Maria flinched and seemed to shrink into herself, as if somehow, Ketu making the accusation actually had an effect on her. And then she straightened again and looked him in the eye. “He forced me to.”
“Bullshit.” Ketu practically spat the word. “He had no control over you once Antoinette took over. You chose to make contact with him.”
Tears flooded Maria’s eyes, and she trembled like a leaf as she wrapped her arms around herself. “You don’t understand. He controlled everything I did for my entire adult life. You remember what a loser I was in high school.”
“You weren’t a loser,” Ketu said.
“I was,” Maria insisted. “And Darius changed all that. He made me beautiful, gave me confidence.”
“I’m not so sure about the confidence part,” Griffin noted.
“And what did you have to do in return?” Sofia asked. She could hardly believe it, but she actually felt sorry for this woman. Darius had controlled her life, too. She understood how hard it was to go against his expectations. Hell, he’d kidnapped Sofia’s daughter and she still had been afraid to admit the truth to the people who would be able to help get her back.
Maria shifted her gaze to stare at the wall. “Whatever he wanted,” she finally admitted.
“You’re in love with him,” Sofia guessed. “Or at least, you think you are.”
“I am,” Maria snapped. “And he loves me too.”
Sofia shook her head. “I’m pretty sure Darius isn’t capable of loving anyone, Maria. He doesn’t even love himself. All of his actions are a result of his childhood and his belief that his own mother didn’t want him, so therefore, he isn’t good enough for anyone. At least, not unless he manipulates the situation for his own purposes.”
“That’s not true,” Maria insisted.
“When I was six years old, he deliberately told me who my father was and then threatened me if I ever did anything about it or told anyone. If he hadn’t said anything, I never would have known. But he wanted me to know. That way, he could control me. Just like he’s been controlling you, Maria.”
Maria shook her head. “You don’t understand.”
“Oh, I think I do,” Sofia said.
“I saw him hit you,” Ketu interrupted. “That’s not love. That’s abuse.”
“He’s been emotionally abusing you too,” Sofia said. “Just like he’s been doing to me. I’ve been afraid of him for my nearly entire life too. I was so afraid of what he’d do to my mother and child that I signed a contract that forced me to never have contact with my own father. I’ve lived in fear every day for as long as I can remember.”
Maria sniffled. “He…he made me beautiful.”
“What’s the point of being beautiful if you aren’t happy?” Sofia asked gently.
Maria swiped at a tear trailing its way down her cheek. “You know what I hate?”
Sofia shook her head.
“High heels. I fucking hate wearing them.”
Sofia glanced down at the strappy stilettos on Maria’s feet.
“And dresses,” Maria added, brushing away more tears. “If I could, I would live in yoga pants and flip-flops.”
“You can,” Ketu said. “It’s your life, your choice. No one should dictate how you dress.”
Maria reached down and grabbed one of her shoes, tugging at the straps like a possessed woman. Griffin lifted his hand and made a motion, and the shoe came off her foot of its own accord.
“Thank you,” Maria said. “Can you do the other too?”
Griffin complied and Maria stepped out of the heels and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “I don’t think I’ve had an independent thought for a decade at least.”
“Okay, well, we can work on that later,” Sofia said. “But first, why don’t you tell us where Darius is keeping Penelope?”
“Oh, right.” Maria rubbed each calf in turn. “Well, once you got ahold of Antoinette’s laptop, I was supposed to take it to the antiques store where Delilah used to peddle her drugs.”
“Good. That’s much closer than Hammond,” Ketu said. “Let’s go.” He turned and sprinted down the hall to the stairs.
“Can I change first?” Maria asked.
Sofia snagged her sneakers and a pair of her own flip-flops. She thrust the thongs at Maria’s chest. “No. We’ve already wasted too much time. You can wear my shoes.” She started to turn away, thought better of showing her back to someone who had been double-crossing the colony for as long as Maria had, and waited impatiently for the woman to slip the shoes onto her feet.
“You first,” Sofia said, waving at the hall.
Maria sighed and headed toward the staircase.
***
The antiques shop was on Royal Street, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter. As it was mid-morning on a nice, fall day, the streets were crowded with pedestrians wandering about, shopping, dining, oblivious to the fact that a group of supernatural beings were about to throw down in one of the boarded up shops.
“Ah, I miss this place,” Delilah said when they crouched behind a dumpster three doors down from the antiques shop.
“You were dealing Darius’s drugs?” Sofia asked. “How did I miss this?”
Delilah shrugged. “Hey, it was good money. But I’m with the good guys now. Unlike some of us.” She gave Maria the side-eye and frowned. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize you were a spy.”
“Since Darius went into hiding nine months ago, you and Trennon have done nothing but terrorize all the bars in town, so it doesn’t surprise me at all,” Antoinette said.
“Yeah, that’s fair,” Delilah responded good-naturedly. “Say, answer me this: how come he didn’t ask you to steal Antoinette’s laptop?” She gave Maria an imploring look.
Maria shook her head. “Antoinette doesn’t trust me. I’m forbidden from going anywhere near her bedroom or office. I actually suggested Darius get Sofia to steal it since it was so obvious
