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His hand goes to my belly and I see red, going full-on nuclear.
I unleash a series of kicks and jabs into his chest and abdomen. “Don’t touch them!”
He sucks wind, surprised, and probably maimed from my attack. It’s not enough. I want him to bleed out.
Rage induced, I volley more punches and kicks. The glare he gives me would make my blood run cold if I wasn’t in mama-bear mode.
To my great dissatisfaction, Esteban easily restrains me. “Don’t do that again,” he snarls, spittle flying from his mouth. “Now answer me. Did I hurt the babies?”
“Go to hell!”
The drug lord surprises me by yanking me to my feet, making me yelp in fear. He shakes me jarringly to drill his point across. “Don’t test me, Josefina. You’ve seen firsthand what I’m capable of if you push. Did. I. Hurt. My. Grandchildren.”
“Not yet,” I snap.
Poking the bear is never a good idea, but I can see he worries about keeping them safe for the time being. Insurance maybe? Perhaps he wants to use my children as another bargaining chip to rope in Maceo. Regardless of his intentions, Esteban’s not going to do anything else to me…at least I pray not.
Esteban purses his lips, his dark eyes turning nearly black from his heavy brow. I’m not blind to the danger I’m in. He’s contemplating something; I can practically see the wheels turning in his head.
Note to self: tread lightly.
A bit late for that, Jo.
Doctor Gomez comes running into the room, his eyes cartoonish in size as he takes in my battered face. “Señor Moreno, I came as fast as I could. What happened to Jo?”
Esteban says nothing as he turns his stoic glare from me to the doctor. His demeanor makes it clear not to question him.
The doctor swallows and nods, understanding he’s fixing me and nothing more. He motions for Esteban to lay me on the settee in the adjoining room. Working at backbreaking speed, Doctor Gomez tends to my wounds with meticulous care.
“Be sure to check the babies,” Esteban orders as he paces back and forth with his hands on his hips. His eyes burn a hole into my skin with how intense his stare is, fuming but holding it inside.
Loafer-dick motherfucker.
The doctor palms my belly. “When you fell, did you land on your abdomen?”
“No,” I answer, daring to glare back at Esteban. I may not be able to say what I think about him to his face, but he can kiss my ass if he thinks his glower is going to scare me into submission.
Whatever Esteban sees in my face does not make him happy. “I believe a lesson is needed.” Esteban calls over his shoulder to one of his guards. “Bring me the cook,”
Dread washes over me, and the blood drains from my face. He wouldn’t hurt her, would he? She has nothing to do with my behavior.
The cook is dragged into the room by two men, she sobs in their grasp. “Por favor! No hagas esto,” she begs through her tears.
The chef is tossed at Esteban’s feet, shaking and pleading for mercy. Esteban cocks his head at the woman before turning toward me. His dark eyes relaying a message, loud and clear—don’t screw with him or else.
“No,” I whisper, my eyes wide with horror. I had asked him not to harm her earlier. He knows hurting her will hurt me. If he can’t punish me physically, he’ll find another way to keep me in check. Hence, the cook is my whipping boy.
Esteban pulls his gun from his shoulder harness and unloads on the poor woman.
Had I not been lying down, I would have fainted. My hand covers my mouth as a scream rips free from my lungs. A cold sweat breaks out across my skin as nausea climbs up my throat.
No, no, no, no…
He just killed an innocent woman as a punishment for my behavior. Esteban may have pulled the trigger, but my actions landed her in the crossfires. She was a human being with feelings, hopes, and dreams. She possibly had a husband and children, people who loved and depended on her. And here I fucked with her life like it was Russian roulette and lost the game.
Dear God, forgive me!
Unable to rein in my emotions, I burst into tears, hyperventilating.
“Señor Moreno! You can’t act like this around your daughter-in-law. The stress could cause her to miscarry,” Doctor Gomez yells, concern coating his voice. He hastily puts a blood pressure cuff on me. “Her heart rate is out of control!”
He tries to distract me from the lifeless poor chef, but Esteban presses the gun against the doctor’s temple. “Do you need a reminder of who you’re dealing with, doctor? Mind your fucking Ps and Qs, and keep my son’s wife relaxed and the babies safe.”
Doctor Gomez’s body shakes as he nods in compliance.
Esteban kneels by my side, running his fingers over my tear-stained cheek affectionately, making me squirm inside. “Let this be a warning, little flower. Though I enjoy your fire, I will not tolerate it. Insult me again and I’ll put a bullet in another innocent. Do I make myself clear?”
Crystal.I swallow the bile lodged in my throat before nodding.
There’s no reasoning with a megalomaniac, and now there’s blood on my hands for testing his patients.
