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Play along, Niko’s words echo in my ears.
“There, now you’ve seen her,” Mateo snarls at the two men.
“You fuck her yet?” one of the men asks and even though I try to keep my expression locked, my eyes still widen.
“And if I have?” Mateo’s voice is like liquid fire.
“Esteban will make sure to cut off your cock and feed it to you before he slits your throat.”
Esteban...
They’re my father’s men...
“Esteban isn’t the one calling the shots here, now is he?” Mateo grits his teeth. “You tell him my patience is wearing thin. If he keeps trying to drag this out he’ll get his daughter back in fucking pieces. Call it a sweet fucking dose of karma.” I glance up to see the devil himself with my own two eyes.
Gone is the man from earlier today on the beach, now replaced by something evil. Something wild and untamed. Something that terrifies me so intensely that I feel fear deep in my bones.
Another hard pull on my hair and I wobble to my feet.
Play along...
I breathe out a small sigh of relief when the pressure on my scalp lessens, but that relief disappears when Mateo steps around me and I catch the darkness of his eyes. Distant. Disconnected. A hollow shell.
I barely have time to register his fist coming toward me before it connects with the side of my mouth, the impact jarring my teeth and knocking me backward. I hit the ground on a loud thud, not able to catch myself with the cuffs biting into my wrists. I land on the same shoulder, an involuntary cry slipping past my lips as the taste of blood slides across my tongue.
I sense that one of the men jerks forward as if to protect me. There’s something on his face, something in the way he looks at me that makes me feel like I’m not the target, I’m the rescue mission.
“You dare put your hands on her! That is the daughter of Esteban Herrera. You know what that means, yes?”
“Si,” Mateo clips. “It means that she’s like royalty to you.” He looks down at me. “As you can see, I don’t give a fuck what she is to you. Esteban or her. One Herrera is going to die. It’s his choice.”
The blood quickly filling my mouth begins to trickle down my throat, causing me to choke on the thick liquid. I cough, watching red droplets fly from my mouth and splatter the concrete floor beneath me.
“You have no idea who you’re fucking with,nino. You’ve started a war you can’t finish.”
“No!” Mateo growls. “You don’t know who you’re fucking with. You’ve seen the girl and you have my terms. Tell Esteban I’ll be waiting for his decision. In the meantime, I might have a little fun with yourprincesawhile I wait. You might want to tell him not to take too long.”
“We’ll be in touch.” The man nods.
I hear feet shuffling around me, but I don’t realize what’s happening until two strong hands grip my biceps, standing me upright.
I blink... Once. Twice. My vision blurs before clearing to see the backsides of the retreating men who are being ushered out with guns pointed directly at them.
Seconds after they disappear from view, I feel the cuff slide off of one of my wrists, quickly followed by the other. My arms drop lifeless at my sides as my mind tries to comprehend what just happened.
“Dimitri, head down to the dock. I want word as soon as they are off the island.” Mateo’s voice sounds so far away it’s almost as if he’s talking through a tunnel.
“On it, boss.” I hear Dimitri’s footsteps as he quickly walks away.
I glance up at Mateo, as he directs his attention to Niko. “Tell Ross I want to know the second those assholes land in Columbia. I want a tail on them. If I can’t flush Esteban out, maybe I can find out where he’s hiding.”
Niko nods, his gaze sliding to me before darting back to his boss, asking a silent question he never vocalizes.
“I’ll handle it,” Mateo answers, nodding to the door.
Without a backward glance, Niko takes off through the courtyard.
As if waking up from a dream, my eyes snap to Mateo.
