Chapter Two

Ignacio could tell Maia was more than upset. Confused and pissed off, was probably the best way he could describe the look on her face… and he knew she wasn’t going to keep it to herself for long. She was five steps into the house out of the blinding sun when she started.

“Ignacio? What in the hell is going on around here? Please tell me that this woman is your overly affectionate sister-in-law who is just excited to see you…” Maia said in a wary tone, her eyes narrowing a bit as she looked between Ignacio and Elena.

Before he had a chance to give her any sort of answer, Elena exploded. He should have seen it coming, the way she stood with her arms crossed and one hip angled out sharply. Without warning, she threw up her hands and began to chastise him in Spanish. He was fairly certain at this point that she knew Maia only spoke English and was keeping to Spanish on purpose.

It wasn’t normally in his nature, but he decided to respond to her in English and play her spiteful little game. Maybe he did it because he was pissed off at the sight of her. He had hoped, wished even, that when he finally came back home she wouldn’t be here anymore. She could probably tell as much by the look on his face, since she seemed to shrink a bit.

“Elena! Where I’ve been and who she is, is none of your business!” Ignacio snapped, glaring at the silver-eyed beauty. “The real question is why are you even still here?”

Elena gasped, looking at him as if he’d just slapped her right across the face. The shock and pain only lasted a moment however, before she launched into another tirade against him. As she lambasted him for all sorts of things, he turned his eyes towards Maia and attempted to apologize to her with his eyes alone. Unfortunately, it seemed to send her into rescue mode and before he knew it both women were yammering on either side of him. Elena giving him hell for leaving in the first place and Maia attempting to defend him even though she had no idea what was being said.

Things went on like this for a few minutes until Ignacio felt wholly overwhelmed and brought his hand to his forehead. Maia noticed and sighed, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder for comfort. This was a move that Elena didn’t like, gasping before cursing Maia. Ignacio was sure Elena would have slapped Maia’s hand away had the booming voice of his brother, Rafael, not echoed through the room.

“That is enough!” Rafael’s deep voice sounded.

All three of them stopped short and turned, looking up the main staircase to where the eldest DeLeon brother stood on the landing. The resemblance between him and Ignacio was obvious to Maia, and anyone else who might have seen them in the same room, though Rafael was far more well-groomed than his younger brother had ever been.

Rafael sported that same thick, dark hair as his brother… though his was cropped short and styled into the perfect businessman coif. His face was clean shaven, though the barest hint of a 5 o’clock shadow was noticeable along his jawline. It seemed those piercing amber eyes were a mark of the family, because even from this distance they stole the show. To top it all off, he was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit in a silvery gray color with a dark gold dress shirt underneath.

The booming sound of Rafael’s voice had done more than stop the bickering three in their tracks. It had also brought out the remainder of the household. The butler, who had in all actuality never left, was now joined by an older woman wearing an apron and wiping her hands with a towel. She looked concerned, while the butler just looked a bit bored. From the other side of the house, a third member arrived. Her entrance went largely unnoticed by the rest who were far more concerned with their personal argument as well as what Rafael was going to do next. The newly arrived woman simply leaned against a door frame, an amused smile on her face, and watching the fun.

“Manuel!” Rafael barked in Spanish, snapping the butler to attention. “You and Lucia will take Ignacio’s… friend. Clean her up, feed her and keep her from getting underfoot.”

Manuel moved instantly and without hesitation. He came towards Maia, gently reaching for her arm in an attempt to guide her away from the situation and do as he had been told. Maia, having no clue what was being said around her, balked at his attempt and tried to shake him off.

“Hey! Don’t touch me! Who the hell said you could touch me?” Maia snapped, looking to Ignacio for back-up.

“Just… just go with him, Maia.” Ignacio said with a sigh of defeat. He knew better than to try and fight what was going on at the moment. Rafael’s typical tactic… divide and conquer. “I promise, it’ll all be ok. Go with Manuel and Lucia… they’ll get you something to eat and a change of clothes.”

He could tell Maia was unsure… but she did as he asked and went with Manuel without further issue, though she did glance back a few times with a deep look of concern mixed with irritation etched across her face. Ignacio knew he would have to make it up to her big time, sooner rather than later.

“Elena!” Rafael’s voice snapped everyone back to attention again, Elena especially. “I am sure Camilla could use your assistance with something… somewhere…”

His words to Elena seemed less harsh, but she shrank with every sound that fell from his mouth and when he was done, the young woman resembled a little mouse. Her head and eyes were angled down, her hands clasped before her and her shoulders curled in upon themselves. Ignacio narrowed his eyes… wondering what the reason for her sudden change in demeanor was. But he would have to worry about it later… now was obviously not the time.

Elena scurried off in the direction of the other woman who had arrived yet had remained silent through the entire exchange. The woman was lovely, with wavy chestnut hair and vibrant green eyes, though it was that devilishly evil smile she wore that really caught one’s attention. Camilla was a demon. That much Ignacio was sure of. He watched with discomfort as Camilla slipped an arm around Elena before sweeping her out of the room and off to somewhere else in the house. Something about it didn’t sit right with Ignacio, but now it was his turn.

“Ignacio…” Rafael’s eyes bore down on him so fiercely Ignacio swore he could feel the heat behind it. “Welcome home. We need to talk.”

That was all he said before he turned around and started up the staircase that split off to the left from the landing. With a sigh and a shake of his head, knowing full well what was to come, Ignacio followed after his brother, though he did make Rafael wait an extra five minutes, so he could slip into his old room and find a change of clothes. The idea of arguing with his older brother while wearing nothing but a home-made pair of shorts wasn’t something he relished.

When he finally came to stand outside of his brother’s office door, he was wearing a pair of cargo pants and a plain black t-shirt. He knew his brother would hate it, being so sloppy a look with Ignacio’s long hair and all. But that was the main reason why he chose to wear it. That, of course, and because it was comfortable, and he wanted to be comfortable. He had, after all, just fought off the US Government and spent the night sleeping in the mountains.

He opened the door without bothering to knock and walked right in, giving enough of a push to the door to close it behind him. Rafael stood behind his desk, looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind it. He looked just as much the pretentious dick that Ignacio remembered him as.

Ignacio slipped his hands into his pockets as Rafael turned around to face him. He knew better than to start the conversation. Rafael was a control freak… and the best way to deal with a control freak is to let them think they have all of the control.

“I’m glad to see you’ve come home, Ignacio… ” Rafael started, keeping his voice calm and fairly neutral. “But that woman you’ve brought with you cannot stay.”

The way he said it was what threw Ignacio for a loop. He said it so casually… as if he was telling Ignacio he couldn’t wear his shoes in the house. Ignacio snorted a laugh and shook his head, looking at his brother with disbelief. He had been gone for five years, living in the desert. Not to mention the fact that he had arrived wearing homemade shorts and looked like he had gone through hell… and this was the first thing his brother talked to him about?

“What the hell are you talking about? Maia isn’t going anywhere.” Ignacio said. “Aren’t you even going to ask me where I’ve been? Why I’ve come back?”

“There is no place for her here, Ignacio.” Rafael responded, leaning against his desk with his palms pressed against its surface, completely ignoring Ignacio’s other questions. “You should have realized that the moment you saw Elena in this house.”

His words caused Ignacio to pause, his mind spinning for a moment as he tried to understand exactly what Rafael had meant. Of course, he found it strange that Elena was still here, but he hadn’t really thought about it that clearly. When had there been time? He and Maia had been on the property for less than an hour at this point. His eyes narrowed as it slowly started to come together.

“What are you talking about, Rafael?” He asked anyway, even though he was afraid he already knew the answer.

“Ignacio. Elena is still here because your betrothal to her still stands,” said Rafael. “Just because you chose to run off and hide like a child this past five years, does not mean your engagement was nullified. It was simply… put on hold until you came to your senses and returned.”

As he spoke, Rafael stood straight once more and shrugged out of his suit jacket which was then hung from a hanger on a coat rack in the corner. He then unbuttoned the cuffs of his sleeves and rolled them up to his elbows.

“Now that you are home, and once you have sent that young woman back to wherever she came from, we can proceed with the wedding.” Rafael continued, moving out from behind his desk and over to the small wet bar against the left wall. “Brandy?”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Rafael?” Ignacio snapped. “I walk back in here after FIVE YEARS… and all you have to say to me is ‘welcome back… time to marry Elena!’… how can you be such an ass?”

“Don’t start, Ignacio!” Rafael shouted and slammed down the snifter of brandy he had just poured himself. Thankfully… he managed not to smash it, though he did make a bit of a puddle. “I am long tired of listening to you rant and rave like a child who does not want to do his chores. You know damn well the reasons you and Elena were betrothed in the first place and you know just as well that you won’t be getting out of it! I allowed you to run off once like a pathetic, mewling thing and that was a mistake. I should have forced you to stay here and do as you were told. Forced you to act like the DeLeon dragon that you are!”

“You mean you should have forced me to be like you?!” Ignacio shouted.

“You could never be like me, Ignacio,” Rafael growled, his amber eyes glinting in anger. “I would never disgrace our family by mixing myself up with some commoner riffraff like that woman you’ve brought into our home. What sort of woman walks around dressed like that? Not a woman who a DeLeon man would be caught dead beside.”

“How dare you?” Ignacio hissed. “You wouldn’t know a good woman if she punched you right in the face, Rafael. Just look at Camilla for fucks sake.”

Rafael drew in a sharp breath through his nose and held it a moment, his face growing red with rage. Camilla was off-limits and everyone knew it, but that was exactly why Ignacio had poked that beehive. He wanted his brother to lose control. Sadly, it seemed Rafael had gotten a handle on his anger over these past five years.

“Do not speak ill of my wife, Ignacio. Ever.” Rafael’s tone had gone cold. “The DeLeon family is a prominent family is this community and others… you will marry a woman of similar standing, such as Elena, and that is the end of it. There will be no further discussion of it and I expect that woman to be gone before the wedding takes place. Once you’ve had a chance to calm down and come to your senses… we will discuss the wedding. Now, go.”

Ignacio just stood there for a moment, utterly dumbfounded by this brother. He couldn’t believe that he had been home for less than an hour and yet Rafael was still only focused on how he could use Ignacio to benefit himself and the “family.” It made Ignacio sick to his stomach and even though he had dozens of things he wanted to say to and ask his brother, he found himself speechless. Shaking his head, he just turned and walked out of the room without another word.

He found himself just standing there outside of Rafael’s office door and for a moment, he felt like it was that same argument all those years ago that had led to his exodus from this place. He glanced to his right… half expecting to catch a glimpse of Mateo scurrying away. His chest went tight at the thought of Mateo. Where was he? He hadn’t seen or heard a single hint that Mateo was even in residence here at the estate right now. The thought brought a worried look to Ignacio’s face that matched the feeling in his chest. Something wasn’t right.