I’m banned from my engagement party. My bedroom is off-limits to guests, but I hear them through a vent in the floor. 

August wants everyone to believe I’m deathly ill.

People downstairs enjoy cocktails and crackling barbecue as I’m trapped in this gorgeous room. I inhale the smells as I sit on the balcony, hidden from sight. My mouth waters at the delicious aroma, but I can’t join the event. 

August thinks his father will use me again. It’ll be an excuse to plaster my face on the local news. He’s not wrong, but I don’t like being locked away. I feel isolated. 

Abandoned.

He prefers me as a pet, not a partner. I can’t live like this.

Footsteps creak the hallway. It’s Rosa with another plate of food. I didn’t touch the hors d’oeuvres she sneaked upstairs. Everything tastes like ash when I’m unhappy.

A swift knock snaps me from spiraling despair. It batters the wood at an unexpected height. It’s not Rosa.

I yank the door open. “Hey!”

Alex stands at the threshold, wearing a black suit instead of a uniform. It’s tailored to fit his stocky frame. A sky-blue button-up adds a splash of color against the dark tie. 

He smiles, unsurprised to find me healthy. “There you are.”

I bite my lip, torn between common sense and spite. Should I fake a cough?

“August said you were sick.”

“Yeah, I had a bad stomachache.” I pat my abdomen and grimace. “Probably ate something spoiled.”

“Really?” Alex’s tone hardens. “You should report that.”

“No, no, no.” Fantastic. He thinks I’m blaming the help. “It’s fine. Accidents happen.”

“The employees are paid very well. If they’re making you sick, they don’t deserve a job.”

Oh shit. “I don’t want anyone to lose their position.”

Alex frowns. “You don’t look ill.”

“Fit as a fiddle.”

His eyebrow quirks. “What’s a fiddle?”

“Sort of a violin—anyway—I should get in bed.”

“You should join us,” he says. “Everyone’s asking for you.”

Damn it. 

This is what August warned against. 

I examine my floral skirt and flip-flops. “I’m not dressed for the event.” 

“We are your guests. Dress however you desire. This is your home.” He offers his arm. “Come.”

I can’t say no without looking like an asshole. “August wanted me to stay here.”

“This is your day. The family wants to meet you.” Alex’s warmth wins me over. “Have some barbecue, shake people’s hands, and you can disappear.”

Weeks of being stuck here have made me stir-crazy. If I ever return to California, I’ll never take my freedom for granted again. 

“Okay. Just for a little while.”

“Of course.”

Alex escorts me to a growing roar of talk and laughter. Anxiety throttles my heart. I tighten over his bicep as he steers me to the courtyard teeming with visitors. Latin music throbs on mounted speakers. They gather around the table filled with food kept warm under stainless steel tubs. Everyone’s smartly attired, speaking in Spanish. Children run into my feet, chasing each other in a game of tag. 

A gorgeous woman in a fitted skirt approaches me with a tray of champagne. I accept the golden flute, downing half in one gulp. 

Alex toasts mine with a ringing clink. “Congratulations, Lily.”

“Thanks.”

He twirls his glass, dark eyes flashing. “Nervous?”

I study the crowd. They’re enjoying themselves, singing in a foreign language I have yet to grasp. My stomach clenches at the sizzle of barbecue, but I don’t dare approach.

“He still feels like a stranger.”

Alex grunts, voice whinnying down to a whisper. “You don’t have to marry him.”

My heartbeat pulses in my throat. I open my mouth to deny it, but his gaze is too sharp, and I’m transparent. I’ll just dig myself a deeper hole. Alex seems nice, but I don’t trust him. 

“I—I want to be with him. Honestly.” That much is true. “This is overwhelming, that’s all.”

Alex nods, sympathetic. He glances aside, his smile disappearing as he addresses someone behind me. 

Soldiers surround us, gazing at me as though I’m a sideshow freak. They converse with Alex, ignoring me completely. Patches of heat rise to my cheeks as they crack bawdy jokes. I’m not fluent in Spanish, but I’m well-versed in Asshole. 

The grin on my face widens into a taut grimace. They’re excluding me from the conversation. Alex’s responses remain cool and detached, but a man with a thick beard leans forward. He slops beer over himself as he shakes my hand. He utters a phrase under his breath that makes the others roar with laughter. 

“Say that again, and I’ll tear out your tongue.”

The hilarity among the circle of men halts. Alex guides me away, a shadow darkening his brows.

Jesus Christ. “What the hell happened?”

His neck blazes with outrage. “It doesn’t matter. They won’t do it again.”

We stop under the arcades, and I watch the man who insulted me stumble to a bench. The group breaks into a drunken song. 

My desire for the party evaporates as quickly as it came. “Do they hate me because I’m American?”

“Some might. I don’t.”

He has every reason to loathe me. I’m the enemy, according to August’s father. “Why not?”

“You can’t help where you were born. No one can.” He takes another deep sip of his drink and swallows, as though steeling himself. “People like you make the world a better place. That’s why I hope you’ll stick around. You’d be a great asset to our country.”

My skin burns the longer I hold his gaze. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me.”

“Well, it’s true.” 

An old man with a shaggy beard grabs Alex’s shoulders. He plants a whiskery kiss on his cheek, clearly drunk.

Alex laughs, pushing him aside. “He’s my uncle.”

“Oh.” That explains the overfamiliarity.

The old man peers at me. “Ella es tu novia?”

“No, she’s mine.” A familiar voice makes me jump before August’s arm circles my waist. “Excuse us.”

He rips me from Alex, who looks annoyed by my fiancé’s sudden presence. Blood rushes to my cheeks. August maintains his viselike grip, dragging me from the arcades to a secluded spot near the garden paths.

“What is your problem?” I demand when we’re out of earshot. 

A bestial sound ruptures from his throat. “Stay the hell away from Alejandro.”

“You want me to avoid the only English-speaking person here? You’re too fucking much.”

“Keep quiet.” August pulls me into a deserted corridor echoing with distant footsteps. “You don’t understand.”

I get a good look at him. A thick ring of stubble covers his jaw. He wears a dark blue blazer over fitted khakis, golden rings wrapping around his fingers. 

He sounds forbidding, but he sweeps a strand of hair from my brow. He tucks it behind my ear, the affectionate gesture stealing the wind from my sails. “What are you doing here?”

“I—Alex came for me. He caught me in a lie.” I quail under his fierce expression. “I couldn’t say no.”

“That bastard.” A reluctant grin staggers across his face. “Don’t kid yourself. He knew what he was doing.”

I shake my head. “You’re wrong about him.”

His lip curls. “I know Alejandro. You don’t. Let’s go upstairs.”

“What’s the point of marriage if I can’t be part of your life?” I watch him digest that. “Why am I here?”

“Babe, you are. I just don’t want my fiancée used for politics.”

“I can’t spend the rest of my days locked away.”

A deep frown furrows his brows. “I know.”

“What did you expect? I’d be happy as your pet?” 

“I give you way more leeway than I should.” He thumbs my chin. “We sleep in different rooms, for Christ’s sake. I’ve been too soft.”

“You’ve been overprotective.” He traces my mouth, arousal jumping inside me like a flame. “And passionate. Seductive.” 

August pushes me against a wall. His hand glides up my thigh and slips under my panties. He cradles my bare ass, lifting me to his eye level. My world shrinks to a pin-sized hole. The courtyard disappears along with the music. 

I taste only him. Everything vanishes but his eager body, his tongue. My anger dissolves like smoke dispersed in air. When our lips break apart, it’s only to breathe. 

He blinks as though waking from a stupor. “We’re getting married.”

Are we? “I never said yes.”

“Then take off the ring.”

I won’t, and he knows that. 

A smirk carves dimples into his cheeks. “Let’s go back to the party.” 

August buries his concern about his father as he introduces me to family members. Uncles and aunts wring my hands, their eyes wrinkled with happiness. 

Head buzzing with alcohol, I sample the little cakes and listen to August’s hearty laughter as he banters with a cousin. The atmosphere is joyful, and for once August’s fears seem misplaced. I spot no one working for the media.

But I notice the guards. They stick out like weeds with their rifles. What’s even more chilling is the way they scan the guests. 

A needle punctures my joy. August follows my line of sight, frowning. 

“Try these.” He offers me a plate of tamales. “They’re amazing.”

Movement from the arcades drags my attention from the food. My appetite disappears as I recognize the man in uniform. His achievements glitter on his chest, no doubt pinned there by the loathsome dictator these people call President.

How many innocents died for those tiny strips of metal?

“Lily,” General Espada says, opening his arms. “Congratulations.”

My skin crawls as I return the hug. “Thank you.”

His beard stings my cheek with a kiss. He doesn’t release me. “I trust that my son is making your stay comfortable?”

“Yes—I have almost everything I want.”

He laughs with a scornful shake of his head. “Only an American would say that, living in this place.”

I’m tired of pretending to respect this bastard. “Maybe because no one here knows what freedom is like.”

Jesus Christ, Lily. Do not mouth off to this guy.

I tremble as he leads me away from the crowd so we’re facing the jungle. 

“Choosing a candidate handpicked for you by corporations and lobbying groups is not democracy. You want true autonomy?” He points toward the dark wall of trees. “Go live in there.”

“That’s not the same at all.” Terrified, I meet his glare. “We don’t use a police state to muzzle the public.”

“Because your people are already brainwashed. Same as everyone else. You Americans think you’re so much better than us.” His grip hardens, gouging my flesh painfully. “For all your wealth and military power, nothing can stop me from crushing you right here and now. Nothing.”

He releases me, the fatherly smile cold with contempt. “I know what he’s planning to do with you, and I won’t allow it. You’re never leaving my country.”