by M. O. Kenyan
“I have a son,” Dennis whispered. “His name is Dennis Junior. He is my heir. That is how my father has said it would be.”
“Coward!”Kono flung herself on the sofa and Dennis sat next to her. “You are married aren’t you?”
“Yes.” was the feeble response. “I have been married for almost three years. DJ is the same age as Rhyne.”
Kono spun around, the look of the devil in her eyes. Slowly she began to understand what he was saying. At lightning speed she leaped off the couch and grabbed for the vase. She launched it at Dennis but he ducked it with expert precision. “This whole time, you have been lying to us.”
“I love you, Kono.”
“No, you don’t!” She launched another vase in his direction and this caught him squarely on his face. Blood rolled down the cut on his forehead but Kono did not rush to help him.
Reno appeared from his hiding spot and took a defensive position in front of his father. He was trying to protect Dennis. His innocence couldn’t let him comprehend the situation unfolding before him. All he knew was that something was terribly wrong. Kono reached for him and he ducked. She tried again and this time she grabbed his arm.
“Your father is leaving us. He doesn’t love us anymore.” Kono got down on her knees and spun Reno to face her. “Do you hear me bubba? Your father doesn’t love you—”
“Stop lying, Kono,” Dennis shouted over her desperate attempt to turn his son against him.
“—and he doesn’t love Rhyne,” she went on.
That settled in Reno’s mind. Like a poisonous infection it festered in Reno’s mind and heart. His father didn’t love his little sister. He turned to face Dennis, contempt marring his boyish features. “You don’t love little Rhyne?”
“It’s not that.” Dennis got to his knees and hugged Reno, “I love all of you, but I have to leave. I can’t be here anymore.”
Reno pulled out of Dennis’s embrace. He pushed as hard as he could and Dennis fell back, “You are leaving. That means you don’t want to be with us, you don’t love us. If you don’t love us, then we don’t love you either.”
“Kono, please.” Dennis begged, “My father would take away the money. What would we live on?”
“We could survive without his money. We could both find jobs. We could survive, live here on the island.”
“How long would that last?” Dennis got to his feet and paced around the room. “I have a Ferrari, a Porsche and a G5—you want me to give that up? I have a lifestyle that I can’t give up.”
“Not even for me, the woman you claim to love. Not even for your children?”
Rhyne toddled into the room. Drool dripped out of her mouth as her pudgy hands clapped and her chubby legs stomped on the floor. She was the picture of beauty. Dennis reached for her before anyone could get in his way. He picked her up and kissed her, his little darling.
“Dada!Dada!”Rhyne didn’t know, but she had rewarded the man who was about to abandon her with the most precious gift of all.
“Dada loves you.” He turned to Reno, tears blurring his eyes, “I love you too. Don’t ever forget that, no matter what anyone tells you. I’ll take care of both of you. You will never want for anything.”
Dennis was startled out of his memory when his phone blared. He stared at the picture of his daughter all grown up. She was a young woman now, her smile still as brilliant as it was when she was a baby. She would always be the little voice in his head calling Dada, a sign that all would be forgiven—the sound of innocence. Dennis slumped to the carpeted floor of his office and wept bitterly. He was a failure and he didn’t deserve the love of any of his four children.
* * * *
“So Dennis just left, without looking back, he left you.” Reno wiped the tear rolling down Lisette’s cheek. “He chose his Porsche and Ferrari over his children?”
“Don’t forget the G5,” Reno teased and laughed bitterly. “That day I knew—I could be traded for something more expensive. I realized material things mattered more than your flesh and blood.”
“You will always come first to me.” Lisette climbed onto his lap and held him.
“I saw the look in Michael Mathews’ face when he realized that marrying Catalella didn’t mean marrying into the Ross fortune. For a second I considered being in his place—”
“You could never be like that snake. For starters, my parents love you and your father has given you a fortune of your own.”
“What happens if you decide you want something else more than you want me?”
“That would never happen.” She kissed him then laid her head on his muscled shoulder. “Tell me how your sister disappeared.”
“I failed her. That was why I broke up with you. I am a failure.”
“No you are not, and you only broke up with me because my papa made you.”
“I couldn’t protect her…”
“Reno!” Lisette said as she wrapped her arms around him.
“Help me!”
Reno ran out of the kitchen and into the bedroom he shared with his two year old sister. He didn’t think, he just reacted.Kono’s latest boyfriend was trying to drag Rhyne onto the bed. Reno leapt onto the man’s back, the sweaty, smelly body making him recoil. As much as he hated the smell of him, he hated the sight of him. Kono had turned the tiny house into a whore house, a parade of men entering and leaving once their month was up.
I hate you, he swore in his heart. He would never forgive the man he called father for abandoning them.
Reno heard the front door open and he took a deep breath. With everything he had inside him, he let out a shrilling yell. The sound of hurried footsteps approaching them was a comfort. Reno did not let the hold he had around the man’s neck ease. His tiny hands locked at the elbows as he pulled as hard as his little body would let him. Eventually the man fell back and their next door neighbor ran into the room.
“Run, Rhyne! Run!”
He saw her frightened little face. Obviously she didn’t want to leave him behind. He could see the stormy debate through her eyes, but Reno wasn’t going to let her get hurt. Sure help had arrived, but he needed to make sure Rhyne was as far away from this man as possible.
“Run!”
Rhyne took off, her tiny feet carrying her away from the danger. Reno growled when he felt his arms being pulled away. The attacker was limp, he wasn’t moving. Their neighbor was trying to get Reno to release his hold.
“It’s all right now, son. Let go or else you are going to kill him.”
“Let me kill him.” Six years old and Reno had enough anger inside him to take another man’s life. “He was trying to hurt little Rhyne.”
“I know that, the police are coming. Let him go, and go find your sister.”
Reno let go of his hold. He tried to move but his leg was trapped beneath the man’s weight. Kicking with abandon, he didn’t stop until the man was off him. Even then he added a few extra kicks for good measure. Reno ran out of the room and bumped into Kono, he gave her an ice-chilling stare and spat at her feet. “I hate you!”
That night the police were called. Reno and Rhyne were both asked to account their sides of their stories. He had been sure that he had done his best and that Kono’s boyfriend would be far away from his sister.
That night he lay his head on his pillow feeling safe for the first time that night. He had read Rhyne a couple of stories to get her to sleep. It was the wee hours of the morning when she finally got to sleep. Reno was so tired. His tiny body weary, his mind drained. He slept knowing that all would be all right, not knowing that all hell would break loose.
“Reno!”
“Help me, Reno!”
Reno was startled awake by the sound of his terrified sister. He looked over to her bed and she wasn’t there. He tried the door but it was locked. With everything he had he kicked it, pushed it as hard as he could, but it wouldn’t budge. He heard the lock turning and behind the door Kono appeared.
“It’s for the best.”
That was all she said.
Reno pushed past her and searched the house, no sign of Rhyne.
“Reno!”
His head snapped in the direction the scream was coming from. He ran, pushing past his mother, not caring she had landed on the ground. Reno burst outside and all he saw was darkness. Kono’s boyfriend laughed at him, his leering smile claiming triumph.
“Rhyne!” he desperately yelled.
“Reno!”
He turned toward the sound of tires screeching away. Rhyne’s hands were waving out the window. Her head appeared and she screamed for him once more. His bare feet pounded the gravel as he chased the red tail lights. He ran as fast as he could, as hard as he could and yet it was not enough. Reno wouldn’t let himself get tired, he wouldn’t let the painful sores on his feet stop him. He didn’t know how far he ran, but the red tail lights kept fading…
* * * *
“I pushed myself as hard as I could. I couldn’t let them take her. She was my responsibility. Rhyne was mine, the only gift life had given me. I could feel my lungs burn, taste bloody soreness in my throat. I couldn’t stop!” Reno wailed.
“Shhh!” Lisette rocked him back and forth, trying to soothe him. No matter how hard she tried he wouldn’t calm down. He cried harder, the tears drenching her T-shirt. “It’s not your fault.”
“I still have nightmares about that night. All I see is her tear-stained face, I hear her calling for me and I see those red tail lights. It was like I was staring into the devil’s eyes. I failed her.”
“Don’t say that. Never say that.” Lisette lifted his head so that she could look into his eyes. “I am so proud of you. You tried to save her, but you were just a little boy. We’ll get her back, I promise you.”
Lisette hadn’t been able to sleep a wink the whole night. Not even Reno’s comforting arms could lull her frenzied mind to rest. Her heart was still in pieces. She had never seen Reno so broken, never heard him cry as he did. In her heart, he was the bravest boy she had ever known. In her mind her uncle Dennis was a coward, she hated Kono’s boyfriend and to an extent she hated Kono too. She wondered if Dennis knew the pain his eldest son had gone through, how much he blamed himself, how Reno carried that pain and blame with him everywhere he went. Pain and blame that rightfully belonged to Dennis.
She stood at the window, peering out as the first rays of sunlight touched the tops of the buildings in downtown New York. She turned toward the peaceful sigh Reno let out. She studied his face as the orange embers danced on his face highlighting his chiseled jaw. At that moment the feeling of forever settled on her. She wouldn’t mind waking up in Reno’s arms, having to gaze upon his face at first light, or be the first and last thing she would see each day. The fantasy was almost perfect.
But there was a dark spot in that perfection. She needed to get Michael Mathews out of the family portrait. She had figured out a way to do it. It was extreme and she hoped her latest foolish idea wouldn’t hurt her little sister or the man she was deeply in love with. When Reno began to stir, Lisette knew it was time to bolt. She didn’t know when she would be able to see him next. She hoped her sacrifice was worth it. Afraid to move closer and wake him, Lisette blew him a kiss and left in a silence that echoed their love.
Reno had done everything he could to save his sister, he was still trying. Surely he would understand that she had to save Catalella.
* * * *
Lisette felt numb. How else was she to explain this nothingness that enveloped her? Even in the abyss, guilt managed to pierce through. Catalella had been sheltered her entire life. She had no skills for dealing with a creep like Michael Mathews. It was her fault—she’d babied the girl and she had been the one to introduce Michael into her family. Now it was her job to get rid of him. As much as the thought of killing him and dumping him into the Hudson River appealed to her, she wasn’t ready to give up her family, or Reno, for a bunch of female inmates who would probably make a meal out of her. She would have to settle for bribing him. All Michael wanted was money. The drop of his jaw to his feet, the moment her father told him that Catalella had nothing to her name, told her so.
Lisette couldn’t help but chuckle. Her father had a backup for the backup. He had so many fail-safes that no one would be able to take advantage of them, financially at least. If only he had one of those plans for a parasite like Michael. Lisette laughed again. She thought Michael had turned a few shades of white when Adrian Senior told him that all of Catalella’s intended trust would be passed on to their children, skipping him altogether.
Luckily for her, Lisette had part of her trust fund. It was a hundred thousand dollars, not much but hopefully enough for the gold digger. Obviously he would want more and Lisette was willing to offer it all up to him. In exchange she wanted her little, naïve sister to be set free.
Lisette parked on the street, in front of Michael’s apartment. She was amazed that in the few hours he had become a Ross he hadn’t demanded a penthouse apartment in Soho. Taking a few deep breaths for courage, she raised her fist to the door and knocked. Lisette expected her sister to come skipping to the door, a wide grin on her face, already turned into Susie Home Maker. But it was Michael who opened the door. Scruffy wasn’t the word for how he looked, ‘downright depressed’ described the ragged look he had. It seemed the session with Adrian Ross Senior had worn the amateur out.
“Wow!” she chortled, “That’s what you get when you get into the ring with the big boys. I see Papa chewed you up and spat you out.”
“What do you want?” he growled.
“I want my sister, and then I want you to get out of town.” Lisette boldly took a step into his apartment. She looked around and frowned. It was a roach motel, no wonder the kid was willing to do anything to get out of this situation. “Will my car be safe out there?”
“Safer than you sister will be in here.” The leery grin he afforded her angered her. Lisette bit back her retort, and dialed down her anger. She needed to be agreeable, maybe even kiss his ass a little. Whatever she needed to do would be done. Reno would have to forgive her for it later. He would understand—he had a sister he was desperate to protect too.
“The only reason you aren’t in jail for statutory rape right now, is because Papa wants to teach Catalella a lesson.” Lisette frowned at the brown sofa and decided to stay on her feet. “What exactly did my sister say once you brought her here?”
She didn’t put it past Catalella to cry. The little girl knew how to whine long enough to put someone on edge. Lisette bet that Catalella’s first complaint was the tiny television, then the furniture, and that god-awful pungent smell coming from the streets below. Let’s not forget the location of this little shit hole.
“What do you want Lisette?”
The angry set of his jaw let Lisette know that she had struck an exposed nerve. “Where is the little princess?” She didn’t try to hide her smile. Maybe she wouldn’t have to do anything after all. A week with the princess and Michael Mathews will give little Catalella back to Papa.
“She went shopping,” he mumbled.
“With what money?” Lisette asked, an incredulous note in her tone.
“Her graduation money.”
“You mean gift cards.” The idiot didn’t even know what Catalella was using to shop. Their parents gave her Gucci, Chanel, Dolce and Gabana gift certificates. Sure, combined, they accumulated to almost twenty thousand, but there was no way to cash them.
“I gave her some money for food supplies too.”
Lisette’s body began to shake as she tried to put a lid on the rapture of laughter threatening to explode from within her, “Did you tell her what to buy?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh my God! Next time, before you get married, do your homework. Catalella has no idea where food comes from. For all she knows it’s all made in the refrigerator. She definitely knows that Mama and the maid put it on the table.”
“She can’t be that naïve.”
&nb
sp; “She married you, didn’t she?” Lisette exhaled and struggled to inhale her next breathe. The smell seemed to be growing stronger by the minute. “I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars, if you agree to annul your marriage to my sister.”
Michael’s head cocked to the side. He stared at her, amusement dancing in his eyes. He seemed to consider her proposal for a second, but the mischievous gleam in his eyes told Lisette he had come up with a counter offer.
“Sleep with me and I’ll consider it.”
Hell no! Michael Mathews was not going to be her first intimate experience. “Not on your life.”
“What are you so tense about, sweetheart? I’m sure Reno has shown you how it’s done.” Lisette looked away. She was sure the heat rising in her cheeks would sell her out. “Ha! You haven’t slept with him yet. I have a better offer, let’s set up a date. You give me your virginity and I sign the annulment papers.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You can draw them up. Come with them tomorrow night—”
“In this roach motel?”
“We can book a hotel, the Waldorf. We don’t want your first time to be unpleasant.”
“What exactly are you getting from this?”
“A hundred thousand dollars—and, bragging rights that I’m the only man who was able to deflower both Ross girls.”
“You are—”
Lisette bit back the rest of her statement when the front door creaked open. Catalella rushed in, shopping bags in her arms. None of them gave any indication they were from a grocery store.
“Lisette!”Catalella dropped her bags and rushed to her.
Lisette embraced he sister and had a hard time letting her go.
“I’m so glad you came. Papa won’t let Mama come to this neighborhood. Who could blame them? AJ won’t talk to me either.” Lisette tried to look past Catalella’s watery eyes, but couldn’t. “When did Papa say he was getting us an apartment?”