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My heart leapt into my throat, and I anxiously searched the car for the source of the problem.
“Oh, no,” I groaned. “No!”
Mateo drove stick shift. I’d only learned how to drive an automatic.
Panicking, I started slamming my feet down on the pedals and moving the stick shift in random patterns. The Ferrari growled at me, angry that I was fucking with its expensive mechanics.
Mateo appeared in the open doorway, his huge body seeming somehow even larger when illuminated by the car’s headlamps at close range.
A strange yelp leapt from my throat, and I scrambled to lock the doors.
His muscles tensed and bulged, his dark eyes searching for something I couldn’t see. His teeth were half-bared, and I knew if the car weren’t snarling so loudly, I’d hear a similar noise rumbling from his chest.
His gaze met mine through the windshield, his furious expression dropping to one of concern. “Who else is here?” he demanded. “Who are you running from?”
“You!” I shrieked, pressing down on the gas pedal.
The Ferrari hissed and spit, but it didn’t move.
“Stop that,” Mateo ordered. “You’re ruining the transmission.”
His features pinched with irritation, but the terrifying beast of a man was gone.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t come back.
“Get out of the car.” The command took on a more coaxing lilt, but I wasn’t falling for his softer side. Not again.
I shook my head in wild denial.
He sighed and walked toward the Ferrari, approaching me on the driver’s side. He peered down at me through the window.
“I know I made a mistake today,” he said, his deep voice rich and soothing. “I didn’t think sending you to your room would upset you so much. I shouldn’t have left you alone. I’m sorry.” He crooked his finger at me, beckoning. “Now, come on out of there.”
“No,” I choked.
He cocked his head to the side, considering me. “I know you’re mad at me, but—”
“I’m not mad!” I burst out, hysterical. “I’m scared. You scare me. I want to leave.”
Hot tears tracked down my cheeks, blurring my vision.
He pressed his hand against the glass, as though he could reach through it and touch me. “Sofia…”
The pain in his rough tone ripped me apart. I wanted to believe in this Mateo. The man who was tender with me and comforted me.
This man wasn’t the one I’d just witnessed unleashing shocking violence.
A sob wracked my chest, and I buried my face in my hands.
“I’m going to unlock the door now, Sofia,” he said gently. “Don’t be afraid.”
The longing rasp in his voice tore at my heart more viciously. He didn’t want me to be afraid of him.
I didn’t want to be afraid of him.
But I was.
He must have a spare key, because I heard the locks disengaging. I didn’t bother trying to stop him from opening the door. What was the point? I couldn’t drive this car. I wasn’t going anywhere.
He dropped down on one knee, getting on eye level with me. He regarded me cautiously, the tension in his body suggesting that he was restraining himself from reaching for me.
Part of me wanted him to. I wanted to feel him stroking my body, reassuring me that everything was going to be okay.
“I saw you,” I admitted on a strangled whisper.
“What did you see?” he prompted, sounding more strained than ever.
“I saw you…beat those men.” The words didn’t seem nearly strong enough to capture the horror of Mateo in violent motion.
“And what else?” he pressed.
“They… They got up and you all went into the woods.”
He blew out a breath, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. “I’m sorry you saw that. I know it must have been upsetting for you.”
A tiny, maddened laugh bubbled from my chest and died in my throat.
Upsetting was the understatement of the century.
“This isn’t my life,” I lamented, wishing that speaking the words aloud would make them true. “My life isn’t like this. I don’t want it to be like this.”
“I’m sorry, florecita, but this is reality.” He delivered the blow quietly, but it still made me flinch. “Your father sent those men. I thought they had come to take you from me. I couldn’t let them do that.”
“Because I’m your hostage,” I said miserably.
“Because you’re—” He ended on a low grunt, holding in whatever he’d intended to say.
“Because I care about you, and I don’t want to leave you exposed and vulnerable. I’ll protect you, Sofia. I know it’s confusing for you right now. But I swear, I’ll protect you with my life. I will never hurt you.”
“I want to leave,” I whispered, although I tasted the lie on my tongue.
“Do you?” he challenged softly. “If you’re not here with me, your father will find you and take you back home with him. Is that what you want?”
“You know I don’t,” I said brokenly.
“Then stay here and let me take care of you. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Sofia. And you don’t have anything to fear from me. I fought those men because they were a threat to you. I’m sorry you had to see me like that, but I’m not sorry for what I did. I would do that and worse a thousand times over to keep you safe.”
