“Which is?” Antonio asked all of us in rapt attention as my woman spoke. “The head of the Society, the one in charge, wants to destroy Reaper.”
“Why?” several of us asked, listening intently.
“Because Reaper refused to do what he was told.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, holding up my hand. “That would mean that Reaper once worked in conjunction with these people.”
“Now you’re catching on,” Layla clearly stated. “Right after Reaper’s dad died, he was approached by the head of the Society and tasked with a job. Reaper refused. That’s when he was shown something that made him change his mind. For the next five years, Reaper fell in line with what the Society wanted, helping to traffic men, women and children until Remi showed up and he learned the truth about his own abduction. Since then, Reaper has refused to comply. All this shit going on is because one man refused to fall in line.”
“What does the Society have on Reaper?” Antonio asked as Layla grinned. “Caught that, did ya? As for what the Society has, I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s big.”
She was lying. I knew my woman. She specifically withheld that bit of information. Why? I had no clue. I would think about it later, but right now, I needed to know something else. Gathering her in my arms, I asked, “Tesoro, you said you were here for me. What do you mean?”
“You already know that I facilitated my own abduction. I was sold to my father and I was privy to everything he did for two years. He never considered me a threat because I was a female. That was his mistake. What I learned during my captivity was eye-opening, but to answer your question, Gio is that I am here to protect you and your family.
Narrowing my eyes, I looked at my beautiful woman and wondered what else was in her head.
Layla wasn’t known to give up information.
In fact, she kept everything close to the vest, rarely, if ever, talking about her past. I knew she loved me and her brother Dylan but did her loyalty also encompass Reaper?
If so, why?
What was it about Reaper that I was missing?
Layla’s past gave her a distinct advantage. Her intelligence served her well. Her beauty couldn’t be ignored. Yet, through everything she’d been through, she maintained some kind of innocence that drew people to her like bees to honey. There wasn’t a single person she met that didn’t want her.
Could that be it? Did she use her beauty to survive, her naive innocence to shield her against everything? If anyone could play the part, it would be her. She said many times that no one blinked an eye if Kitty was around. That no one paid attention to a little girl.
“GIO!” I heard Dwayne shout, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“What?”
“Are you listening to me?”
“No.”
“Fuck, I hate talking to you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Look, what do you want me to tell Reaper? What does the family want to do? Give me something, or I will decide for you.”
“And I will personally beat you senseless.”
“Then wake the fuck up and decide.”
That was the problem.
I was on the cusp of something big.
I knew it.
As sure as I knew the love I felt for Layla, I knew my woman knew more than she was letting on. Call it a gut feeling, but I knew I was right.
“I’ll call you when we land. I need to talk to Layla.”
“What the fuck for? She doesn’t know anything.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Dwayne. Tell Reaper I will call him later.” With that, I disconnected the call and looked at Layla, who was now leaning back in her chair, more beautiful than ever, smiling at me. “You ready to listen now?”
“You have my undivided attention, Tesoro.”