She glares at my wrist, a questioning look on her face.
“You never take that off, but it’s grande for a pequena niña like you. Is it yours?”
I glance down at the black watch, brushing it with my fingertips.
“No, it’s my ex’s.”
“It’s expensive,” she states.
I nod, keeping my eyes on my wrist.
“Does he know?”
“He does,” I confirm before I turn my gaze away.
The bartender’s face cracks in a wide smile as he gives me a wink before he leans over the bar, his face close to mine. He smells like rum and cigars, a mix of scents that are distinctive to Cubans. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and my heart starts to pound in my chest. For a second, I’m shocked. My eyes widen in confusion, not sure why my body is reacting to this man the way it is. The way it does for only one person.
I abruptly turn around, scanning the entire bar while I feel panic creep into my body. My eyes are looking for the man who appears in both my dreams and my nightmares, expecting him to pop out of a corner any second now.
Like a demon lurking in the shadows.
I can hear my blood pounding in my head, my mouth turning dry from my heavy breathing. Gloria’s hand on my arm snaps me out of it, and she gives me a questioning look.
“Todo bien?”
I look at her for a few heartbeats, trying to keep a straight face. Unable to voice a response, I ignore her question and move my attention back to the bartender.
“Que quieres, bonita?” He gives me a smoldering look while he bites his lip, waiting for my order.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves before I shoot him a tight smile.
“Three margaritas, por favor.”
“Si, claro.” He winks before he walks away to make our drinks.
I follow his every move, confused as to why my body is reacting the way it is.
“Are you okay, hermosa?” Gloria leans over the bar, forcing me to look at her, so I give her a reassuring smile.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I move my gaze back towards the bottles behind the bar, turning away from the worried look on her face. She continues to stare at me, and when I finally look at her, disbelief blankets her face.
I take a deep breath before I lock my eyes with hers.
“Really, I’m good.” She wrinkles her nose skeptically before shaking her head.
“Your past will catch up with you one day, chica.” The tone in her voice is serious, almost like she knows exactly what part of my past is at my heels every minute of every day, even though I haven’t told her anything about it.
I let out a deep sigh before I give the bartender a grateful smile, grabbing my margarita after throwing a few bills on the bar. With a shit ton of eagerness, I bring the glass to my mouth, taking a greedy gulp. I close my eyes while I enjoy the explosion of flavors, moving them around the inside of my mouth.
The saltiness of the salt.
The sourness of the lemon.
The bitterness of the alcohol.
All ending with the liquid burning my throat in the best possible way.
The corners of my mouth curl up in a satisfied smile when I feel my body begin to settle down again.
My eyes open and meet with Gloria’s.
“I know. That’s why we can’t stay here.”
Her face falls a bit before curiosity washes over her face. But she never directly asks. Not during the last few weeks, and not now. Something tells me Gloria is used to running around with assholes like the ones I’m running away from.
“Isn’t there some other way?”
I shake my head.
I wish there was. I wish I could settle in one place, able to build whatever I want to build on my own. To be able to have a dream and work towards it.
I’m not the kind of girl who told her fifth-grade teacher she wanted to be a stewardess. Or a doctor. But I do like to believe that I will eventually have more to live for aside from following in my father’s footsteps. That I am capable of more than being a tacky pickpocket.
“Joder,” she curses before her lips form a small line in displeasure while I quietly sip my drink.
We stay quiet for a few minutes while I try to get rid of the unsettling feeling that’s still surging through my veins, enjoying our drinks until I hear Gloria chuckle beside me.
“What?” I give her a quick glance before I focus my eyes back to my glass.
Her back is pressed against the bar, leaning on it with one of her elbows while the other arm is holding up her margarita, her eyes focused on something on the other side of the club.
“You really are fucking popular today, mi hermosa.”
“Yeah, why is that?”
“Because there is this blond mangon checking you out like he hasn’t eaten for weeks. I think he wants you to become his dinner. Or breakfast.” She raises her glass to her lips while she gives me a playful wink.
I feel my heart drop when the word blond leaves her lips, and goosebumps appear all over my body. A tight feeling is enclosing my heart as I close my eyes, gasping for air.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
I look up to the ceiling, hoping that I’m wrong about this, like I thought I was five minutes ago, but I know it’s a hopeless attempt.
Because I now know I wasn’t wrong about it five minutes ago.
“Describe him.” My tone is resolute, and I do my best not to show any emotion, my palms flat on the wooden bar top, keeping me from passing out. I can feel the blood rushing through my veins at 200 miles per hour while I try my hardest to keep breathing.
Her head snaps to mine, and she cocks an eyebrow with a smug smile on her face.
“Oh, now you’re interested?”
“Describe him,” I repeat with a tone that leaves no room for questions.
“Vale, okay. He’s blond, very hot, double spicy,” she sings in her Cuban accent, “big, big arms. Arms you’ll want to lick.”
Her tongue darts out, and normally it would make me chuckle, but right now my humor button is muted until further notice.
“A tattooed arm, and he has this brooding look on his face,” she continues.
“Shit,” I hopelessly mutter, not that I had any hope left.
I take another deep breath before I throw my margarita down my throat. I really shouldn’t numb my senses even further, but I feel like I don’t have a choice. I have no clue what is going to happen in the next few hours, and I’m slightly freaking out.
There is no use in running. He found me, and he will find me again. It was inevitable. It’s the reason I never pretended like I would never see him again. There is no hiding from this man. He’s got the best resources, the strongest will, and if that isn’t enough, our bodies seem to have a magnetic pull for each other. It was simply a postponement of my execution, knowing he would find me, eventually. Secretly wanting him to find me.
To release me from the agonizing pain in my heart that has grown bigger and bigger every day since I walked off his yacht.
I let out a big sigh, wondering how I should play this. Maybe if I comply, I can at least negotiate freedom and safety for Genny.
I snatch the margarita that is supposed to be for Imogen, and Gloria watches me finish half of it like it’s water.
She’ll forgive me.
“Liquid courage for the blond mangon?” She waggles her eyebrows at me, unaware of the seriousness of the situation before her gaze moves back to the man who is here for one reason and one reason only.
To make me pay for my betrayal.
“Something like that,” I murmur against the rim of my glass before taking another sip.
I straighten my back, preparing to face the grim reaper who is standing behind me, demanding my soul. With one move, I turn around, casually placing my back against the bar as if I don’t have a care in the world.
The reality is that I’ve never b
een closer to a heart attack than I am now, but nobody will get the pleasure of seeing that.
Fake it till you make it, Callie girl.
My heart is jumping against my ribcage, and I try to control the dryness in my mouth with another sip while my eyes immediately lock with his.
His arctic eyes that I’ve been longing for since I last saw them staring at me through the tinted windows of one of his SUVs. The same eyes that haunt me at night, the eyes of the man who holds my soul and my heart in his hands, crushing them effortlessly.
His expression is stoic, but his eyes are spitting fire.
I raise my brows in acknowledgment, taking yet another sip in an attempt to fake indifference.
“Well, he’s a fucking mangon, right?” Gloria playfully shoves her elbow in my ribs, and I softly nod, my gaze never leaving his.
“Hmm ... he is also my ex,” I explain without saying too much.
It’s not like I can say, ‘Oh, that’s the guy who kidnapped me. I also fell in love with him, but the bastard still wanted to kill me, so I made a run for it.’
Yeah, not something you mention to a new friend.
“Joder, hermosa, you didn’t tell me you had such a handsome ex. Why the fuck would you let a hottie like that slip out of your fingers?”
“Because he’s a fucking asshole,” I deadpan as he starts to saunter towards us.
Eight
Callie
Six years ago – 18 years old
I reach up my arms, stretching out my body, enjoying the warmth that still lingers beneath the black sheets. My fingers caress the now empty space of the bed, then I slowly open my eyes, wondering where Reign went. I sit up, listening to the mumbling voice coming from the living room.
He sounds agitated, making me question what pissed him off this early in the morning when normally he is a ray of fucking sunshine next to my thundercloud.
I throw my legs out of the bed and get up, wanting to find out who he’s talking to like the nosy fuck that I am. Wearing nothing more than a pair of panties, I grab one of his shirts off the floor and pull it over my head before I quietly open the bedroom door, tiptoeing into the living room.
“I don’t fucking care!” he growls into the phone. “I want him dead.”
I stop in my tracks with furrowed brows, curious who he’s talking about.
“I know who he is, Ronnie! He’s a motherfucking psychopath who tried to pimp out his sister! I. Want. Him. Dead.”
I suck in a breath, suddenly knowing exactly who he’s talking about. I look at his muscled back, enjoying the view of his body wearing nothing more than a pair of gray sweats while sitting on the bar stool at his kitchen island. He rubs his face in frustration while listening to whatever Ronnie says on the other end of the line, and it melts my tainted heart. Here he is, my knight in shining armor, willing to fight my battles for me.
Even though he knows by now that messing with Junior Reyes is a suicide mission, he still wants to take my mental brother head on. Fuck the consequences.
“She deserves retribution, Ronnie,” he groans before he lets out a heavy sigh.
And another piece of my heart ends up in the hands of Reign Delaney.
I walk towards him, dropping a hand on his back to warn him of my arrival before I step in front of him, forcing myself between his legs. I cup his neck while I seductively bite my lip, trying to lighten the mood. His brows move up, clearly not expecting me. With troubled eyes, he looks at me as if he is wondering just how much of the conversation I heard. He recovers within a second, flashing me a brief but sweet smile before licking his lips as his hand lands on my back, tugging me closer to his body.
“Fine, I’ll see you tonight.” He rolls his eyes before he hangs up the phone and throws it on the counter.
His sour mood instantly changes when his hands snake over my back, giving me a look full of approval.
“I like the outfit,” he tells me, biting his lip.
“You do?”
“Hmm, fits like a charm.”
“You sure? Because if you want it back, I can just take it off? Like right now? I don’t mind?” I move my hand to the hem of his shirt, slowly pulling it up with a playful grin on my face.
“Fuck, Angel. You’re killing me,” he growls as he places his hands over mine to stop me from undressing any further. “It’s hard enough sleeping next to you without touching you. You can’t go running around naked in this place.”
“I never said you couldn’t touch me.” I shrug casually.
His lips find mine, pressing them against mine in a long, hard kiss.
“I know,” he agrees, leaning back to meet my gaze while his hand fists my hair.
I look into his eyes, which are moving back and forth, roaming my face as if he’s looking for something or has a question on the tip of his tongue. The longing look makes goosebumps appear on my skin as I feel a burning desire to give myself to this boy in every way possible. He gives me another sweet kiss before he finally opens his mouth.
“Sometimes I think I’m having a harder time with this than you are.”
Knowing exactly what he’s talking about, I press my head against his, softly breathing into his face. I would’ve thought that being abused the way I was would fuck me over more. That it would devastate me to a point of no return. Maybe it would’ve if Reign hadn’t done everything he has done for me the last two months.
But he did.
He makes me feel strong; he makes me feel like I’m more than the girl with a fucked up family, that I am more than a girl who got sold by her brother like livestock, that I’m likeable and loveable. Like I’m worth anything I desire.
He makes me feel loved.
“He didn’t destroy me, Reign. You made sure of that.”
“He came close, though,” he whispers as if he failed me, when really he did anything but.
In fact, I don’t think he could ever fail me. This boy did more for me in the last eight weeks than all the men I’ve met in the eighteen years I’ve been walking around in this forsaken world.
“Junior can’t destroy me. I don’t care about him. I care about you. Losing you would destroy me. If you fuck with him, he will kill you. He will stretch it out for as long as possible and make you suffer every minute in his grasp. He’s a demon.”
“I know,” he sighs, pressing me farther into his chest. “And I need to chase your demons away.”
“I thought the whole point of you teaching me how to defend myself was so I can chase my own demons away?”
I look into his green eyes as he playfully shoots me a scowl. His brown messy hair sits ruffled on top of his head, and I can’t resist running my hand through it.
Sometimes I wonder how the night would’ve gone if I’d ignored Junior and just walked towards Reign like I’d been planning to. I like to think we would have had an instant chemistry that we’d both have needed to explore. That we would’ve ended up at his place, tearing each other’s clothes off. We would’ve woken up in the morning, and he would’ve made me breakfast. We would have both said we weren’t looking for anything serious, but found that neither of us could walk away.
Instead, we had an immediate connection the moment he burst through that door, making the demons in my waking nightmare kneel without effort. For a lot of people, our relationship has evolved quickly, making everything we’ve done seem sudden. But that night gave us no room for exploration.
That night bonded us for life, whether we wanted it to or not.
“It is, but I don’t think I can let him walk. I can’t erase that memory, you know?”
“Hey, you told me I wasn’t tainted. Don’t treat me like I am.” I push a bit back, agitated by his words and troubled face.
“Never.” His face turns angry while his hands dig into my skin, preventing me from escaping his grip. “You are not tainted. You’re gorgeous, and nothing will ever make me think otherwise. But I will always want your brother six feet under because he did that to you. I’ve
done a lot of shit that shouldn’t see the light of day, but there is one thing that I’ve learned at a young age. You protect your own. You protect your women. Your family failed you.”
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath as I feel his hand cup my face. His thumb rests at the corner of my mouth before he softly starts moving it from left to right, brushing my lip.
“Angel, I mean it. You still haven’t told your father?”
I ignore his question while leaning into his palm and opening my eyes.
“Promise me you won’t go after Junior.”
His hand drops down, and he throws his head back with an annoyed grunt before he locks his eyes with mine again, his hair flopping in front of his face.
Slightly pissed, I run my hand through it, roughly pulling on it while I force him to look at me.
His brows shoot up in shock before a hint of amusement reaches his eyes, making it hard to ignore the sexy smolder he’s giving me.
“Promise me, Reign. You’re right. About everything. But I’m not kidding. I need you more than revenge. Promise me. You will not go after Junior,” I demand with a firm voice, trying to ignore his smoldering look.
He bites his lip while doing his best to suppress the boyish grin that is lurking, staring me down as if that will make me cower.
Yeah, I don’t think so, pretty boy.
I glare back into his hypnotizing eyes, determined to not back down until he finally lets go of his lip, letting out a deep belly laugh.
“Fine, I won’t.”
“Promise me, Reign,” I growl.
He may not be the kind of alpha criminal I grew up with, going around threatening and shooting people, but he is still very much a criminal. He’s the best hacker around, capable of fucking your entire life up without even coming near you. But there is a reason he’s chosen to use his skills working for the Distucci’s instead of working for some tech company.
He’s still very much a criminal alpha asshole.
He has his secrets, and he rarely tells me about the shit he does for Ronnie or his family, but he promised me that first morning that he would never lie to me.
Catching Fire (The Fire Duet Book 2) Page 6