“Is she alive?” I question.
“Yes. She’s . . .”
“She’s what? Spit it out.”
“Pregnant. The girl is pregnant.”
“Dios Mio.” I state, shaking my head. I have no doubt in my mind this baby wasn’t conceived through pure love. This coward motherfucker raped her.
I make my leave and head out the door from which I entered. As I do, I see Eduardo with his arm wrapped around the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. Even with grime covering her face, and her stomach swollen to a massive size . . . she’s a vision.
Flaming red hair mixed with bits of black. It makes me wonder how it’s natural. Eduardo has given her the shirt from his back and the way she looks at him is filled with hope. I’m merely a man standing on the sidelines and yet I can see how she still adores my cousin. Even after she’s been through the unimaginable, her hope lingers with him.
He’s not interested in her and I know it. I don’t know what pulls me to this stranger, but I’ll be sticking around for a while. She’s too beautiful of a conquest for me to simply cast aside.
I’ll give her all the time she needs to heal from this madness, and I’ll be here, just as I am now. Right on the sidelines, waiting for my golden opportunity.
Chapter Six
My dark days made me strong. Or maybe I was already strong, and they made me prove it
~ Emery Lord
Amara
In the beginning, I’d imagine this day would one day come. But with every passing day my hope diminished bit by bit. Now here I am. One year later, with Eduardo Diaz’s arm wrapped around my side, helping me take the first steps into freedom after being captive for so long.
“Are you sure you’re able to walk?” Eduardo asks.
It’s obvious he can see how much I’m leaning against him. Lucien fed me the bare minimum, often leaving me weak and dizzy. “If it means getting out of here, I’ll walk as far as I need to.” I declare, not caring if I pass out from exhaustion.
“Dante, come here and help me with Amara.” Eduardo calls out. There’s a man who just came out of the house. He’s about six-two, or six-three. His voluminous hair is a deep chocolate brown and as he approaches, I can make out his full-sleeved tattoos. On his left he has a male lion roaring, while on the right it’s a female lioness doing the same.
Dante comes to my alternate side and I put my right arm around his neck, like my left is doing with Eduardo. “Where is Lucien?” I ask, knowing very well I heard a gunshot. I can only hope and pray he’s slowly bleeding out in that god forsaken house, suffering.
Dante sighs, giving me the first indication something didn’t go as they planned.
“What happened in there, cousin?” Eduardo asks. Ah, so they’re cousins.
“He shot himself before I could get to him.” Dante grits out.
“What a fucking coward.” I hiss.
“Agreed. I’m not happy about it . . . but the important thing is that we got you back alive, Amara. I’m sure your brother will be pleased when we call him.”
My brother. For a moment I wonder which one Eduardo is speaking about, but it must be Damon. Lyon and Ashton . . . well, I just . . . I’m not as close with them as I was with Damon. If I can even call it that. We fought like cats and dogs for most of our lives.
“No. Please don’t call him.” I ask, causing Eduardo to stop right in his tracks.
“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.” Eduardo replies.
“I would appreciate it if you don’t call Damon. At least, not yet. I don’t want him to know about . . . everything that’s happened. Please. Don’t call him. I need to . . . process everything that’s happened to me. There’s no way I’ll be able to do that if he’s hovering over my shoulder.
Eduardo gives me a cautious look, like he’s trying to understand why I want this. “Don’t you want your family’s support right now?”
Of course, he wouldn’t understand. “No, not yet. Eduardo, I promise you I will call Damon myself when I’m ready . . . but please don’t inform him before I’m ready. Before I’ve had time to heal from this.”
“We’ll give you as much time as you need.” Dante states, ending the discussion.
I take note of the glare Eduardo shoots in his direction, but I appreciate the support from this stranger. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“No thanks are needed. It’s the least we can do, all things considered.”
Off in the distance I see an SUV approaching us. Eduardo raises his hand and waves it to come closer. The SUV is in front of us within a minute and Dante releases me to go open the passenger side door.
“We’ll take this car, and I’ll send for another to pick up the rest of my men.” Eduardo declares. Dante holds his hand out to me so I take it and step forward, but I start to go down. I suppose my body is even more exhausted than I realized. Dante catches me, holds me upward by hooking his arms underneath my armpits and then fenagles his way to slide one arm under my legs. He lifts me into the SUV and sets me down on the seat.
“Thank you,” I say, unable to come up with the words for how grateful I am to Eduardo and his family.
“It’s my pleasure, belleza.” I blink a couple times after Dante calls me a beauty. Nothing about me feels beautiful. Not with the grime across every limb and crevasse of my body, or with the way my hair is so greasy it’s stiff.
“What’s the plan, Eduardo?” Dante looks to Eduardo.
For the first time since knowing Eduardo, he seems baffled. “I’m not sure. We were supposed to fly to Mexico City, but in
