"You're leaving! You have to!" My voice broke. "I… we can't do this anymore."
"What are you talking about?"
My hands fell to my sides, and my lips tilted into a small, sad smile as I gazed up at him. "You've won."
"What?" He looked so confused. His eyebrows were in a frown, arms out at his sides. It was so disarming I couldn't stop myself from telling him the truth.
"You've won," I repeated. "I tried. I tried so hard to keep you out. But you're here—" I tapped my arms "—under my skin, and you can't be."
"Catalina," he called, reaching for me again, but I stepped away.
"You're charming, charismatic, seductive. You're incredibly attractive, a smooth talker who could sell the Golden Gate Bridge without the deed." I laughed, but it came out bitter and hollow. "And I tried so hard not to feel anything for you, but I do. And I can't. Ican't."
He opened his mouth to say something but I continued on.
"I have a duty—a responsibility to my familia and so do you—but as it stands right now, if I had to choose between them and you, I'd pick you, and I can't. I can't do that, not for the sake of the people who depend on me. Felipe wants a war," I breathed. "And if you stay around me, you and your familia will be at risk."
"I don't care," he hissed.
"But I do! I care! Earlier today, one of those men almost shot you, and my entire world flashed before my eyes. The thought of you lying dead in a pool of your own blood is all I can see when I look at you right now! That can't become a reality!" My shoulders dropped. "But if you continue to stay close to me, it will, not just for you, but for your familia—the people you're supposed to protect."
He stepped closer, holding out his hands. "Just take a deep breath, talk this out with me, and everything will be okay."
I nodded. "It will be when youleave. If I need something, I'll make another alliance with someone else, someone I can be objective towards. But this, all of this, your help, how you're always around me—it ends today. I'd rather live in a world where I never speak to you again, then one where you're no longer breathing."
He stepped forward, and this time, when I backed away from him, he didn't stop. I scrambled back, hitting a wall.
He stalked toward me.
"Stop," I said weakly.
He didn't listen, just kept coming, until he stood in front of me. Marco tried to grab me, but I slapped his hands away.
He pinned me against the wall, but I pushed at his chest. Grabbing my hands, he slammed them against the wall, holding my wrists above my head.
I struggled and yelled at him, but he didn't move, didn't even speak. I tried to stomp on his foot with my heel, but he pulled his leg back. I went to knee him in the balls, but he blocked my thigh. Readjusting his grip on my wrists, he grabbed my thigh from the back of my knee, pulling my leg around his waist, making my dress bunch up at my hip.
"Marco—"
"Be a good girl and keep your leg wrapped around me. Because if you try to get away from me again, I will hunt you down and tie you up." His voice was deep, dark,dangerous.
"Marco—"
"No. You said enough. Now it's time you listen."
17
Marco
Red filled my vision. Knowing that Catalina cared so much about me was all I'd ever wanted, but not like this. I didn't want to see her crying over the thought of losing me, and I never,everwanted her to think about working with someone else.
"I tried to be patient," I growled.
Catalina's eyes widened. "What?"
"I tried to be patient with you. I tried to give you time, to not pressure you, or ask you for more than you were willing to give. Clearly, I must have gone wrong somewhere if you really thought I'd ever let you go."
She sank against the wall. "Marco, please."
