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Of course, he was disappointed that I wasn’t perfect like he’d thought.
I nodded, swallowing a sob. I hated being alone, but facing Mateo’s disgust was far worse.
“You can go to your room.” It was a suggestion, but it held an authoritative ring that indicated he desired my compliance. “I won’t lock you in, and I’ll be right out here.”
He didn’t have to lock me in to keep me in his home. There was nowhere else for me to go, and I was imprisoned with him by circumstance even more effectively than if he’d kept me in shackles. If I were chained up, I would try to fight my way free. But given the opportunity to choose my jailor—Mateo or Daddy—I chose Mateo.
Even if he didn’t want me anymore, staying with him was slightly less painful than facing my father’s lies.
I turned from Mateo and trudged to the bedroom, utterly miserable without the warmth of his embrace to reassure me.Chapter 11Mateo“You look like shit,” Adrián drawled when I opened my front door to admit him.
“Adrián,” Valentina scolded softly, pressing closer against his side to bump his body with her petite frame.
His arm tightened around her waist, his fingers biting into her hip to hold her with more force than was strictly necessary. She tilted her head against his chest, welcoming the harsh affection.
When I’d first seen my friend with his beloved Valentina, I’d worried he would hurt her accidentally because he was maddened by possessive rage. Over the last few weeks, I’d realized that she liked when he hurt her. Adrián would never truly harm Valentina, but he marked her obsessively. She seemed to enjoy bearing his marks just as much as he enjoyed inflicting them. She was the perfect match for my sadistic friend.
“Sofia’s bags are in the car,” Adrián informed me, tossing me the keys to his black Jaguar. “Valentina and I will show ourselves in.”
He pushed past me, walking into my house as though he owned the place.
Essentially, he had bought it for me. If I weren’t in Adrián’s employ, I never would have earned the kind of money necessary to buy this house. And I knew he paid me far better than anyone else who worked for him. He claimed it was because I was his most valuable asset, but I suspected he simply didn’t mind giving me plenty of money to buy the stuff I wanted.
Having a billionaire drug lord as a best friend had its perks.
“I’ll be right behind you,” I said to his retreating back. “Don’t scare Sofia in the two minutes it takes me to unload.”
“I won’t let him,” Valentina promised, shooting me a reassuring smile over her shoulder.
Adrián definitely did not deserve that sweet woman, but I was pleased that he had her. If she chose to love him, I was happy for them.
Besides, he might thrive on subjugating her, but Valentina held far more control over Adrián than anyone else I’d ever seen. Even in our friendship, I was definitely the one who took orders, not the other way around. On the surface, Valentina was submissive to Adrián. But he would do anything to make her happy, and that tipped the balance of power in her favor.
If Valentina promised me that she wouldn’t let Adrián scare Sofia, I was confident that I didn’t have to worry about it.
For the two minutes it took for me to grab Sofia’s bags, at least.
I popped the trunk on the Jaguar and loaded up her stuff, a bit taken aback at how much they’d brought. When Valentina had offered to go to Sofia’s apartment and pick up some of her things, I’d been expecting a small duffel bag.
Valentina appeared to think that Sofia was about to take a month-long cruise and would need at least three changes of clothes every day.
I hustled everything into the house, finding that Valentina and Adrián had made themselves comfortable on my couch. Sofia was still taking some time and space for herself in the bedroom, so Adrián spooking her wasn’t an immediate issue. I doubted he would actually try to scare her, but he terrified most people innately.
“How much stuff do you think Sofia could possibly need?” I asked Valentina as I set down three large duffel bags and slung another two off my shoulders.
“You’re welcome,” Adrián said pointedly.
Valentina placed a calming hand on his forearm. “Sofia will want her full range of clothing options, as well as all of her makeup and haircare products,” she explained.
“Sofia doesn’t need any makeup,” I declared. She hadn’t worn any since I’d taken her as my hostage, and she was as lovely as ever.
Valentina rolled her eyes. “Women can choose to wear makeup just for themselves, not for men. Sofia’s sole purpose is not to look pleasing for your benefit. You want her to be comfortable here, don’t you? Trust me, she’ll feel much more at home if she has access to all of her things.”
