Over the next week, Luisa gets stronger. She fights the doctor’s tests. Glares through consultations. Picks at her food like it’s laced with arsenic. But, she regains her strength.
She eats without arguing.
She sings to her cat by the window, her voice soft and comforting.
She organizes my messes with sharp little sighs and judgmental looks, but she does it.
She’s getting better.
Despite my aching need to shower her with kisses until she remembers everything, to hold her close and claim what’s mine, I don’t rush her.
Her memories are still a mess. Fragments, gaps, flickers of clarity mixed with confusion. Every day there’s more of her coming back.
More bite. More sass.
More of the Luisa, who glares at police shows and scoffs at ‘inaccuracies.’
Ten days after she wakes up—I wake up alone.
I bolt upright.
Panic rips through me before I spot Starling—her cat, named after some FBI agent in a movie—pacing outside the bathroom.
I move fast. Open the door.
Did she fall? Hit her head? Undo all her progress?
Is she bleeding out?
Or worse. Did one of my father’s men get to her even here?
My pulse pounds. My breath sharpens.
I need her where I can see her. Where I can protect her.
“Angelo, you’re supposed to ask before coming in.”
Luisa’s voice is soft, but there’s an edge to it.
I look at her through the glass door of the shower. She’s thinner than she was in Chicago, but still just as beautiful. Her full breasts, her thick curvy body, those gorgeous dark eyes, heralmostsmile.
“Are you just going to stare?” She chuckles.
“I was worried,” I say, clearing my throat. “I’ll respect your privacy-”
“You didn’t after our second round,” she interrupts. “During…you know.”
Her voice drops, switching to Spanish. I know it’s easier for her right now.
“When you were under house arrest. When you fucked me. You got in the shower with me, Angelo.”
My fingers twitch. My chest tightens.
“Are you inviting me, Luisa?” I take a slow step forward.
Her lips curve, teasing. “I’m daring you.”
She tilts her chin up, eyes burning into mine. “Daring you to take what you want.”
