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I tore my eyes from the blood pooling beneath my father’s body, so I could focus on my only ally in the room. Carmen was trying to reason with Pedro. Maybe she could help Daddy and me.
“If Ignazio tries to come for her, I’ll put him down,” Pedro declared. “And if he’s not alive to guard Adrián Rodríguez, it’ll be that much easier to take control of America.”
He fixed her with a contemptuous glare. “I know your angle, and it won’t work, Carmen. You have a soft spot for this girl, but I won’t be manipulated. You stand beside me, or I’ll find another way to make you useful.”
Carmen’s bronze cheeks paled, but she advanced on her brother, positioning her body as a shield between us. “I’m not going to allow you to force yourself on Sofia.”
Pedro lashed out, swift and vicious. The sickening impact of his hand against her cheek cracked through the room, hitting her with enough force that she dropped, her body sprawled out next to my father’s.
He towered over her, spittle flying from his lips as he vibrated with rage. “Miguel Armendariz would be a much more loyal dog if I gave you to him as a treat. He’s been begging me to give you back to him for years. Is that what you want?”
Carmen gagged, and I wasn’t certain if it was from the sickening injury he’d inflicted or from the stark terror invoked by his threat.
His attention riveted on me, his gray eyes glinting with malice. “Do you want to save your Daddy’s life? Promise me you won’t give me any trouble, and I’ll get him the medical attention he needs to survive.”
I nodded vigorously, the world blurring with my tears. No matter how Daddy had betrayed me, I couldn’t let him die.
“I promise.”
“Pedro…” Carmen groaned, struggling to get to her feet.
He shoved her away, sending her crashing back down.
“Call the doctor to see to Caesar,” he commanded her coldly. “I need him well enough to walk her down the aisle tomorrow. Don’t let him lose too much blood.”
His fist caught in my curls, and he dragged me to my feet. I shrieked as I was pulled free from Daddy’s weak grip on my hand.
Pedro jerked my head back, forcing me to stare up into his merciless, storm cloud eyes. “We’re going to get to know each other better, my pretty bride,” he threatened softly. “There’s no point waiting for our wedding night, since Ignazio sent me damaged goods. You’re going to prove to me that you can be my obedient wife.”
Bile rose in the back of my throat, and I trembled in his cruel grip. “Please, I—”
He silenced me with a slap across my cheek, the shock of sound registering before the stinging pain.
“No more talking,” he hissed. “I have other uses for your mouth.”
He yanked on my curls, coercing me to follow where he led. My world blurred with horrified tears, and I heard Daddy wheezing my name as my future husband dragged me off to teach me my new wifely duties.Chapter 24Mateo“Less growling, more breathing,” Adrián ordered coldly. “You need to get your shit together, Mateo. We’re almost there.”
I hadn’t breathed properly for hours. Even since I’d realized Sofia had been taken from the venue where she was supposed to perform for the first time, I’d been suffocating. My impotent rage was all but debilitating, consuming me without an outlet. I was only functioning now because I’d been able to unleash my fury with a clear purpose back at Caesar’s house.
That was where I’d gone to look for her first. I’d left a gory mess behind, slaughtering everyone who’d dared to guard the place. I finally extracted a confession from one of the dying men: Caesar had taken Sofia to Pedro Ronaldo’s estate in Mexico.
Caesar’s fancy mansion would be little more than a smoldering ruin by now. I’d torched the place where he’d tormented Sofia as a child. She would never go back there, and neither would he. Luckily for her mother, she was away on vacation. Otherwise, I might not have spared the bitch.
“Sofia won’t be harmed,” Adrián tried to reason with me for the dozenth time, his ice-cold clarity the only thing tying me to sanity. “If Caesar is with her, he’ll make sure she’s safe. Ronaldo has nothing to gain by hurting her. We will hit the perimeter hard and fast. No firepower on the house until we’re inside and have eyes on the ground. Duarte’s men will attack the southern defenses. Ronaldo doesn’t have the manpower to stop all of us.”
This full-scale assault was exactly what Adrián had tried to avoid by making our truce with Caesar regarding Sofia’s virginity. The attack would be costly and bloody, but the relationship with Caesar was completely unsalvageable now that he’d brazenly stolen Sofia from me.
