Enrique rolled his shoulders as if shaking off his jealousy.“If the man were any good at his job, he would’ve stopped me.At least noticed me.I found him inspecting a camera and grumbling about the feed going down.What if I were one of your father’s enemies?You could be dead.Raped.Beaten.Sold into slavery.Held for ransom.That so-called guard deserves whatever the jefe decides.”
She flinched, her protest dying before it reached her tongue.God only knew how long Enrique had been spying on her.Yago and the others had failed at their only task with flying colors, yet they weren’t the only ones at fault.She’d followed along with dozens of self-defense videos in her living room, drilling each move until her muscles ached.Anything to make sure she’d never again fall prey to a man’s fists.Enrique hadn’t hit her, but he sure as hell violated her.
So much for training.When it mattered, she’d frozen.
Lourdes fisted her cotton bottoms and ran her socked feet along the floor mat.Kidnapped in pajamas.Just her luck.She shook her head, pangs shooting through her skull.Ow.Bad idea.No sudden movements.Breathing through her queasiness, she leaned back and closed her eyes.Exhaustion tunneled under her skin like a river of slime.
Once her twisting stomach settled, she rubbed the last twinge of pain from her temples and massaged her stiff neck.The bright sunlight sharpened her captor’s handsome profile, darkened his morning scruff, and gleamed off his jacket.Such a shame.He had starred in her wildest fantasies.Now, he would surely join the lineup of villains who plagued her nightmares.
“You’re just like everyone else.”Her heart ached over the bitter truth.“Making decisions for me.Treating me like I’m too stupid to make up my own mind.To know my own mind.”She rubbed her cheeks, discreetly wiping away tears.“I’m not helpless.I do not need saving.”
“Be angry all you want.I won’t take you back.Not yet, anyway.”
She bit back a scathing insult.“That’s your apology?”
“I’m not apologizing for protecting you.And you do need saving.I asked you to marry me.I wanted you to leave with me of your own free will.You brought this on yourself.”
“No one says no to my father.I couldn’t defy him to run away with you.”
“I’m not beholden to Gerardo Villegas.Once you’re my wife, you won’t be either.”
She splayed her hands on her lap, struggling to find the right words.“Do you have any idea what this feels like?To wake up in a moving car, in the middle of nowhere, after being drugged?I could’ve been dead for all I knew.Who are you, Enrique?I thought you were kind and decent, different from every other man in my life.But you’re the same.You just hide your sinister nature better.”
He snorted.“You don’t become the second-in-command of one of the most powerful cartels in the country through kindness and decency.My dark side—my sinister nature—is something you will never want to see.”
Her breath hitched.“I’m seeing it now.”
A short, harsh laugh escaped his lips.He leveled her with his icy, dead-set stare.“Lourdes, you have no idea what I’m capable of.”He faced the road.
He was right.Throughout her marriage to Jacobo, she’d daydreamed about Enrique and what their life could’ve been like together had she married him instead.She’d romanticized him, made him into the hero, the white knight who would rise from the shadows to vanquish evil.How foolish she’d been?He was a drug trafficker.A criminal.
She was his latest victim.
Victim.That was all she’d ever been.The unwanted daughter used as a pawn in her father’s games.The useless wife who failed to provide her husband with a son.How long would it take for Enrique to tire of her before he shipped her back to her father, regretting the day he’d taken her for himself?
He reached over to touch her arm, but she flinched away.
Sighing, he settled his hand on his leg.“The only thing I’m sorry for is how things went down.I never wanted to scare you.”
Lourdes folded her arms over her chest.“Where are you taking me?”
“A safe house.Off-grid.No one knows I have it.”
“Of course.I’m your prisoner now.Your hostage.Will you chain me to the bed, keep me on a leash?”she snapped.
A crooked smile curled his lips.“Only if you ask nicely.”
She sucked in a sharp breath.A shiver of desire raced through her and tightened her nipples.She shifted on the buttery-soft leather seat for a more comfortable position.Damn him.After everything he’d done to her, how could she still want him?
Enrique cranked the air conditioner.“You don’t have to forgive me.You can scream at me all you want, but think about your options—marry Diego Zayas, or take your chances with me.If you can tell me with complete honesty that you believe Zayas will treasure you, love you, and give you anything your heart desires, then I will turn around right now.”
She couldn’t say that.The few times she’d been alone with Diego, he forced kisses on her and grabbed her arms so hard that she bruised.At least then, her training had kicked in, and she pushed him back.
“Jacobo died over three years ago,” Enrique continued as if expecting her silence.“I’m surprised your asshole father didn’t arrange another match for you before now.”
Slouching in the seat, she stared back out the passenger window as the gold-and-green fields spanned the vast landscape.“He wanted to, but my grandfather—my mother’s dad—stepped in.Abuelo thought I needed more time to grieve Jacobo’s loss and build a new life for myself, so he convinced Papá to give me a two-year respite.”Though she hadn’t needed even a day to grieve for her dead husband, she craved the stay of execution.“We made a deal—I would have my own apartment and do whatever I wanted, within reason.In return, I would honor my family by marrying whatever man Papá chose.”
“Your grandfather, Senator Carreon?”
