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But I wasn’t capable of protecting a woman, and I shouldn’t have deluded myself into thinking otherwise. I’d allowed Isabel to trust in me, and I’d failed her.
“We’re here,” Rafael said, snapping me out of my guilt-soaked fear as the Jeep screeched to a stop.
Rage surged through my body, obliterating my terror. I didn’t have any room for weaker emotions. All that mattered was getting to Isabel and killing the motherfucker who’d hurt her.
I threw myself out of the vehicle, dimly aware of Rafael following on my heels as I kicked down the door of the address where he was holding her. The splintering sound of the wood splitting around the lock was immediately drowned out by her scream. It was muffled and faint, but it rang through my head, the sound of her pain drawing me toward her.
Down a short hallway, another closed door blocked my path to her. It splintered beneath my boot, and the full volume of her scream hit me like a punch to the face. My adrenaline surged, and I raced down the stairs, closing the distance between us.
The bastard loomed over her, his filthy hands pawing at her bare breasts. Her half-naked body was bruised and bloody, and her broken sob tore a hole in my heart.
An inhuman howl echoed through the basement, and my hands closed around her assailant’s throat. I wrenched him away from her, squeezing hard enough to feel the soft tissue in his neck crunch beneath my lethal grip. I flung him as far from her as possible, and his body slammed into the concrete wall, leaving a red streak behind his head as he slid to the ground.
My boot smashed down on his hand, fracturing the fingers that’d dared to touch her. I kicked his head, blood spraying as his jaw shattered and his teeth skittered over the dirty floor.
Brawny arms closed around my chest, hauling me back. I snarled and twisted away.
“He’s dead,” Rafael’s shout barely penetrated the rage that fogged my mind.
“Sebastián.” Isabel’s breathless whimper hooked deep in my chest, yanking my attention toward her.
I left the dead man and instantly dropped to my knees beside my battered wife. Her lush lips were split and bloody, and bruises marred her bronze skin.
“You came,” she whispered, the words rough with pain. “I didn’t say anything, I swear. I will never betray you, Sebastián.”
A growl ripped from my throat. She’d endured this torture to protect me? My chest hollowed out, until I couldn’t even feel my heart beating. Numbness took hold of me. I wasn’t capable of feeling the soul-deep agony of knowing that she’d suffered for my sake. Not when I was supposed be the one to protect her.
Handling her as gently as fractured glass, I gathered her up in my arms. Even that small movement jarred her injuries. Her pained cry shredded me, and her eyes fluttered closed.
I’d failed my wife, the woman I loved.
I’d known that I could never be worthy of her, and I’d been right.
CHAPTER 28
ISABEL
Pain roused me. My entire body ached, and my mind was strangely fuzzy. I stirred, and my husband’s big, warm hand rested against my shoulder.
“Stay still, tesoro.” His voice was strangely raspy, like he’d recently been shouting.
I relaxed beneath his steady, gentle hand and released a shuddering sigh.
Safe. I was safe. I’d been so scared…
My eyes snapped open, and the world blurred as pain knifed through my head. I blinked through it, desperate to catch sight of him.
“Sebastián,” I breathed, relief settling in my chest. I was with my husband. I was in my own bedroom. Home and safe with him.
He’d killed Morales. I had a dim memory of blood and screams that weren’t my own. Sebastián had saved me. I’d thought I would die in that basement.
Tears stung my eyes. “I thought I’d never see you again.” I reached for his face, and my wrist twinged.
His rugged features drew tight with strain, and he guided my hand back onto the mattress with the barest brush of his fingers, as though he was afraid that I’d shatter if he touched me too firmly.
“Your wrist is sprained,” he explained, his tone roughened by a growl. “You have three broken ribs and bruises everywhere. Don’t move, nenita.” The last was hard with warning.
I relaxed into my bed, happy to obey him. Happy to be with him. Alive. In our home.
“I didn’t tell Morales anything,” I assured him. “He’s the cop I talked to when I wrote that blog post, when I betrayed the cartel. He’s been following me, trying to get me to tell him more. But I didn’t say anything this time. I would never betray you, Sebastián. I…” When I’d thought I would die in that basement, I’d regretted holding back the words. I wouldn’t allow the opportunity to pass me by again. “I love you.”
