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Well…that was news to me. I looked up at Omar again, looking for any sign that he was trying to rile Angel up, but his expression was serious. My heart leaped into my throat. “Lyse is mine,” Omar said.
The older man’s eyes narrowed. “Do you intend tomarryher?”
Marriage meant protection. If Omar married me, then Angel would be obligated to protect me…unless Angel did away with both of us right now. “If I said yes?”
Angel’s finger moved to the trigger. “I can’t let that happen, Omar. I won’t be responsible for one of the Rojas, not after everything.” He was growing frustrated with us, I could tell, but he was still hesitating. I couldn’t figure out why. “She’s been all over our island. Her familytrackedher there. Can’t you see what a liability it is to keep her around?”
“They tracked the man thatIkilled after he stowed away on the boat. I didn’t think about him wearing anything when he was trying to beat me to death.”
Angel pinched the bridge of his nose, like we were giving him a headache. “Do you ever think anything all the way through?”
“I’m sorry,hermano. Should I have searched him while I was trying not to die?”
I squeezed Omar’s hand. “Enough.”
Angel’s eyes snapped to me. “Are you telling my brother what to do,puta?”
Omar pushed me behind him, again. “You don’t get to talk to her like that,” he said. “You can call me whatever name you like, and I’ll likely deserve it, but not her.”
For a moment, Angel looked impressed, like he was seeing his brother for the very first time, and then the gun wavered for a second before he pointed it squarely at Omar’s chest. “No!” I tried to move so that I was in front of him, but Omar kept me at his back.
“You’re choosing her over us.” Angel sounded devastated, but his aim was true. If he pulled the trigger, it would blast a hole in Omar’s chest. It would likely be fatal. Two weeks ago, if I had gotten news thatLa Bestiahad died, I probably wouldn’t have thought about it more thangood riddance. Now, it would wrench a hole in my chest.
“Don’t do this,” I whispered, pressing myself against Omar’s back. “Don’t let him do this.”
“Listen to her,” Angel said. “Your pet Rojas is actually making sense.”
But Omar wouldn’t be swayed: he didn’t move even as Angel threatened him, but he didn’t draw a weapon either. He wouldn’t hurt his brother, even now to protect us both. “If you’re going to kill her, you’ll have to kill us both,hermano.”
The seconds stretched on for centuries, but finally Angel let out a yell, and I heard the click of him putting the safety back on. “You’re no longer a Castillo,” he said. “Do you understand me? You aredonewith this family.”
Omar’s body went rigid against me. “Angel.”
“Take her and go,” Angel talked over him. “Get out of Miami, start over somewhere where I never have to see or hear from you again. If Ieversee your faces again, there won’t even be big enough parts of you to dump in the Everglades.” He motioned for us to go. “Twenty-four hours, Omar. I mean it.”
You don’t have to tell me twice, I thought and grabbed hold of Omar’s arm. “Let’s go,” I urged him. “Now.”
Omar was reluctant to turn his back on Angel, but with a heavy breath, he did and hustled me out of the office. “I’m not a Castillo anymore,” he said, sounding shell-shocked.
I reached up to cup his face in my hand. “You belong to me now,” I said, repeating the words he’d said to me. “We’ll just be Omar and Lyse from now on.”
He stared at me, lost, for a moment before my words registered. “Omar and Lyse,” he agreed, leaning down to kiss me. “We need to go.”
On our way out, we passed the kitchen, and Emma startled when she saw us. “You’re…still here.”Still alive, I corrected her in my head. Obviously, she had not expected the meeting to go well.
Omar’s eyes dropped to her belly bump, and he frowned. “I’m sorry that I won't be around to become Tío Omar.”
"What happened? Where are you going?"
We don't have time for this. "Angel’s letting us live," I told her, "but we have to leave Miami."
Emma's eyes became wet with tears. "He can't do this," she said. "I won't let him do this."
Omar shook his head. "It's all right," he said. "I made my choice." He put his hand on my shoulder, and Emma's mouth flattened into a line. "Look after Angel for me, okay?"
She nodded. "You best go. I imagine he'll come looking for me soon."
Omar hugged her, hard. "Adios, Mija."
