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I’ll really need to watch her. I’ll have to move back into my father’s mansion so I can keep an eye on this little witch. I pick up my gun and rush for the exit, finding Regio, one of my guards, roughly gripping Vicenta by the arm.
“Let me go!” She yanks against his hold.
Regio shoves her to the side before delivering a backhand across her face. Time moves slowly after that, my vision tinted in red as Vicenta falls to the tarmac. I rush down the stairs with my empty gun still in my hand. When I reach him, I see fear in his eyes and note that he’s saying something. I hear nothing except the echo of his blow toBruja’s beautiful face. Without thinking of the repercussions, I flip my gun around, holding the barrel as I hit him across the face with the butt.
One hit just isn’t enough.
I do it once more, making him fall to his knees, but my fist in his shirt holds him up. I continue to beat him, vaguely aware that someone is trying to stop me.
I hear Vicenta scream, making me stop the brutal beating of Regio. He’s barely breathing, his face a mess of exposed bone and blood. I shove him away, letting him fall to the ground as I stand straight and turn toward Vicenta.
My breathing is rough as I approach her. She backs up, a spark of fear finally igniting in her face.
“This,” with my bloody hand I gesture to the splatter of blood on my face, “is only a taste of what I’ll have to do each and every time someone touches you.”
“Why?” she whispers on a breath.
“Because I made you a promise.” I reach up and move a lock of hair from her face, ignoring it when she turns away. “But just remember this; I do the killing. Keep your head down and play the part you once played in your father’s home.”
She gasps and turns back to me, making me grin. I step back and gesture to the lit hangar where the jet will be taxied to once we’re gone. I don’t wait for her to move, I know she’ll follow. She’s in my territory now, there’s no getting away for her. I’m halfway to the hangar when she catches up to me, her shorter legs pumping to match my long strides.
“What about him?” She tosses a thumb over her shoulder.
I don’t answer her. She knows exactly what will happen to him; he’ll be dead by morning and a vague memory by the week’s end. I enter the building, speaking in quick Spanish to the crew, before pullingBrujainto the restroom with me. I stand in front of the mirror while she looks around, her arms wrapped around herself. I’m surprised she hasn’t broken down yet, but perhaps she’s waiting for a moment alone to do that.
Her eyes catch mine in the reflection as I begin unbuttoning my dress shirt, pulling it free and exposing my tattooed back to her.
She blushes but never turns away. I can feel the way her eyes travel along my skin, latching onto the old scars my life has given me. I don’t want to see pity—if she’s even capable of that—so I turn on the faucet and begin washing my hands and face.
“So, my father sold me to you?” Her tired voice pulls my eyes to hers in the mirror.
Before answering, I run a wet hand over my head, my short hair sending clear flecks across the mirror. Turning, I lean against the sink, not bothering to search for paper towels to dry off, choosing instead to answer this girl’s questions. Her eyes latch to mine rather than my body and for some reason, it feels much more intimate than anything else.
“Not to me, but to my father.”
She scoffs before pinching the bridge of her nose. “Fucking coward.”
I shake my head, not completely disagreeing with her, but she needs to know that he tried.
“Victor didn’t hand you over easily,Bruja. He tried to give up his life for you. He basically told Marío to go fuck himself, but when the lives of your brother and mother were threatened, what else could he do?”
She drops her hand, her eyes angry. “That’s easy for you to say! You haven’t been sold off to some old fuck like you don’t matter. I know Victor well—he chosehimselfover me, Alvaro. What am I supposed to do now? Spread my legs for that disgusting pig?”
I move quickly, slamming my hand over her mouth, my words coming out through gritted teeth. “Shut the fuck up! Everyone here wants to be on Marío’s good side; they all want something. Do you think they’ll hesitate to tell him what they’ve heard you say?”
We stare at one another for a tense moment before her eyes finally lose their ire. Her soft fingers tentatively wrap around my wrist, siding my hand down to her chest, pulling the collar open so we are skin to skin.
“He will take me against my will, won't he?”
I don’t answer her. I can’t.
“I thought so.” Tears slide down her face as she looks up at me.
“I won’t be far from you, Vicenta. I’ll always be there.” I wish I could take her away from here. If there was anything I could give to her to help her through her new life, I would without hesitation, but what can help her now but the death of my father? An impossible thing.
I feel the rapid pounding against my hand as she speaks. “Did you know that the heart dips in a distinct way when its owner lies?” I don’t answer as she stares into my eyes. “Your eyes are blue.”
I feel it when her heart splutters, a quick palpitation due to her lie.
