There was something alluring in those eyes and the way his mouth twitched. Even just a few minutes into our first genuine meeting, I could tell he was the more level-headed of the Cain duo, making it easy to forget that Kai’s hands were just as thick with blood as his brother’s. But behind his statement lived an implicit warning.
And I liked it.
“You and your brother are loyal men.” I began my stride toward the car. “Or stupid.”
He scoffed behind me but said nothing.
“SeñoritaAmalia.” Felipe held the door as I approached. “I’ve gotten word that a produce truck has overturned about three miles from our exit, blocking the freeway. I’ve got a detour and informed the others if that’s okay.”
“Of course.” He nodded, though his eyes were fixed behind me. “Felipe, this is Mr. Cain.”
“Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
Kai brushed my shoulder as he held out a hand to Felipe, and I couldn’t decide if the gesture was intentional. But it made me pause all the same. I wasn’t used to others invading my space or acts of disrespect…at least not by those who wished to keep all their limbs intact. Kai’s eyes found mine when he addressed my driver, as if feeling my gaze.
“Pleasure is mine.”
Maybe he hadn’t meant for the words to roll off his tongue the way they had, but I found myself swallowing hard at the sound. I snapped my head forward and inhaled a long breath. Feeling flustered. Not even five minutes, and this man already had me slightly…confused.
I slid into the car without another word, just as fat raindrops pelted the vehicle’s roof. Kai slipped in behind me, and I avoided him.
“Thank you for the car seat,” Evangelina said, caressing her daughter’s cheek. The baby had fallen asleep again.
“Of course.” My cousin’s daughter was just a few months older—which reminded me. “Derek, my cousin Sofía sends her regards.”
He remained still as a statue, unfazed, though I was sure he remembered how he’d choked her out on the rooftop of that hotel in Manhattan when he’d come groveling for my help just over four years ago. Or perhaps he didn’t. The man seemed to only have eyes for one woman, and I supposed that was commendable. Apart from my father, I didn’t personallyknow of any man who remained faithful. While my mother was cherished, even then, I wouldn’t vouch for him.
“Sofia?” Eva questioned, turning to her husband. He leaned in and whispered into her ear. She nodded, seemingly complacent with whatever he’d explained.
“You always travel this heavy?”
Kai looked out the car window as the other vehicles pulled out in front of and behind us.
“Do my girls make you uncomfortable, Cain? Emasculated?” The taunt fled my lips before I could stop it.
“Not in the slightest,” he replied with a scoff, taking my retort in stride. The difference between the Cain brothers was glaring. Derek was a man of few words for those to whom he had no emotional ties. And Kai…
Well, I found myself taking in the sight of the man beside me again, his knee now grazing my thigh as he relaxed and did that spreading thing most men do. His long legs stretched, nearly reaching across the way. He was easily 6’4” or 6’ 5”.
Maybe I’d been distracted or lost in thought because his eyes were on me when I came back, saying something I couldn’t process fast enough. “I’m sorry, what?”
“The cars ahead of us are stopping.”
I peered through the windshield, and in that instant, the thunderous boom of an explosion stole my response and then rattled us with its aftershock. Reality seemed to slow. Derek and Kai lunged protectively toward Evangelina and the baby, and I gripped the seat, my heart staggering in my chest as another explosion shook us, only this time shattering the windows and catapulting us across the median. That was when I realized it wasn’t just an explosion. Something had rammed us, sending the car into a series of rolls.
Glass and debris pierced my skin as the world seemed to collapse around us. Maybe I blacked out for a second, becausethe next thing I remembered was opening my eyes to a smoky cabin and the shrill ringing in my ears drowning out the chaos I knew was unfolding.
“Eva! Are you okay?” Derek’s voice was the first to register, followed by the sharp cries of his daughter.
“I’m fine. Get Vali!”
I pulled a blade from my pocket and cut myself free of the seatbelt, hitting the roof of the upturned cabin with a painful thud. Shards of glass dug into my hands and knees as I crawled forward toward a broken window.
“Shit!” I cried out when I sliced my forearm with a piece of shrapnel.
“Amalia, you’re bleeding. Are you okay?”
Kai pulled my hands into his, examining the wounds there. “What happened?”
