A True Queen

Paring: OC/James, Teresa/Guero

Summary: it isn't Teresa's future self that guides her; it's Concetta. A woman who's seen and endured some twisted shit. Concetta is the definition of a survivor and she'll protect Teresa with her life.

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EJERCICIO DIEZ

Esta cosa nuestra

Concetta was not too happy about having to make the days long walk through the narrow tunnel. However, she didn't voice her complaints. It was what they had to do and she knew there was no other option. Shaking her head, she muttered a few curses and wiped the dust off her face. It was a little hard to breath after being down here for so long. Though she supposed it was better than being smuggled over the boarder in those damn trucks.

She looked up when the kid fell over.

Teresa moved quickly to help the kid, "Here" Teresa offered him a small smile

"Don't touch him!" The maid snapped harshly

"Right" Teresa backed off sheepishly, "Sorry"

Concetta scoffed under her breath at the clear display of remorse and guilt from Teresa. Teresa had saved that woman's life - no matter how pissed the woman is, that was a fact. Concetta failed to understand what Teresa was feeling guilty over but she was too annoyed to question it.

Not right now anyway.

As they finally approached a ladder leading to above ground, Concetta let out a silent breath of relief. She might be a physically fit person but there was only so much her body could handle at once. It seemed that over the past month she had been physically pushed to her limits.

Like some cruel test...

"Give me that" Teresa said as she took the bag from the maid. Letting the woman climb the ladder first.

Concetta followed last and climbed the ladder, emerging to find the Teresa and a man on the other side. The maid and her son went to hug the men. Teresa had let the woman call family to meet them here. Concetta stretched and cracked her muscles. She turned back to Teresa in time to hear the click of a gun as the three men surrounded them.

"Angel, get behind me. Maria, you too" the older man said as he trained a gun on Concetta.

Concetta glared in response.

"What are you doing?" Maria, the maid, asked quickly. "They aren't going to cause any problems. We can leave"

Teresa nodded, "I told her to call you. I'm trying to save her, okay?"

"Please" Maria pleaded with the men, "Please, okay, we can leave now. Vamanos Manny"

Concetta barely even heard the man come up behind her with a cloth and some sort of chemical on it. Not until it was being held over her face. Concetta struggled and set an elbow into his face and her foot to his knee. The man grunted in pain and she might have gotten away if it weren't the chemicals she inhaled. Concetta felt lightheaded and her eyes fluttered as she tried to continue struggling.

Everything went fuzzy though...

Faintly she thought she saw Teresa limp in another man's arms. She didn't have long to think about it as her world black.

James didn't know what to think right now.

He was supposed to be finding the maid and killing her but he knew the woman was with Teresa and Valentina. James sighed, there was no way he could go back to Camila and admit to loosing all three of them. He was glad for some time to track them down. All he could hope was that he could find them in time.

Valentina had seemed reluctant on the phone.

James wasn't sure what to make of that phone call. He hadn't really expected her to answer despite the fact he continued to call.

But Valentina had answered.

She'd admitted what he already knew - that this wasn't a smart move but she was making it in order to cover Teresa's ass. James had already assumed that though. Valentina had been genuine when in not knowing back at the warehouse. Valentina had been just as annoyed as him when she realised the stunt Teresa was pulling. It wasn't until after Valentina knew the danger Teresa was in, that she had run off on him.

James both hated and admired the loyalty.

Valentina had gone to fix the mess that Teresa had unnecessarily created.

He didn't know what to make of that fact yet. Especially not after Valentina had admitted as much to him. James was surprised at the honesty Valentina had given.

James couldn't cover for long.

Valentina had said she would call again, had promised. James could only hope that it meant she was planning on returning. He really did not want to have to go back and tell Camila that they had gotten away with the maid. James had been given the responsibility to watch both women and he had failed. He had overestimated Teresa's understanding of how this all works and underestimated Valentina's loyalty to Teresa.

He made a mistake.

James shook his head as he pulled up to the location of the lo-jack on Teresa's car. He knew it would likely be a dead-end but he hoped it could inspire another lead. James looked around in the dark and wandered into the junk yard, looking for anyone who might work here.

He followed the sound of music.

A man looked up from working on a car when James approached. "Can I help you?" the guy asked

"Yeah, you've got my car here" James sighed

The guy shrugged and turned back to the car dismissively. "You pay the fine downtown, and we release your car. Even the chickens under the porch understand that"

Thinking on his feet, James nodded, "Yeah. Well, someone's going to take care of it. Where did it get towed from?"

The guy gave him a look, "Well, if that's your car, don't you know?"

"It was stolen before you towed it" James said with a shrug as he kept from snapping at the guy. "I followed the lo-jack here"

The guy stood up and stared at him for a second - clearly trying to tell if James was being honest. Though James was more than capable of telling a believable lie. His life had depended on his ability to bluff on more than one occasion before. This wasn't going to be any different. James just stared at the guy in return and kept his composure of casualness.

"Ken. Where'd you pick up that red four-door?" The guy asked over his radio.

"Parked in a handicap zone" the radio crackled with Ken's reply. "Church on Roe Street"

James scoffed, "You tow cars from Churches?"

The guy shrugged, "The Lord helps those who help themselves"

"Nice" James muttered sarcastically as he headed back to his car again. That hadn't really given him anything to go on. He had followed the lo-jack to the car when it stopped at the Church earlier with Valentina.

It had been when she slipped away...

James sighed and pulled out his phone, he hit dial on Valentina's number again. He groaned and when it went straight to voicemail. He shook his head and headed for the Church, hoping he could find the reason Teresa had gone there in the beginning.

James pulled up outside the Church and sent Valentina a message to call him back.

He really hoped she would.

James walked into the Church and found a Priest who he quickly approached. The Priest gave him a helpful smile, "Can I help you?"

"I hope so" James nodded, "I'm looking for a woman who came in here yesterday. Brunette, late 20's, half as big as a minute"

The Priest smiled slightly, "You just described half of our parishioners"

James sighed, "Were you here?"

"No, I wasn't" The Priest said easily, "If it was yesterday then you probably want to talk to Father Ramon"

"Okay. Is he here?" James asked

"No he's not. He's up north until Wednesday" The Priest offered helpfully, "If it's an emergency I can have him call you?"

"Ah, well, an emergency is exactly what I'm trying to avoid" James sighed as he pulled out a pen and paper from his jacket pocked. He wrote down his number and handed it to the Priest. "I'll leave my number though. Thanks for the help"

He sighed as he walked back outside the Church with another dead end...

James stood in front of the handicap parking spot and tried texting Teresa this time. Though he had even less hope of Teresa answering him than Valentina. James couldn't help but wonder where they were right now and what they were doing. Whatever it was, Valentina sounded positive that it was dangerous.

James found himself wondering if they'd gotten themselves killed already?

Maybe they were in danger?

He sighed and glared across the street at the gas station. James shook his head in annoyance, until his eyes landed on a security camera. He smirked in relief and quickly crossed the street. James jogged into the gas station and was happy to see a young looking kid behind the counter. He approached the kid, "My car was stolen from across the street yesterday. I need to see your footage"

The kid gave an apologetic shrug, "I can't really show you that... it's against policy"

James raised an eyebrow, "Not even for 100 bucks?"

"...I guess, it wouldn't hurt, right?" the kid slyly nodded. Beckoning James around the counter and leading him towards the back room.

James followed and watched impatiently as the teen loaded up the security footage. He handed over the cash and sighed as he took control. Skipping to the time he had seen the low-jack track to the Church. James watched the car pull up with Teresa, a woman and a kid getting out with bags in hand and rushing into the Church.

He took pictures with his phone.

Another car pulled up beside Teresa with a woman driving. The three got into the second car.

James took pictures of those plates.

He skipped forward on the footage until he remembered pulling up at the Church only seconds after Teresa had left. He shook his head when he realised he had missed the car being towed. James narrowed his eyes at his own car. Watching when Valentina searched for him before getting out of the car. James was surprised to see Valentina hesitate as she looked back in the direction he had gone. She didn't hesitate for long before running down the street.

"Goddamn..." James sighed

When Concetta regained consciousness she immediately realised she was tied to a chair somewhere. Her hands were uncomfortably bound behind her back. Her neck was cramped and the sun was shining brightly in her eyes. There was also an incessant sound of chickens that was already pissing her off!

She was not happy!

No, in fact, Concetta was down right murderous at the moment.

Concetta sighed and blinked her eyes opened, she looked around the small house she was in. Beside her was Teresa who was still unconscious. The maids kid was sitting across the table drawing. The two men who had held them at gunpoint were talking in the doorway. Clearly not having noticed she was awake yet as they argued.

They looked at her then.

"She's awake!" one of them yelled

An older man walked into the room and moved to stare down at her as he leaned on the table. An intimidating sight... for someone who wasn't Concetta. Though she figured that this family would be easier to manipulate if they thought she was a weaker woman.

Concetta sighed helplessly, "I don't work for anyone" she earnestly told him, playing the part she knew would work best in her favour.

The man glared, "Who is after my daughter?"

"They're after me as well... I can't" Concetta said quietly and peered up at the man and the maids son. She let her lip wobble a little before she fixed her eyes on the floor again. If she was going to play the part properly then she couldn't make it too easy.

They had to think they were running the show.

The man hit his hand on the table loudly and while it wasn't enough to really startle her, she gave a small jump anyway. "¿Para quién trabajas?" the man demanded harshly

Concetta's lip wobbled again but she said nothing.

The man leaned forward threateningly. Concetta could see the hope in his eyes at the thought that he was going to pull the information from her soon. Concetta took the chance to inspected the man. She realised easily how desperate he was to protect his daughter. He wanted to know if something was coming - he wanted to be prepared.

His emotions were showing.

As cruel as the thought was, it made him weak, to be read so easily.

Concetta knew his buttons now without really having to know the man. It was alright to care for people, Concetta knew that, but it was dangerous. It was even more dangerous to show people that you care as much as this man does. Because loyalty is one thing - but desperation is another.

It's manipulatable.

Especially for a person like Concetta. She has survived her whole life getting out of situations like these... and ones worse than this.

"Debería conseguir una motosierra... ese es el suero de la verdad del narco. ¿No es cierto?" he spat angrily

Concetta shrank back slightly, not enough to make be too obvious. Only enough for him to think he was getting to her again. Concetta needed to display fear and weakness to this man. She needed him to see her as someone not capable of working with the cartel.

"Camila Vargas" Concetta said quietly

He straightened with a stony face as he recognise the name of the famous cartel leader in Mexico. He stared at her with fear shining in his eyes despite his hardened face. "The Vargas cartel?" he echoed

"Yeah" Concetta nodded, "But they don't know we saved her, they don't know we brought them to Mexico" she added

"She's telling the truth" Maria, the maid, suddenly spoke up from the doorway. The woman looked like she had been through hell and wasn't taking it well at all. "Let them go" Maria pleaded with tears in her eyes and shook her head at her father. "You're wrong about them, they aren't what you think"

"I was taken from Mexico" Concetta nodded and spoke softly in the quiet room. "We both were taken when we accidently stumbled onto a drug mule location. We were taken to Dallas and forced to work with the cartel... we've been waiting to get away, planning. We were supposed to run but then everything at that hotel went wrong. Your daughter wasn't supposed to be involved in any of it. We protected your daughters identity from the cartel but they were still trying to track her down anyway. So Teresa went and got her so we could run. I made sure the Cartel couldn't follow us"

The man's eyes softened ever so slightly as the story she was telling him.

It was close enough to the truth anyway.

Concetta knew it was more likely to work in her favour than coming off across as someone who didn't particularly care about what she had done. Cause Concetta didn't care. It had been their survival over his daughters and she had chosen herself and Teresa.

Just as she's doing now.

Teresa was the one who had saved this man's daughter. Concetta was still mad about that. It was the reason they were here and being held hostage at the moment.

But she wasn't about to admit to that...

He sighed and walked out of the room. His sons and Maria following him out there for a family discussion.

Concetta kept up the act as Teresa started to wake up. Teresa frowned and looked around at their surroundings. Teresa's eyes landing on Maria's son who was still watching them from across the table. Teresa groaned in pain, "Where are we?"

"I don't know" Concetta sighed

"THESE PEOPLE ARE SAVAGES!" someone yelled from outside

Concetta guessed that the family discussion on her and Teresa's fate wasn't as going as smoothly as she had hoped it would.

The boy sighed, "I don't believe that about you two" he whispered hesitantly. "I want to untie you but I love my mom"

Teresa's eyes softened, "I know. I understand"

They only had to wait a few more minutes before they were re-joined by the family keeping them captive. Concetta searched their faces and sighed at what she saw. Maria looked sick, the father looked at her with pity, as did one of Maria's brothers.

Though it was the older brother who set them both with a determined look. "Get up" he said trying to look like he wasn't affected about what he had decided to do.

"I'm not doing this!" Maria yelled and grabbed a knife before rushing over and cutting the rope binding both their hands.

Concetta didn't move as she and Teresa's hands were freed. She knew that while they were all tense, that running would never get her too far. It would anger them and if she didn't get away then she would have signed their death certificates for the hasty move.

Though the thought was all too tempting...

"Can we use the bathroom?" Teresa asked quietly, "The chemical - it isn't making me feel too well"

Concetta nodded at that though it wasn't all that untruthful.

Maria sighed and nodded, "Luis" she called to her younger brother and nodded for him to escort them. "I'm going to deal with my brother" Maria muttered to them as they passed.

Concetta and Teresa followed Luis as he led them to a bathroom.

"It's right here" Luis sighed, "Don't be too long"

Teresa nodded, "Thanks"

Concetta walked into the bathroom behind Teresa and immediately slid the lock on the door. She turned the tap on and started running the water. Her eyes went straight to the window.

It was their only chance.

It would give them a head start. If they were quiet enough then they could get away before anyone realised they were gone.

Teresa nodded and moved to start prying open the window. Concetta helped her as they struggled to get it open from the inside. It was likely the window hadn't ever been opened with the way it seemed to be rusted shut. Concetta sucked in a breath when Maria's son appeared on the outside of the window. However, she let out a breath when the boy quickly helped them open it.

"Go!" Concetta practically pushed Teresa out the small window

Concetta wasn't far behind Teresa as they climbed outside and looked around for somewhere to go. The boy honestly surprised Concetta by handing their phones over to them. She offered him a rare smile before taking them. Concetta shoved the phones in her pocket as she took Teresa's hand and they started running.

She wouldn't leave Teresa behind...

Concetta kept low as they spotted an orange truck up ahead. She nodded to Teresa and they quietly ran to open the door, peering into the truck and sighing when there was no key. Of course, they could hotwire the truck, but it would take too much time and make too much noise.

"Cett!" Teresa whispered

Concetta looked in the direction Teresa was pointing. She spotted another car that was parked further away from the house. She nodded and they made a run for the car as quickly as possible. Concetta could have cried in relief when the keys were sitting on the seat. She lunged for the front door and flew into the drivers seat. Quickly scrambling to star the engine.

"Stop!" someone yelled

Concetta almost laughed at them calling for her to stop. They had been holding her hostage and debating whether or not to kill her 5 minutes ago. Concetta wasn't sure why anyone had bothered attempting to call for them to stop. Instead of dwelling on it though, she stepped on the gas and sped out of the farm driveway and onto the streets.

"We need to ditch this car as soon as we spot another one unoccupied" Concetta muttered

Teresa nodded, "What if it doesn't have a key?"

"Then we hotwire it" Concetta sighed slightly as she drove quickly. "Its great to be home..." she snarked

Concetta pulled up at a gas station and quickly walked over to an unoccupied car across the lot. She heard the sound of Teresa jogging behind her as they both jumped into the car they were going to steal. Concetta pried off the dashboard and sighed at the wires that it exposed. She fiddled with them and easily disconnected and then re-connected them.

The car started up.

She smirked over at Teresa who released a breath of relief.

Concetta spotted the cop car pulling into the station in her rear view. Smiling a little as officers approached the car they had taken from Maria's family. They had been really lucky...

That was too close.

"We have to get the book" Concetta announced as she glanced at Teresa and started driving them in that direction. This was their only option if they wanted to end all of this. Concetta knew they wouldn't survive in America if they have Camila hunting then. They certainly couldn't stay in Mexico with Epifanio trying to kill them.

Maybe they could trade the book for their lives with Camila instead?

Concetta resisted the urge to furrow her brow as she thought over their options. It would be perfect timing with all of Camila's issues right now. The book would allow Camila to crush Epifanio or Batman's Cartel. Camila could take back the control over the cocaine market in both Mexico and America.

That sounded like their best option.

Freedom in exchange for Cartel secrets...

They pulled up at the little junk yard they had first been caught at all those weeks ago. Concetta jumped from the car and ran into the building, giving Teresa a look to stay put as she went. Thankfully that guy didn't seem to be here at the moment - or at least not from what she could see.

Concetta ran into the bathroom.

She climbed up onto the toilet and searched the gap between the wall and the roof. Her heart hammered in her chest when she realised the book was gone. She kept searching though - hoping she had just gotten the wrong stall.

"What..." Concetta trailed off in confusion

It couldn't be gone!

This was their leverage and without it then both she and Teresa were as good as dead. Concetta couldn't let that happen. She had to find the damn book because she couldn't go back to Camila without it. Not even she was that good at bluffing.

When she heard a noise from outside, Concetta quickly grabbed a wrench and hid behind the second stall wall.

She would be ready for a fight this time.

Whoever it was walked into the bathroom and hovered in the doorway before shutting the door. Concetta knew they hadn't left though, and she stood in silence ready for anything. Concetta was a good fighter - there was no doubt in her mind about that. One man, even a strong one, wouldn't take her down easily.

"I know who you are" the man muttered from the doorway of the bathroom. "My brother took care of you the night you and your friend came here. Camila's men took you away"

Concetta stepped out of the stall and looked at the man with a blank face. He didn't seem to be happy she was here. He didn't look like he was in a hurry to call Camila either.

"The next day...more men came" he said and looked at her knowingly. "Epifanio's men. Dangerous men. Asking questions, looking for you two"

Concetta nodded, "They found it?" she said not bothering to pretend they both weren't aware of what she had hidden here.

He shook his head, "A week ago there was a pipe that burst and I found this-" he produced the book from his jacket.

Concetta restrained herself for lunging for it but she did take a few steps closer to him.

"If the cartel needs it... esta libro" the man said warily, "Better if no one knows that I found it. Right? Cause someone knew it was here, and that someone is you... whatever trouble you think you're in, the things in this book, will only make it worse" he vowed

Concetta disagreed.

She happened to be in a particular position where that information could save her life. If she sold it to Camila and Camila crushes Epifanio then there wouldn't be anyone coming after her and Teresa... or at least no Cartel coming after her.

They would be able to move on.

Not in Mexico, and likely not in America, but they would be able to go somewhere else and start new. The thought made her wonder if she should have left sooner to keep free of her previous enemies. Though she didn't allow the thought much time knowing nobody could change the past no matter how much they dwell on it.

"You must take it away from here" the man said

That was all the prompt Concetta needed to take the book and secure it in her jacket. She nodded respectfully to the man and fled back to the car that Teresa was anxiously waiting for her in. "We need to go" she muttered jumping in the passenger seat.

Teresa drove away.

James was listening to the stupid rock song to fill the silence. He pulled up outside the address for the plate he had his cop contact search for him. He was hoping whoever had driven Teresa would be able to tell him where she was now. Thankfully Camila was in Mexico with Epifanio again. James knew he only had a few more hours to find them or he would have to tell Camila.

He wasn't looking forward to telling Camila...

James cast a sceptical glance at the hotel room and pulled out a glock. He walked over and knocked on the door. When the door opened he quickly forced it open the rest of the way and pushed into the hotel room without much effort.

"Wow! What are you going, man?!" the guy yelled

James looked at the guy and noticed his face was pretty banged up. "You Ricardo Puentes?" James asked

"Yes" the guy nodded

"You own a '92 gold Nissan?" James asked

Ricardo nodded, "Who are you man? What does my car have to do with anything"

James knew it was unnecessary but he needed to get some of his frustrations out. So he kicked the guy in the balls and punched him in the face. James shut the hotel door behind him as Ricardo lay on the floor in pain. He didn't feel bad about it though, he'd had a bad day and this made it that tiny bit better.

Another guy came out of the bathroom to see what the noise was about. The guy paused in surprise as he took in the scene. James only had to throw one punch before the guy was on his ass. James sighed in disappointment, he wouldn't have opposed a little bit of a fight. Though he knew it meant that if he wanted answers from them, it wouldn't be hard to get them.

That was good at least.

"Alright gentlemen. I'm in a mood today" James announced. He pulled off him sunglasses and stepped back to watch both men recover from their pain. "So let's get this over with. Where is the woman who's driving your car?"

Neither did more than groan in pain.

James sighed and pulled his gun, aiming at them with a blank look on his face. He didn't really care if he had to shoot them at this point. James just wanted to find the maid, Valentina and Teresa.

"Brenda?" Ricardo yelled, "Shit! Man, if she owes you money, it's not on us!"

"Where is she?" James questioned

"I don't know, man!" Ricardo insisted, "She took my car hours ago! I haven't heard from her since!"

James unfortunately believed them. They both looked more likely to piss themselves than lie to him. He sighed but paused when he heard his phone ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out, ready to hit deny, but paused when Valentina's name flashed across his screen.

He was relieved as he answered the phone.

James furrowed his brow at the odd emotions - he had been worried, he realised. However, his worry hadn't entirely been because of Camila and his own interests... it had partially been about Teresa dragging Valentina into danger and Valentina getting killed to save Teresa. James wasn't sure where that had begun but he firmly pushed it to the back of his mind.

What the hell was wrong with him today?

James answered the phone, "Valentina!" he snapped instantly

"I'm not in the mood, James, so just shut up and listen" Valentina snapped right back at him. "We're coming back"

James almost sighed in relief but his pride wouldn't let him. Especially not after he just realised that he might have been worried about her safety. "Good. I haven't told Camila yet, so, the sooner you get back here... the sooner we can fix this"

"I know that" Valentina snapped again before she sighed, "Look I've had a really bad 24 hours. I've been kidnapped twice, shot at, drugged, almost arrested and I am not in the mood"

James let his lips quirk up in amusement, "Sound's like your day's gone just about as well as mine has" he said but didn't raise his voice at her again.

"Listen, are you serious about not having to tell Camila? We're coming back anyway but if I can lessen the blowback from today then I'll take what I can get" Valentina said as she too regained her composure

"I don't have to tell Camila about this" James agreed, "But I need the maid that Teresa took"

"She's dead" Valentina said

James frowned, "How?" he asked sceptically. He knew Valentina wouldn't have cared about the maid but he found it hard to believe Teresa had just let Valentina kill the woman. Especially not when they were taking the maids son with them wherever the hell they went.

"I killed her" Valentina said casually, "Teresa is mad about it still. I shot the Maid in the head when she tried to run. Teresa and Maria had dropped some kid off at a relatives house already. As far as the kids concerned - his mothers on the run."

James didn't know whether she was telling him the truth or not - he never did when it came to Valentina. He never could get a good read on the evasive woman.

Not yet at least.

He decided to believe her though, especially if she was coming back here. "Where are you?" James demanded not letting onto what he was thinking as he spoke.

"About an hour away from the boarder" Valentina said just as emotionlessly. "Just got back from Mexico"

James shook his head in annoyance and glanced at the two guys sitting with his gun pointed at them. He shook his head and against his better judgment, walked out the door back to his car. He didn't know about this Brenda woman but he figured he could always come back if he needed to. Though he figured letting Valentina and Teresa know he knew about Brenda wouldn't be too bad an idea.

"Meet me outside Brenda's hotel room" James said

Valentina didn't miss a beat but James heard the small chuckle from her end of the phone as she answered. "Okay. Be there in 30" Valentina agreed before hanging up.

James smirked and shook his head in exasperation.

After all the running around he had done for the past 24 hours he could barely believed that this was how it was ending. Valentina was just going to come back with Teresa and pretend nothing happened when Camila asks!

He laughed.

James waited in his car for them to arrive. He kept an eyes on the clock as 30 minutes ticked down. Sure, enough, 30 minutes later the car he had been tracking to Ricardo pulled up beside his own. Valentina got out and jumped in the passenger side of his car while flashing a smirk his way. Teresa looked angry as she got into the backseat.

James shook his head again in disbelief.

"You two..." he said angrily, "You can never do this again. Do you understand me?" he met Teresa's eyes in the rear-view mirror

Teresa sighed but nodded, "Got it. Why didn't you tell Camila?"

James clenched his jaw in annoyance, "You just don't get it do you?" he scoffed

Teresa glared at him, "I'm not going to become like you"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that" James huffed before pulling the car out of the hotel parking lot and headed back to Camila's club. He knew Camila would be getting back into the states around this time. He was gonna have to update Camila on the maid being taken care of. Though James decided he wasn't gong to mention the fact that he had lost them.

It was better this way.

.

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