s already brought the cars around.
