AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stand.
I kneel in front of the fireplace and start stacking wood.
I find a nearby box of matches and get the fire going. Soon the room is filled with a warmth that makes me almost too relaxed. I look at her. “Stay here. I’ll get you the first aid kit and something to change into.”
I walk to the bedroom and grab some of the spare clothes I keep stashed here. This is a private hiding spot. Not even my cousins know I own it. I pull out some clothes for Ana and then go to the bathroom and get the first aid kit.
I return to the living room and set everything down. “I’ll help you change first, and then we will sort out your foot.”
She looks apprehensive and I snort, “Once you’ve seen one naked girl, you’ve pretty much seen them all. Besides, I have no desire to hurt you. Let me help.”
I lean forward and put my hands on either side of the flimsy dress she’s wearing. She raises her arms as I pull it up and off her. My breath catches in my chest, she’s more beautiful than I imagined.
I try not to make a big deal out of it even though my dick is already semi-hard. She’s got her eyes trained on my face and I help her into a baggy shirt. Then I help her into a pair of tracksuit pants.
“Thank you,” she says quietly before sitting back on the sofa.
I grab a nearby wooden stool and sit in front of her, patting my leg. “Give me your leg. Let me see that foot.”
She props her leg on top of mine, and I carefully clean her wound and start to bandage it. “It could have been worse. We’re lucky it isn’t that deep.”
She removes her leg, and I look directly into her eyes. “You’re lucky I was there tonight. That guy who was bidding against me to win you? He only wants to humiliate your father and knock down my family a notch.”
She looks away but still asks me quietly, “Do you think that was their plan all along?”
I take out my phone, scrolling through her social media to the photo. “If I had placed her earlier, I would have warned you. She’s well known to lure away women to be trafficked, and when she saw you, she probably made you immediately for the infamous Bratva Princess.”
“Stop calling me a princess,” Ana snaps, but I shake my head.
“You are a princess, and your father will kill you. What were you thinking? I assume you had some sort of plan? You’re not completely stupid.” I put my phone away. “Ana, speak to me! Then maybe I can help ensure your father doesn’t send you off to Serbia for the rest of your life.”
It takes a few moments, but eventually, she meets my eyes again. “Mateo Catalan killed my mother. I wanted to get my revenge and kill him. I thought I could get close to him through Juanita.”
“So you knew who she was? Ana, that was a terrible idea, especially to do it alone. Not only did you put yourself in harm’s way, but you may have caused a war between them and our families.” I sigh and shake my head.
My phone rings, and I glance at the screen. It’s Dominic. No doubt he’s pissed and ready to take my head off.
“Wait,” Ana says suddenly. “Just hear me out.”
I don’t know why, but I silence the call and look at her. “You better make this quick. They’re not going to accept that I just hung up on them.”
“I need to finish what I started,” she says, and it’s with a dead seriousness. Her eyes don’t break away from mine, and I can see how important this is to her. “I will pay you whatever your asking price. Money is no object if you kill Mateo Catalan for me.”
“So you’ve gone from trying to kill him yourself to getting the family hitman to take him out. The answer is no.” I turn away from her, but she grabs my hand, and I look back at her. “Ana, I’m not a decision-maker. I’m a follower. I’m told where to point and shoot, and I follow the instructions to the letter.”
“I’m telling you where to point and shoot,” she looks at me with those wide round eyes, and I sigh.
“I can’t do anything without explicit permission from our families, Ana. You should know that. I don’t know what your end goal is here, with a revenge killing, but you impress no one if you start a war that costs lives unnecessarily.” I stand up and stand by the fire, warming my hands.
“I will give you anything you want,” she says quietly. “Anything.”
Anything.
I ponder on that for a moment. Would she give me herself? Her body? No, I can’t even entertain that thought. But still, I am so close. She steps closer to me, looking up at me with big eyes and I swallow.
“Please,” she murmurs, leaning up so our mouths are close together. You could cut the tension between us with a blunt knife.
But her father would never allow that. I sigh and shake my head, pulling away. As much as I want to help her purely because I would do anything to make her smile, I can’t do this. I can’t just go gun-happy, killing heads of breakaway cartels to satisfy a woman’s thirst for revenge.
