“No, that’s not possible. He’s dead.” Not yet, baby girl, but you’re gonna wish I was.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m alive and kicking. Someone dropped you off on my porch. Any idea who that could have been?” I’m hoping she has some answers for me, but she’s looking around, confused, and hasn’t even noticed she’s naked, covered in blood, yet.
“I was with my grandfather. We were having dinner like every Sunday…” she trails off, finally noticing her state of dress.
“Oh my God. OH MY GOD!” She screams and tries to use the blanket to wipe off the blood, but it’s dried onto her skin like a sick, temporary tattoo.
“Sunday? But it’s early Wednesday.” I frown when I do the math.
“Where were you?” She doesn’t hear me, though.
“WHERE AM I? WHY AM I NAKED? WHOSE BLOOD IS THIS!” I go into the kitchen and fill a glass with water.
I offer it to her, and to my surprise, instead of drinking it, she splashes it on her exposed chest and then finally wipes away the message that I’ve mesmerized.
MARRY, BREED HER. YOU HAVE ONE YEAR.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.” She looks up at me with tears in her eyes, begging me for answers I wish I had.
Chapter Three
Rosario
“You don’t know where I am?” I shake my head, trying to fight the urge to sleep again.
My brain tries to make sense of his words, but the confusion gets worse the more I try to focus.
Why am I so tired?
I pull up my arm to cover my chest from his view, and the pain in my side grows. I reach for it, but he stops me with a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t touch it. I need to clean the wound and close it. The blood was yours. We’re in the Alps. I have no idea how you got here or who you are. So, how about you share your name with me while I clean you up and get you some clothes? Then we’ll figure out how to get out of here.” I frown as I sit up more and hiss at the way the wounds pull.
I push the blanket aside and gasp at the seeping blood from my side.
“Alps?” I couldn’t have heard that right.
I was in Cuba with abuelo. We were enjoying roast pork on his balcony, watching the sunset over the ocean. It was hot withthe late-day sun on my back, but the sea breeze was so cool on my skin it wasn’t uncomfortable.
A chill makes me shiver, and I can feel my jaw shudder from the cold that seems to be locked in my bones now.
“Baby girl, I really need to know who you are.” He crouches down to my level, forcing me to really look at him.
His hands adjust the blanket back over my shoulders and close it, hiding my body from his view, but my eyes are stuck on his firm jaw line. The more I stare at him, the clearer my vision becomes, as if the fog on my brain is finally lifting.
“You’re supposed to be dead.” His eyes meet mine, and his one eye rises as his lips move into a smirk.
“According to whom?”
Sugar and tea.
I bite my lip out of habit when I try to correct the fact that I know more than I should, but it’s never hurt badly. My lips are so chapped that I taste my own blood and gasp in shock. I bring my hand up to touch the ache, but his thumb beats me to it.
“Easy, now. I’m going to start the fire and clean your wound.” He stands after another long look at me, and I miss the warmth of his immediacy.
“Rosario,” I blurt my name out to his back.
“Last name?” He’s frozen with one hand on the handle of the door while his other hand balls into a fist.
