“My family is not like yours, Dante. We have issues, and serious ones at that. My father is an alcoholic. My mother chooses to not address it. My brother Damon and I have . . . problems with each other. Ashton and Lyon . . . they . . . things are just so different with them. Sometimes I even doubt we’re all in the same family, and Rose, Rose is . . . a very powerful woman. And there isn’t anything wrong with that, but if my father were to ever find out he would lose his mind.”
“Fine. You call your brother and tell him you’re safe, and I’ll give you the details of why I was in Venezuela.” I counter, hoping she’ll take the deal.
“You cannot be serious. We only discuss Cartel business with our familia, brother. That is the rule.”
I look back to Angel, smirking as I start to speak because I’ll enjoy twisting this emotional knife straight in his heart. “Amara is mi familia, dear brother. You see, this is the woman I will marry in front of God. I will introduce her to our abuela and show her off like the gem she is. I see what I want, and I take it. Maybe if you took initiative like I do, she would’ve been yours.” I’ll continue covering his back, doing whatever I need to protect him. It doesn’t hurt that I’m still pissed he even said something about trying to steal Amara away from me when we both very well know he’d never.
Angel instantly shifts into a dark expression. If he were directly in front of me, I’m sure he’d have punched me straight in the face for saying what I did.
Amara shifts her glance between Angel and myself. “Are you being serious?”
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s a fair trade, is it not? You call your brother and tell him where you are, and then I will tell you about my last month in Venezuela.” I don’t owe her brother a damn thing, but I meant what I said. I will end up marrying Amara Raines, and in doing so, I need to start off on the right foot with them. This is my first effort in doing so.
Chapter Sixteen
It is not selfish to take time for yourself, it’s necessary. Do it
~ Amazing Movement
Amara
Angel and Dante got into a bit of a spat after the deal Dante offered me, of which I accepted. It’s important I know what Dante was doing for the last month. If you ask me, it’s a bit shitty how he was bartering with me. If I said I wouldn’t call Damon, I know he wouldn’t tell me. It’s an abuse of power but, I’m dating a man within the Cartel. Abuse of power should be something natural. If our roles were reversed, I might do the same thing.
Dante grabbed his laptop and set up a meeting with Damon, saying he needed to video chat with him about some business. My brother has no idea I’m going to be on the other end of this call. It’s now a minute before I’m supposed to initiate the call and my stomach is turning every chance it gets.
I’ve never been more afraid to click a button.
I stare at my reflection in the computer, seeing the way I curled my hair like I usually do. It’s in loose waves. I applied a thick layer of eyeliner in a cat eye style. It’s something I did every day when I was back at the club. Dante even went out to one of the local shops to grab me some makeup. He wanted to make sure I felt as good on the outside as I am on the inside. Those were his exact words . . . and I might’ve swooned a bit more over him.
I don’t know what I’ve ever done to deserve to have a man like him walk into my life, but I’m forever grateful.
I glance down at the right-hand corner of the laptop and see it’s now four in the afternoon. Before I change my mind, I move my cursor to the top right and click on the small video icon. A ringing sound goes over and over again until the video turns on.
“Dante, I’ll cut to it. What is it you’d like to discuss?” Damon immediately says, though he sounds different. His voice is aggravated, tired, exhausted and so much more. I don’t say anything at first because I’m in shock at hearing his voice after so long, and more so at seeing his current state.
Damon appears . . . ill. His skin has sunken in, showing his cheekbones much more than they should be.
“What in . . . how . . .” He murmurs out in complete shock.
“Hola hermano,” I say hello to our brother in our second language, one I’m becoming even more brushed up on in my time here. Angel and I usually practice my Spanish.
“Dios Mio. Me estoy volviendo loco . . .” Damon shoots back out, saying how he must be going crazy.
“Claro que no.” I tell him he isn’t, immediately shutting down the route he’s thinking.
“No entiendo. Has estado desaparecida por más de un año.” He tells me he doesn’t understand that I’ve been missing for over a year.
I shake my head. “Si. Lucien me tuvo escondida aqui en Mexico. Me tenia en un cobertizo enserada en una jaula pero no quiero entrar en detalles. Lo que importa es que esoty bien y los López me rescataron, hermano.” I tell Damon I was imprisoned by Lucien here in Mexico, that he kept me in a shed. I don’t want to give him the gritty details and the Lopez family rescued me.
“Cuando. Cómo. Te ves bien, Amara. ¿Cómo puedes verte bien? Dijiste que vivías en un cobertizo. . . Eso no tiene sentido. ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas allí con ellos? ¿Eh? ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas a salvo
