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“Defeat.” I snort. “Yeah, okay.” I roll my eyes dramatically. “Pretty sure you got exactly what you wanted from me. Which brings me back to my original question, why are you here?”
“I already told you why. You’re just not listening.”
“Haven’t you done enough already? You couldn’t let me be, could you?” My anger spikes but I do my best to keep my voice at an acceptable volume.
He sits back, considering my words.
“You look good, little bird.” My skin prickles as his eyes do a full sweep over me. “I really like these.” He tugs on the strap of my distressed denim short overalls that I paired with a plain white tank top underneath.
“Glad they meet your approval.” I sneer, catching sight of Skyla less than a second before she’s at the table. Her eyes are full of questions as they dart to Mateo and then back to me.
“Um, hi?” She slides into her chair.
She throws me another quick glance before her eyes are back on Mateo. I swear I can almost read her mind. Hell, I’m pretty sure I can guess what every female thinks when they look at him. Because yes, he really isthatgood looking. But it’s not just his looks either. It’s the way he carries himself. The confidence and power that oozes off of him.
Something my mom said about my father comes to the forefront of my mind and I wonder if this is how my birth mother felt when she looked at my dad.
“Hello.” Mateo smiles and I can literally see the blood rush to Skyla’s cheeks.
We’re briefly interrupted by the waitress who reappears with Mateo’s drink, setting it on the table in front of him.
“Anything else I can get you right now?”
“We’re good,” I answer, watching her walk away moments later.
“I’m Skyla.” My best friend extends her hand.
“Mateo.” He takes her hand. Instead of shaking it, he drops a light kiss to the back before releasing it.
My traitorous best friend all but melts at the contact. But then I watch her smile fall as she starts to piece everything together. She looks back at me, eyes wide, and I nod in confirmation as if to silently say,Yes, this is him.
An awkward silence settles over the table, or at least it’s awkward for me. Mateo seems completely at ease, sipping his whiskey like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
“Hey, Skyla.” I give my friend a look I know she’ll understand. “Can you go track down our waitress and tell her we changed our minds, we’ll take some food after all.”
She understands immediately. I don’t want food. I want her to give me a moment alone with the man that up until five minutes ago I thought I’d never see again.
“Sure.” She stands, taking her drink with her.
“Thank you,” I say to her backside as she walks away, turning my gaze back to Mateo. “You need to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you give me a chance to explain.”
“Explain?” A bitter smile slides across my face. “Explain what, exactly? How you played me? How you lied to me? How you murdered my father right in front of me? How you pointed a gun at my head?”
“It was the only way I could get you to stop. I never would have shot you. You have to know that.”
“Or so you say. But we both know you say a lot of things you don’t mean.”
“Will you stop?” His voice is low, but the bite behind his words isn’t missed. “Just give me two minutes to explain. Two minutes and if you still want me to leave, I will.”
I want to deny him. I don’t want to give him the chance to worm his way back into my life. Yet, I sit completely still, waiting for him to continue.
“I didn’t mean any of what I said to your father. You didn’t play into my hands. Fuck, if anything, I played into yours. I just said those things to humiliate him. To hurt him. Because as fucked up as it sounds, it felt good.” He blows out a heavy breath. “But that doesn’t mean it was true. It wasn’t. From the first moment I saw you, I felt it. This pull. This connection. In my thirty years on this earth I’ve never felt anything like it. It was unnerving. And to be honest, it fucking terrified me. But I had a job to do. That’s why I kept my distance from you the first few days at the compound. Every second I was around you I felt weaker, more exposed. And I hated how powerless it made me feel. I didn’t want to feel anything for you, Mila. I tried like hell not to. But the more time I spent with you, the more I wanted to be around you.”
He pauses, thinking over his next words.
“My plan was to use you to lure your father out. That was it. I never wanted to get close to you. Hell, that was the last thing I wanted. But you were so defiant, fighting me at every turn. So I decided to try a different approach. If intimidation and fear wouldn’t work, maybe something else would. And sure enough, I was right. I don’t pretend to know anything about a woman’s mind, but her body, I’ve always had a knack for reading. And the way your body reacted to me told me that you were affected by me, even if you didn’t want to be. Even if you hated me, your body betrayed you. I saw it in the way your skin would flush when I’d touch you. In the way your lips would part ever so slightly whenever I leaned in close.” As if to make his point, he leans in a little. “In the way your breath would catch if I looked at you a certain way. So, I played that to my advantage. Why cut the head off of the snake when you can dance on his body? I saw a way to not only eliminate Esteban, but to easily seize control of his empire. With you by my side.”
