Until Her - Ami Van Page 0,28

stuff. She says she and her mother owe the Romanos a debt. Debt isn’t on paper and they were working it off. I don’t think the mom worked it off the way Ariana does though. Her job description changed when her mother died about ten years ago.”

“How much money are we talking about? Is this information important?” Stella asks.

“That’s where it gets tricky,” he replies. “She’s never seen anything on paper. She doesn’t know the amount and was never shown anything. She was told at eighteen by her mother that they owed the Romanos some debt and needed to work it off.”

“Eighteen?” Stella questions. “Her dossier says she’s thirty-three now. She’s been working off a debt she’s never seen for the past fifteen years?”

“I know. It’s hard to believe,” he says. “But I don’t think she’s lying.”

“And the drugs?” Derrick asks.

“Cristian,” he replies. “The bastard dopes her up for his friends and even business dealings. Isabella isn’t any better. She’s probably the one that orders it done.”

“This all seems more personal than just debt. Last we check, the Romanos isn’t hurting for money,” Derrick says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Especially the salary of a housekeeper.”

“I didn’t want to push her for more right now,” he tells his brother. “She wasn’t holding up too well.”

“I’ll see if I can find out more information on her mom,” Stella says with a sigh. “How is she with the recovery?” she asks.

“Marcus says she’s going through the process like she’s supposed to except…” he pauses.

“She’s a sub,” Derrick says. “A sub in every way. The counselor can’t tell if she’s going through the process because she wants to or because she’s been told to or she thinks she’s expected to.”

He nods to his brother and then looks at the disappointment on Stella’s face.

“If she’s not going to do this for herself then there’s always a chance of relapse, Stella.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Stella says. “I haven’t been able to see her since that first night. I trust the process but you’re right. We have to make sure she wants this for herself just as much.”

“Stell,” he calls out when she turns to walk away. “I want her to be sure that we aren’t handing her back to the Romanos too. If she wants to go back, that’s her choice. But she needs to trust that we won’t be shoving her out. I think she’d be more assured hearing it from you.”

Derrick looks at him as if stunned.

Shut the fuck up, brother.

If the twin-lepathy thing exists, now is the time for it to start working.

Chapter Thirteen

“Did you ever played freeze tag when you were a kid?” Stella asks while chopping vegetables at the counter.

She was extremely surprised to step out of the bathroom after hiding away for over an hour to find Stella and her husband, Derrick, playing with a baby in the backyard. Stella announced that Adam will be back later. At present, they are in the kitchen and she was told that they were cooking dinner.

“Yes, when I was very young. I think…I think the last time was around ten,” she replies trying her best to recollect those memories. Most of them are almost gone now. Realizing that only adds sadness.

“Did you play with a safe base?” Stella asks looking up, even as her hands continue working with the kitchen knife.

“Sometimes,” she replies, her own eyes unable to peel at the rapid slicing and chopping that the woman is doing.

“Don’t worry about me,” Stella says with her infectious smile. “I’m a trained chef.”

“Oh,” was her only response.

“Anyway. I want you to consider this place your safe base,” Stella continues before popping a sliced carrot into her mouth.

“I—I don’t understand what you mean?”

“You’re safe here, Ariana. Isabella and Cristian won’t touch you here. You are free to fully recover if you choose to. You are free to think for yourself and you’re free to speak for yourself. I know. I know it’s easier said than done. But you won’t be reprimanded in any way. We will never force any drugs on you. Ever.”

“But…the Romanos. They’re powerful and…and dangerous,” she utters. “They have so many resources and know so many people. They’ll find me.”

“You’re so certain of that,” Stella calmly replies. “Why? No offense, Ariana, but why do you think you and this debt you owe is so significant that they would use those resources to find you?”

That’s a good question.

Her answer? She doesn’t know. She’d always felt it in her gut. They