AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She wasn’t wrong in the slightest, but the fact that she was challenging me made my blood run hot.Pin her down, I told myself.Remind her how strong you are. But the intrusive thoughts didn’t get to win today. There was too much to do before I went to Miami. “You’re not wrong,” I said finally, leaning forward to peck her lips, quickly before either of us got too distracted. “But I don’t have to like it.”
Lyse chuckled. “Noted.”
I backed off the bed and went for the tray. “Let’s eat,” I said. “I’ve got a full day ahead of me.”
Her smile faded a little. “What do you need to do?”
“Eat,” I told her again and glared until she took her first bite of bacon. “I have to head back to Miami tonight. Angel woke up.”
She perked up. “Is he going to be okay?”
I nodded. “Seemingly so. I’m going to see for myself.”
“But what about—?”
I swallowed the food in my mouth. It was delicious, but the moment it hit my stomach, it curdled. “Felix came through. The police have been called off. In theory, I should be safe in Miami without worrying about being arrested, or worse.”
She looked surprised…and just a little disappointed. The sickening twist in my stomach eased. “Am I coming with you?”
“No.” The word was out of my mouth before I truly thought about it. Ihadbeen thinking of bringing Lyse with me. Felix had paid her ransom price. By all rights, he should get to see her, even if I had no plans to actually turn her over. “Not yet.”
“But…why? You’re not leaving me, are you?”
I gave her a hard look.Is that what she’s so upset about? That I’ll abandon her?By rights, Lyse should want to go home to her family; she should demand to be in the boat with me this afternoon. Instead, she looked more upset at the prospect of being left alone. “I get to decide if and when you go back to your family.” I took her chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at me.
She jolted out of my grasp. “Are you going to tell my father that? Felix?”
The thought of Felix’s hands on her made the bacon in my stomach curdle. “You belong to me now, remember?”
“Then let me help you.”
“No,” I said. “Absolutely not. Paint something for me. I’ll be home before sunrise.”
Lyse let out an ugly sound that might have been a laugh. “You won’t make it out of a meeting with my father alive.”
I watched the hardened look on her face soften in concern. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll do whatever I have to do to come back to you.”
CHAPTER18
Omar
“You look like you were hit by a truck,hermano,” I said, leaning against the doorframe of Angel’s hospital room.
Emma turned, though she didn’t let go of Angel’s hand, and a smile bloomed on her face. “Omar! You’re home!”
“How are you feeling?” I asked her.
She looked back at Angel, and her smile became blinding. “I’m fine,” she said. Her words were more for Angel than me, but I didn’t mind.
When my older brother first fell in love with Emma, it was comical to watch him, but uncomfortable too. Angel Castillo was not a romantic soul. He was violent and cold, and the only ones who ever saw his warmth were Lili, Manny, and me. My father had molded him into the perfect heir. Falling in love shouldn’t have beenpossible.
But here he was, staring at Emma like she hung the moon and stars in the sky. He would hand her the beating heart from his chest if she asked for it. I didn’t get it before. I couldn’t imagine allowing anyone to have that power over me.
Thinking about the possibility of Lyse ever smiling at me like that, though, made my heart flip-flop in my chest. I’d never thought myself capable of love before, and I wasn’t sure if that was what I was feeling now, but Lyse was mine. I wasn’t going to just give her up. Maybe that was how love started.
I sat down in the empty chair beside Emma, and my sister-in-law leaned into my shoulder for a moment in greeting. “You took on the entire Rojas family?” Angel asked. “By yourself?”
There was no point in lying about it. I wasn’t ashamed. “I would do it again,” I said. “Trust that.”
