Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 170747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 683(@250wpm)___ 569(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 683(@250wpm)___ 569(@300wpm)
Anna rushes to Carlos who is groaning and bleeding all over the floor. He’s been shot in the thigh. She yanks her shirt over her head and ties it above the bullet wound. “You just had to push her,” she snaps, yanking the material tight. Breath hisses through Carlos' teeth as he tries to prop himself up against the wall.
“Fuck, that hurt.”
“You’re lucky it wasn’t your head.”
I call some of my men in to take Carlos to the doctor. They carry him from the room and then it’s just her and me again.
My eyes flick over her bra and the flat planes of her stomach. “Go back to New York, Anna. You agree to walk away, and I’ll let you go right now.” I’m practically begging her.
“I can’t.”
“Why? Why would you want to put yourself in this kind of danger?”
“We live dangerous lives, Rafael.”
I shake my head. “Not you. You were supposed to be safe.”
She glances at the bloodstain on the floor. “What did you think would happen? I’d go to New York and live a normal life?”
“I thought you’d be safe and happy."
“Did you hope I’d meet a nice guy and settle down? Forget all about you the way you forgot about me?”
A low growl slips past my lips and a surge of anger tears over my skin hot and fast. I step closer to her, and she moves back until the wall bumps her back. “Let’s get one thing clear, avecita. You are mine. And you will always be mine. No amount of time or distance can change that.”
“No. That changed the moment you chose your war over me.”
I slam my palm against the wall by her head, and she flinches slightly. “There was no choice!”
“You’re wrong,” she whispers. “You chose to give up on me when I wouldn’t give up on you.”
“I haven’t given up.”
She lifts her hand, pressing her fingers to my lips. The sadness in her eyes almost brings me to my knees. “Well, I had to.” She ducks under my arm and walks out without a backward glance.
I thought I was fighting for something important, but as I watch her walk away, I realize that I may have already lost the most important thing.
64
Rafael
I scrub my hand over my face, trying to force the weariness from my mind as I glance around the windowless bedroom I’ve been staying in here in the warehouse. These days, sleep is a luxury I’m rarely able to grasp a hold of, and last night was even worse. The urge to get up and walk down the hall to the room I know Anna is in was so strong, the idea of her being here but not in my bed enough to drive me mad. The clock is ticking. Una is coming back, and Dominges will be plotting revenge at this very moment.
The warehouse is in full swing already, and the girls packing eye me nervously as I pass them by. My phone rings, and I take it out of my pocket seeing Nero’s name flashing on the screen.
“Nero.”
“Do you have any idea what it’s like trying to leash a woman like that?”
I almost laugh. “I’m sorry, my friend.”
“You’ve got balls to stand in front of her and tell her you’re holding her sister.”
“Well, thanks for the help with that.” Amongst all the hustle and bustle of the warehouse, I spot Anna lingering just outside of the meager kitchen area, her back to me, waves of golden hair spilling down her back. She’s a rose amongst thorns.
“I’ve placated her for twenty-four hours. After that…”
“I know."
He lets out a groan. “I warn you, Rafael, I cannot control her. There’s very little she won’t do for Anna.”
I swipe a hand over my jaw in aggravation. Una is just one of my many problems right now. All I wanted was for her to take Anna, to keep her safe. “I gave them the chance. They wouldn’t go back to New York.”
“You do know this could be advantageous to you. You have one of the world’s best killers willing to take out the core of your enemy.”
“If it were just Una, I’d welcome it, but I can’t have Anna out there.” I watch as Anna moves around the kitchen, making a cup of coffee. A few of the mules linger nearby, but none approach her.
“She’s not the same girl who left Mexico, Rafael,” he says quietly. “She’s trained. She killed Alexandru Dalca.”
Curiosity claws at the edges of my mind and I wonder who this Alexandru was and what he did to her…The thought has my blood boiling. Still, I hate the idea of her losing the innocence that’s so inherent in her.
“She’s my weakness, and they know it. If Dominges finds her. Here. In Mexico…” I let that hang in the air. “Would you want Una running around, unchecked, with your enemies so close?”