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What? What was he saying?
She didn’t understand.
“Are you . . . are you saying that you know where Cat’s mother is?” Alejandro asked slowly, as though he was trying to make sense of the words that he’d just spoken.
Wait.
He had Mama? Wait . . . could Emiliano be Mama’s monster?
“A prior claim?” Alejandro said. “Cat’s father was Pete Sanderson.”
Emiliano’s face grew dark. “No, he was not. I am Catarina’s father. Me. She belongs to me. Just like her mother belongs to me. Oh, she did a good job of hiding you. I never knew that she was pregnant with you when she ran from me. She was foolish to believe she could hide from me forever. She has been punished for that too.”
A sick feeling developed in her stomach. “What . . . what have you done with my mother? Are you the one she’s been running from all this time? If you’ve hurt her, I will kill you!”
“Silence!” he roared. “No child of mine will talk to me like that. And I have every right to punish my wife! She belongs to me. Just like you do. I am here to take you home. I have a colleague who is eager to meet you. A marriage between our families will be advantageous to us both.” He smiled oily.
“Marriage? Take me back? I’m not going anywhere with you. And I’m already married.”
“Oh, I can change that.” He drew a gun from the small of his back. She watched in horror as he raised it, pointing it at Alejandro. She felt like she was moving through quicksand, trying to get to him, to shove him out of the way. But he had other thoughts. He turned to her, pushing her down as the shot rang out.
He let out a pained grunt, one that she never wanted to hear again in her life. She screamed as he landed on top of her on the floor. The whole world seemed to move into chaos. She watched on in shock as Bernie shoved himself sideways, falling into Emiliano.
Had he been faking being unconscious?
The others had taken cover as shots were fired.
“Do not hit my daughter!” Emiliano yelled.
Fuck. She needed to get Alejandro somewhere safe. He wasn’t moving, but she wasn’t going to entertain the idea that he was dead.
He had to be all right, because she couldn’t live without him.
She pulled herself out from under him, then started dragging him somewhere safer. It was hard going since he was heavy as hell. The others did their best to cover her, drawing the fire away from her and Alejandro. She managed to get him into the passage to the right.
“Please, please, please.”
More shots. Please let everyone be all right.
A sob escaped as she looked Alejandro over. There was blood on his chest.
No, no, no.
Please. He can’t die.
He’d promised . . . he’d promised not to leave her.
This was supposed to be forever.
“Catarina.”
“Nooo,” she moaned as she looked up into Emiliano’s face. He looked feral, unhinged.
She couldn’t process what he’d said about her mother. She knew that later she’d have to go back over it. Pick it apart.
All she had time for right now was Alejandro.
“You’re coming with me.”
She panicked. Surely, someone would come to her aid. But they all seemed to be involved in fighting off his men. It was just the three of them over here.
Why didn’t a stray bullet hit him?
Wait. Bullet. Oh God, could she do it?
You can if it means saving your life.
Saving Alejandro.
She moved her hand under Alejandro, grabbing hold of the gun and sliding it free.
With both hands, she held it up. Her arms wobbled and for a moment, she thought she was going to drop it. Or throw up.
She had this awful feeling of déjà vu. Why did this feel so familiar?
“You will not shoot me,” he stated. “Look at you, you’re pathetic. Shaking. Come here.”
He reached for her and she didn’t have time to think. All she knew was that if he got her out of there, she’d never see Alejandro again.
She pressed her finger down on the trigger.
Nothing happened.
“Stupid girl!” He laughed as she realized the safety was on. Slipping it off, she pressed the trigger again.
A gasp escaped her as he stared at her in shock, before his body dropped to the floor.
Oh God.
She’d just killed him. She dropped the gun, feeling like she was going to vomit.
Get it together, Cat.
You need to help Alejandro.
“Cat!” She glanced up as Bernie kneeled down beside her. He had a bruised eye and dried blood on his face, but his hands were sure as he examined Alejandro.
It took her a moment to realize that the room was relatively quiet. The gunshots had stopped at least.
“Cairn! Someone! Go find Aaron!” Bernie yelled. “Scot, get me something to stop the bleeding.”
