Javier
I stare at her and wonder how it came to this. It’s been nearly two months since Michael raped her. This entire time hunting and not finding that dirty bastard. What I have found are pieces of a puzzle. A picture that’s becoming clear before my very eyes.
Deception.
Betrayal.
Lies.
And yet, I stare at her from across the dinner table, salivating for her. She’s a little weaver of lies and I can’t look away. I let her lie to me. I fucking like it. It fuels me like a shot of heroin to the system. I’m always high from it. Just waiting for it all to unravel.
She can’t lie forever.
One day, all her secrets will be laid before me.
I’ll be forced to cut her open and watch her bleed.
I may as well cut my motherfucking soul out when that happens.
Fuck her for doing this to me.
Fuck her for digging in so deep, threading herself into my entire being. She’s in everything. Seeps from my pores. Saturates my cock. Infects my mind.
An illness I’ll never recover from.
I’ll die from her.
A broken heart is real.
My father nearly died of one when my mother died.
I have no doubt it’ll be the same for me.
“It’s so warm today,” she says, a smile tilting her full red lips. Her head is turned to look out at the ocean. The black strapless dress hugs her curves in a way that has every male in the vicinity turning his head to look at her. All it takes is seeing who she’s with before they’re quickly looking away.
She’s mine.
The thought is possessive and maddening.
I’m fucking crazy over her.
My duties to my father—to El Malo—fall by the wayside because I can’t get her out of my head.
“Great day for a swim,” I muse aloud.
She nods before turning back to me. Her fingers nervously twist her bracelet around her wrist. It’s one of the many I’ve gifted her. Even liars deserve to feel pretty. Her brows furrow together and she won’t meet my eyes.
“After dinner, I wanted to stop off at one of the shops.” She swallows and her hand shakes. “To buy you a gift.”
Liar. Liar. Fucking liar. “Of course, manzanita. I suppose it’s a surprise?”
Her brown eyes lift to mine and she nods. How can someone lie straight to your face and look so innocent about it? Does she believe the shit she spews? I sure as fuck don’t. It’s my job to sniff out liars and expose them. I’m good at it. It has taken some unraveling, but I’m peeling Rosa apart piece by piece until I get to the center. I’m so close.
“I won’t be gone long,” she promises. “I think you’ll love it.”
I lift my hand and wave the server over to bring me the check. She’s so eager to deceive me. I’ll help her along. The quicker we get to that point, the better. I’m not into torture unlike my victims who visit the shed from time to time. I fucking hate torture. Especially the emotional kind. It’s worse than any blade or tool. She’s cutting my heart out day by day.
And yet I can’t hate her.
It’s the opposite, in fact.
For once, I’m deluded about what I should do. I don’t dare speak of these things to my father or my men. I certainly don’t say them to her. I just sit and stew and ponder the fuck out of our future.
We have no future.
“Are you okay?” she asks, genuine concern in her eyes.
No, Rosa, I’m not okay. You’re fucking me over and I’m letting you.
“Perfect, mami.”
She frowns as if she doesn’t believe me but doesn’t say another word on the subject. I pay the tab and stand. She takes my offered hand and I pull her up. With her purse clutched protectively at her side, she wraps her arm around mine and leans her head on my shoulder.
An ache, deep in my chest, won’t stop throbbing as we walk out of the hotel restaurant and out onto the street. I let her guide me past some shops that haven’t been ravaged by crime until she stops in front of an old shop. One of those shops that sells anything and everything. I wonder who she’s meeting here because there’s nothing I could ever want or need from a place like this.
“I’ll be right back.” Her bright smile is disarming. She’s so fucking good. I lean down to accept a kiss on the mouth.
Before she can get too far, I grab her waist and pull her to me. Her eyes are soft and loving as she regards me. “Don’t go,” I utter, my words so quiet you can barely hear them over the busy shoppers chattering as they walk by.
This moment feels pivotal.
I can sense it with every fiber of my being.
“Javier,” she murmurs. “What’s gotten into you? Are you feeling okay?”
I hug her to me and inhale her hair. For a minute, we simply hold one another. Of all my abilities to get this town to yield to my demands, why can’t freezing time be one of them? Long before I’m ready, she pulls away.
“I’ll be right back. I promise. Then, we can go back home and get back in bed,” she says, her cheeks turning slightly pink.
Reaching forward, I clutch her neck in a possessive way before pressing my lips to hers. Her kiss is tentative at first but then she kisses me with so much passion it confuses me. She lies even to herself. One doesn’t kiss like that unless they want to.
Sweet, confused Rosa.
She pulls away and I watch her rush inside the building. I’m left alone on the sidewalk, wishing for more time.
Unfortunately, time has officially run out.