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“You are a man who can’t be claimed or tamed by any woman,” I point out while setting my bottle aside. With the rag, I work up at lather and rub it along my arms and legs.
“You think you can tame me?” His inflection dips, and I envision him getting a glimpse of my bare ass.
Why the thought makes my belly quiver, I’ll never know.
“I would love to see you try, Lupe. Very fucking much.”
Dios mío.My eyelids flutter at the grit in his voice. I have to suck in air just to keep focused. “No,” I croak. “To be clear, I respect that you can’t be controlled. In fact, I encourage your freedom. Don’t waste any more time than you need to. I can take care of Franco from here on out.”
“Oh, you can, can you?” I’m caught off guard by the bite of amusement in his voice. “And how do you intend to do that?”
With my eyes on the beautiful, modern marble wall in front of me, I try to come up with an answer. “I have money saved up,” I lie. That money was won on a whim at the event I met him. Thankfully, it’s enough to secure a place somewhere and plot my next steps. In my mind, anyway.
“That’s all?” Another advancing footfall snaps me back to the present reality—one where Jaguar is gaining ground, and I have nowhere to run.
“A measly hundred k,” he remarks with a sigh. God, he sounds even closer—then I feel him. Just a delicate touch trailing up and down my inner thigh. My startled gasp is easily drowned out as he continues to speak, “That won’t be enough to get fake documents for your son. At least more convincing ones than the phonies you’ve already procured for yourself. Maria Ana Theresa Ramirez. You certainly do love your fake aliases, don’t you,Lupita.”
What feels like the harsh pad of his thumb ghosts between my legs, making me gasp. The hardness of his body presses into me from behind. My skin tingles as his arm comes around me. I have to grind my teeth and stiffen my shoulders to keep from relaxing into his embrace.
“Hmm?” he prods, referring to his unanswered question.
“Y-Yes,” I choke out. From this angle, I can’t see his expression—and my curiosity kills me. “They’ve gotten me this far.”
“Yes…” That thumb presses into me a fraction harder, sending sparks down my spine. “You won’t make it much farther with shoddy documents like that, especially with a child. You’ll need to ensure they can pass enough scrutiny for him to enroll in school, of course. You do want him to go to school, don’t you?”
“What game are you playing?” I demand. “You don’t really care. Just… Just let me rebuild our lives in peace.”
“Oh, but that’s what I’m getting at,” he adds. His hand lands on my shoulder, spinning me to face him. His eyes blaze, as serious as ever. “You won’t findpeaceaway from me. I’ve kept this little tidbit of information to myself, but I think it’s time you know the full extent of the danger you’re in. I’m afraid that the second you decide to leave my orbit, chica, only death awaits you. A rather nasty one, I’m sure. The killer will love to take their time with you.”
“W-What?” A cold, finite dread washes over me at such an open threat. Am I surprised? Of course not. Men like Braulio, Jaguar, and Diego… They are all one and the same.
“If you intend to threaten me, Jaguar, I prefer you do so outright and save the mind games for a woman who hasn’t heard it all before.”
I sound so bitter. So damn hard.
“Exactly.” With narrowed eyes, he steps closer. “So, it should come as no surprise to you that someone wants you dead, Lupe. Those butterflies in your apartment were merely the start. They’ve had you followed, even to my home. They’ve had spies paid to watch you. All this time, you haven’t even noticed, have you?”
But I have. I just assumed he was the source behind the growing sense that I was being watched at every turn.
“The methods are too subtle for Braulio alone,” Jaguar adds, reaching out to finger a lock of my hair. Around and around, he manipulates that curl, and I feel like it’s a visual metaphor for what he aims to do to me. Corrupt and control. “I’m sure you realize that. He must be working with someone else.Thisman is a pro. He knows who to hire and how to stay under the radar. In fact, it’s how I might have gone about it.”
Damn this man and his word games. “What are you saying?”
He twists my hair one last time and then tugs, yanking my face closer to his. “I’m saying that they won’t stop until they gain control of you. That attack on Braulio’s California Villa? I didn’t tell you that we captured one of the intruders alive. According to him, they never wanted to kill your son. Their aim was to take him alive—and he was a professional bastard who excelled at his job, too. Ex-military and the whole fucking cocktail. I think they were after Franco only to get to you.”
Or the real Tiena.Dios mío, what the hell has she gotten herself into?
“So what? I have to stay with you?” I manage to choke out.
“No—” He frowns as if I suggested I jump from the roof. “You should bebeggingto stay with me. I am the only one capable of helping you out of such a dicey predicament, chica. Unless, you were thinking of running to your friend Pedro Juarez for help? I think even he might be limited in this instance—”
“No!” I wrench out of his grasp. “Pedro.” I can’t hide the terror I know distorts my expression. My hands are in fists, my logic gone. “If you hurt him, I will—”
“Remember who you are talking to,” he scolds, but when he captures my chin, his touch is unnervingly gentle. He strokes me, following the curve of my lower lip with a slow, sensual caress. “You play the role of a mindless harlot so damn well, but when pushed to the brink, those claws come out. That’s the thing I like about you, my Lupe. When it comes to those you love, truly love, you are fiercely loyal, ready to fight anything and anyone at a moment’s notice. If I had even looked at your son the wrong way, I’m sure you would have lunged for my throat, wouldn’t you have?”
He chuckles. He finds the prospect funny.
Tears prickle my eyes as I realize how hopelessly deranged this all is instead. God, I should have never come to him.
