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Romeo’s face turned bright red, his rage leaking out of him like an uncontrollable dam. “Understood,” he gritted out.
Lorenzo waited a beat, and when he was satisfied, he clipped out, “Bring the girl up here.”
Romeo blinked, instantly shuttering his emotions behind his usual brick wall. His movements were slow as he reached for the door handle again, and when he was gone, I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe my plan would work after all.
“Family isn’t always blood,” Lorenzo murmured as we waited. “But that doesn’t mean family are here for a free ride.” I glanced at him. “Get him under control. I won’t step in again.”
I nodded, letting him know I understood what he was saying. It was my job as Romeo’s captain to show him the right way. He’d been a soldier under his father, Antonio, for a year, and it showed. He was too quick to anger, too eager to cause harm. We were a criminal organization, but that didn’t mean we used violence as a first resort. It was always the last thing on our list. The moment we lost sight of the end game, we would become vulnerable.
The door creaked, announcing their arrival. Rafael was first, then Luna, and in the rear was Romeo. My pulse thrummed as her stare met mine, so many questions in her blue eyes. Questions I knew I’d have to answer, but not here, not now. And not without a damn explanation of my own. I’d put everything on the line for her. And now time was ticking. I’d told Lorenzo she was my fiancée. Which meant we had to get married. It wasn’t something I could take back, something I could stretch out. It’d make him doubt who I was if he didn’t see the results soon.
“Looks like it’s your lucky day,” Lorenzo said, his lips quirking on one side. “Mateo here has claimed you.” He glanced at Luna. “You’re to be his wife?”
My heart skipped as I waited for her to answer. He wanted clarification from her end too. It was a trick I’d seen him use time and time again, though never on me.
“I…” Luna’s gaze ping-ponged around the room. “Yes,” she whispered. She’d worked out what was going on here, knowing this was her only way out. And it made me wonder how many times she’d been in situations with people on the wrong side of the law. The neighborhood she’d grown up in wasn’t one you walked alone in, yet she’d survived it with only one arrest.
“Good.” Lorenzo grinned. “You may go.” She snapped her head around to me, her eyes so wide I was sure they’d pop out of her head at any second. “Oh, and Luna?” Lorenzo tapped his finger on his desk. “I expect you not to tell my wife how we met.”
“O-of course,” she stammered.
Lorenzo sat down behind his desk, pulled his cell out, effectively ending all conversation. I held my hand out to Luna, but she just stared at it for several seconds. “Luna,” I whispered, my voice causing her to jerk. “Let’s go.”
Her gaze flicked between my face and my hand, but she finally moved closer and put her hand in mine. She gripped it tight but I didn’t acknowledge it as I led her out of the office and through the mansion.
“Mateo,” she whispered.
“Not here,” I ground out, knowing there were eyes and ears who would see and hear anything we did. We had to keep up this front until we were alone.
We walked to my SUV that was parked in front of Romeo’s car. I opened the passenger side door for her then closed it once she’d climbed inside. I felt the burn of eyes on me as I sauntered around to the driver’s side. I didn’t look up though. I didn’t want a distraction, not while Luna was here. I had to get her as far away as possible. We were on borrowed time, and now we had no choice in the next steps we’d have to take.
I started the engine, drove out of the mansion gates, and headed toward the apartment block. I hadn’t been back here since I’d watched her from my SUV. Fuck.
“Who’s his wife?” she asked, her voice raw.
“Aida.” I didn’t give her anything else. The farther we got from the mansion, the more my need to keep her safe made way for my own anger. She’d put herself in a situation that was going to change both of our lives. She’d caused this. She’d tied me down when I’d never wanted more than a one night thing.
At least, that was what I was going to keep telling myself.
The familiar roads of my old neighborhood came into view, and I couldn’t keep it inside any more. I couldn’t keep a lid on it, no matter how much I tried. “Why?” I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. “Why the fuck would you steal from Romeo?”
“I…” I turned, narrowing my eyes on her arms as she wrapped them around herself. “I didn’t know who it was.”
“I didn’t ask that,” I fumed, pulling into the apartment block. I squealed to a stop then reversed in the spot I’d always used. “I asked: why?”
Her head tilted, her eyes narrowing up at her apartment. “It doesn’t matter.”
“The hell it doesn’t.” I turned the engine off, my breaths coming faster. I wasn’t going to get anything out of her. Not here. “Get out.”
She didn’t say a word as she reached for the handle and opened the door. She glanced back but frowned when she saw me getting out too. I clicked the button on my fob to lock the SUV, then walked around to her.
“What are you doing?”
I grasped her hand, not letting it go when she tried to pull away, and walked us up the stairs and to her apartment. She didn’t want to explain to me why she’d done it, so I wouldn’t tell her what I was doing.
“Mateo.”
Not answering her, I pushed open her apartment door, already knowing it would be unlocked. People like her parents had no grasp of safety. “Get your things,” I told her, letting go of her hand as I slammed the door closed.
