Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
My vision blurred. The ground underneath my feet rolled. It was true.
It would explain why she’d invented a wrist injury last week to stop our training. Why she hadn’t fought back when Diego had taken her from the parade. And a pregnancy would explain why she was currently sobbing as she never had before. I wanted nothing more than to scoop her up into my arms, but instead I had to stand here and take it.
It was the one mindset I’d never thought to prepare her for.
She was worried for her condition, as was I.
I thought I had done everything I could to equip Natalia, but this was a situation none of us had ever faced. I’d failed her. I wanted to turn away so I wouldn’t break down right there, but I couldn’t let Natalia think I’d left her alone in this for a second.
We were in it together.
I limbered up my shoulders as if preparing for a boxing match. “Fuck you,” I said.
Diego responded as I wanted, coming out from behind Natalia’s chair to look at us straight on. “Is that a yes then?”
Natalia’s head whipped up. “Don’t do it, Cristiano,” she said, choking back her tears. “Those people need you. It’s everything you’ve worked for. Don’t make the deal.”
The thought of betraying those I’d helped, and those I might still help, chilled my insides. It wouldn’t be forever; it couldn’t be. I’d find a way out. But every life mattered. If I didn’t believe that, I would never have taken on the thankless, impossible mission to try to make a dent in the sex and forced labor trades.
If I did this, I’d go from savior to enemy.
I couldn’t ruin countless lives to save one, could I?
To save two.
The fates of my unborn child and my wife were in the hands of a man who’d spent twenty years waiting to see me suffer.
Natalia’s eyes pleaded with me not to do it. But didn’t she know I could never walk away from the love of my life? From our baby? That I would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Even if it meant breaking all my rules and becoming the worst version of myself . . .
My father.
I nodded once. “You have a deal.”
25
Natalia
“You have a deal.”
Cristiano’s words hung in the room.
My heart broke knowing what it cost him to agree to the arrangement. He would call into question more than a decade of work. Every day, he’d die a little inside aiding a true monster—because I was in its grip.
Except I wasn’t.
While Diego had listed his demands to Cristiano, I’d focused on getting out of my restraints—and I’d succeeded.
I’d freed my hands.
Now, I had to free myself—and my husband and baby.
My throat went completely dry. I couldn’t lose my nerve now. There was no time to strategize, and yet, one false move could cost me everything. I just had to act before he noticed anything.
He’d replaced his gun inside his jacket. I had to make sure once I was up, he didn’t have even a second to reach for it.
My eyes darted around the room and landed on the bricks. They were the closest thing to me that could do serious damage. It had to be that, and it had to be now, while Diego distracted himself with the logistics of their deal.
“One week?” Cristiano asked. “It’s impossible.”
“You’ll find a way,” Diego said.
My heart pounded as I silently removed my high heels.
“I don’t do business with traffickers, I need—”Cristiano’s voice faltered when I stood, but his eyes stayed trained on Diego. “I need time for my connections to . . . to build me a new network.”
“That would take too long,” Diego said.
In bare feet, I tip-toed to the corner of the room.
Diego turned his head slightly, and Cristiano cleared his throat. “Do you want this done sloppy, or do you want it done right?”
Diego’s eyes returned to the screen as he seemed to consider the question. He actually meant to go through with this—to build a new cartel at any cost.
And whether it was Diego’s true motive or just icing on the cake—he believed he’d now be the only person in the world with any power over Cristiano de la Rosa.
But didn’t he know that title belonged to me?
Only I could tame the beast. Today, tomorrow, and forever. Cristiano was mine.
I couldn’t wait any longer.
I used two hands to pick up a brick from the top of the pile. I tested its weight. Heavy. Solid. I raised my eyes to the back of Diego’s head. At least I wouldn’t have to look him in the face. My childhood best friend. My first love. I shut my eyes briefly, opened them, and ran forward.
Don’t hesitate. Don’t—
Diego spun around. I hefted the brick across his face. Smack. Blood splattered. His body flew to one side as his guttural shout filled the small space.