AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mauricio reared back and hit me again, this time in the gut. I doubled over; the air was knocked from my lungs. Before I could catch my breath, he began raining blows down on me. He largely stayed away from my face after getting that first crack in, but nowhere else was safe. His fists landed with meaty thuds.It sounds like drumming. My mind started drifting in the way that it would when Padre would do this; it was a way to escape the pain and endure for as long as necessary.
A vicious blow to my side cracked a rib, and I hit my knees, unable to keep my feet. I felt Mauricio shift, as if he were going to kick me, and I braced for it. “Stop,” Angel said. I could tell that he didn’t want to, but Mauricio obediently stepped back. “Get up.”
I wasn’t sure if I could: everything was hazy. I tried to take a deep breath, to use it to push myself up, but my right side felt like it was bursting into flames. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to my feet, nearly toppling over as my head swam, but I managed to keep my balance.
Angel stared at me with total disinterest.Maybe he goes somewhere in his head too. “Return to the island,” he said. “Stay there until I call you. If you leave, make sure you go somewhere far enough away that I won’t find you.”
It was a test: I foresaw a lot of those in my future. “Sí.” I turned away from him, hissing slightly.
“Have Lili help clean you up before you go,” Angel said to my back. “Then someone will drive you to the marina. And whatever you do, don’t let anything happen to those fucking guns.”
It was a kindness masked with indifference, but it gave me enough strength to walk from the room without toppling over. I didn’t know if I’d be able to find our sister, but Angel must have called her in anticipation of this because she was standing outside the office. “Come on,” she said, putting an arm around my shoulders.
Lili helped me limp to the nearest bathroom where, with much argument, she helped to patch me up enough so I could return safely to the island. While I was rinsing my mouth out — Mauricio had split my cheek on the inside with that first punch — she texted on her phone. “Someone important?” I asked, spitting out water pinked with blood.
She looked at me. “I do have friends, you know.”
“Like Matteo Rojas?”
Her hand shot out, slapping my shoulder on instinct, and when I groaned in real pain, she winced. “Sorry.”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“Stop talking about Matteo, okay? I don’t know Matteo Rojas.”
She was lying, and we both knew it. Lili had always been terrible at keeping secrets. But the genuine pain and panic on her face made me not want to push. Whatever happened between her and the Rojas heir was significant…but she would never tell me if I tried to pry it out of her. “Okay,” I said. “Lo siento.”
She waved me off. “Just…drop it, okay? That’s enough.” Her phone buzzed again, and she snorted when she read the message. “Our brother is asking if you’re going to live or not.” I tried to grab her phone, moving too quickly, and I nearly doubled over as my ribs felt like they were splintering into my organs. “Would you stop it?” Lili snapped, easing me down so that I was seated on the closed toilet lid. “Mauricio did a number on you.”
“It wasn’t all him.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “How many fights have you gotten into recently,idiota?”
“Fuck off.”
Lili crossed her arms over her chest. “Tell me again why I should be nice to you?”
“I never said you had to,cabrona.” Oddly enough, it felt good to be sniping with her again. If my relationship with Angel was forever changed, it was good to know that Lili and I would be the same as ever. Another buzzing text from Angel came through, and she frowned. “Time for me to go?”
She nodded. “He’s really not going to let this go, is he?”
“He can’t,” I said, slowly getting to my feet. “Like you said, if he appears weak right now, he’s a sitting duck.”
“But he’s still sending you away.”
“Only to the island. I’m close enough that I’ll be here if he needs me.”
“But—”
“It’s the best-case scenario,” I said. “I can survive exile. It won’t be forever.”
She nodded and quickly shoved the bandages and gauze tape into the med kit that belonged under the sink. “What about Lyse?” she asked. “What will you do about her?”
My heart squeezed in my chest. “She’s safe,” I said. “That’s all that matters.”
“Where is she? Why didn’t she come back with you?”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m not going to tell you that,” I said. “It’s better for all of us if we forget about Lyse Rojas, okay?”
