Page 36 of Cryptic Curse (Bellamy Brothers #7)

DANIELA

“A re you okay?” Hawk says into the phone.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I just want to tell you that I have some good news.”

“About the chocolates?”

I look down. “No. I threw those out. But we can figure out who sent them later. There’s something else.”

“Great, what is it? I could use some good news.”

“Vinnie just got home, and he was able to pull some strings at the courthouse. I’m getting a divorce tomorrow.”

“You mean an annulment?”

“Annulment, dissolution, divorce. I don’t even know. But Vinnie fixed it. We have to go to the courthouse, and it will be final upon our signatures.”

“Doesn’t that usually take a couple of months?” he asks.

“Honestly, I don’t know. But you know Vinnie. He’s got connections. “

“That is great news, honey. I’m happy for you.”

My heart soars from his use of a pet name. I like it. Honey . Honey is sweet, but it also takes a lot of hard work—from the bees themselves and the apiarists—to make and harvest.

“I’m happy for us, Hawk,” I say.

After we end the call, I can’t help thinking that I may be falling in love.

* * *

The hearing on our marriage takes place in the judge’s chambers.

Vinnie and I talk to the judge, a very nice lady named Judge Matthews.

“It looks like everything is in order,” Judge Matthews says, “although Daniela, you became a permanent resident in the United States because of your marriage to Vinnie. You do realize that by ending this marriage, your green card could be revoked.”

I drop my jaw.

“Bernadette,” Vinnie says, “isn’t there something you can do?”

“Is there any reason why it would be dangerous for you to return to Colombia?” Judge Matthews asks me.

I look at Vinnie. He nods at me slightly.

I bite my lip. “I was…sexually abused there. By my father’s friends. He was in organized crime.”

The judge scrunches her eyebrows. “Are you saying you were sexually trafficked?”

“I mean, yes, I guess.” I steady my face. “He forced me to do things that I didn’t want to do.”

Judge Matthews frowns. “Your father forced you.”

“Yes.”

“But your father’s deceased now?”

“Yes,” I say.

“But the men who abused her are not deceased,” Vinnie interjects. “Not all of them, anyway.”

Judge Matthews sighs. “Federal law states that if you were a victim of a severe form of trafficking, you may be allowed to stay in the United States. You need to have suffered past harm that was so severe it would be cause for ‘extreme hardship’ were you to return home. Did any of these men ever threaten your life, Daniela?”

“Yes,” I whisper, my throat closing at the painful memories.

“And can you identify them?” Judge Matthews asks, her eyes kind yet stern.

“Yes.” My voice is barely audible now. The faces of those men, always lurking in the shadows of my past, come rushing forth.

“Do you have their names?” Vinnie asks.

“I remember some but not all.” Nausea sweeps over me as I recall the leering faces, the hateful eyes. Each name is like a knife lodged deep in my body. Diego Vega, Declan McAllister, Derek Wolfe, Marco Ramirez, Dietrich Klein, among others.

And the very first.

Hernando Reyes.

“That’s enough for now, Daniela,” the judge says gently. “We won’t force you to recount everything today. It is clear you have suffered greatly.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

Vinnie reaches out and squeezes my hand beneath the table.

Judge Matthews turns her attention back to Vinnie, her eyes hardening once more. “I trust you understand the gravity of these allegations. If these men can be identified and are indeed residing in the United States, they need to be brought to justice.”

Vinnie nods, his jaw set in grim determination. “I understand, Bernadette. These men are still in Colombia as far as we know.”

“Very well,” she says with a nod. “We will proceed with the annulment, and Daniela will remain in the country under a temporary protective status pending further investigation. Daniela, I advise finding a counselor or therapist you trust to help you navigate your trauma. As for you, Vinnie, I suggest you work closely with the authorities on this case.”

“That’s more than fair,” Vinnie says, his voice gruff.

Judge Matthews stands. “I will issue the order for the annulment immediately.” Then she sweeps out of her chambers in a flurry of black robes.

Vinnie and I are left alone in the chambers. My legs feel weak as I slowly stand. The reality of everything that just occurred begins to sink in.

I’m free.

Free of my past.

Free of my marriage.

Free to be with Hawk, if he’ll have me.

“You okay?” Vinnie asks me gently.

“More than okay.” I kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you for being such a great husband.”

He laughs. “Some great husband. I’ve spent our entire marriage sleeping with another woman.”

I smile and punch him playfully on the shoulder. “You know what I mean. You saved me from a horrible future, and I’ll never forget that. Then you brought me here, gave me a life I only dreamed of. I have you, Raven, and I have Belinda, who I adore. Not to mention culinary school.”

And Hawk…but Vinnie doesn’t know about him yet.

He squeezes my shoulder. “Let’s get you home.”

“You know what?” I crane my neck to meet his gaze. “I think I’ll stay in town for a bit and do some shopping. I’ll catch an Uber home.”

“Okay.” He checks his watch. “I have to get to work anyway. No school today?”

“Nope. Classes resume next week.”

“Great. I’ll see you at home then.”

I nod and smile. We leave the chambers and walk together out of the courthouse, where Vinnie leaves me to find his car.

Once he’s gone, I pull out my phone. I couldn’t tell Vinnie this, but the real reason I wanted to take an Uber is because I want to go straight to Hawk’s place.

I couldn’t ask Vinnie to drive me there, and I can’t wait another second.

I’m no longer married.

And I want to make love with Hawk.

Real love. Not just his words spurring me to an orgasm.

I pull up the Uber app, and?—

“Daniela Agudelo?”

I turn back toward the courthouse. A clerk dressed in a navy suit and blue tie stands on the steps.

“Yes? Does Judge Matthews need something else?”

“No, ma’am. Somehow we missed you. A gift was dropped off for you at the courthouse earlier today.”

I walk forward. “A gift?”

“Yeah, it happens all the time. Usually for people getting married.”

“I didn’t get married,” I say. “I got an annulment.”

“That is odd.” He shrugs. “But not wholly unheard of. Sometimes people celebrate divorce, too.” He hands me a teddy bear.

My blood runs cold.

There’s a note attached. I unfasten it and turn it over.

You’re no longer married to him, and my heart is exploding with joy.

I gulp.

I look up to the clerk, but he has disappeared back into the courthouse.

I dart my gaze around, looking for the nearest trash can.

I walk toward it as I examine the teddy bear. It looks like the back has been ripped open and pinned back together.

That’s strange.

I unpin it.

And I drop my jaw.