Her heart belonged to Matias.
Acknowledging it, however, didn’t change his feelings for her. Love was love. It didn’t just go away when it wasn’t reciprocated. It endured, persisted, and waited like a pathetic, unwanted pussy.
He could tell her everything—Matias’ surveillance of her, his plan to decimate the Austin slave ring, his desire to eventually lure her to Colombia where she could help him fight against the worst slavery in the world, and the biggest shocker of it all, his refusal to reunite with her until the unrest in his cartel was controlled.
Matias calculated every detail because he didn’t want to endanger her.
Because he loved her.
Tate could tell her all of this. Declare his own love. Make her choose. But it would benefit no one. She would run headlong toward Matias, straight into the kind of danger Tate wouldn’t be able to protect her from.
“I’m going to bed.” He cupped the back of her head and pulled her into a hug, relishing the warm softness of her petite body.
The kitchen window felt like a spotlight on his back. Was Matias watching from the street? Were there cameras in the house? During the meeting at the bar, the cartel boss had described—in vivid, gory detail—all the ways he would remove limbs and organs if Tate touched Camila in a sexual way.
Tate didn’t scare easily, but a man in love wasn’t a force to be taken lightly. Especially when that man was the king of a cartel.
“Why don’t you call it a night?” He released her and stepped back.
“I will…soon.” She stared longingly at the scatter of papers on the table.
With an aching hunger, he left her with her outlined maps of revenge and climbed the stairs to his room.
He hadn’t agreed to help Matias with his insane plan to win Camila, but they’d exchanged phone numbers before parting ways.
A month later, curiosity led him to Colombia at Matias’ request. He wanted to learn more about the dangerous capo and the anti-slavery raids he supposedly operated. It was on one of these raids, in a dilapidated barn, where Tate saw the horrifying goodness in Matias Restrepo.
He watched from the safety of a barn window as children—naked, beaten, and bloody—were auctioned off, one by one, for the wretched pleasures of men. Then he watched Matias save them all, leaving a bloodbath of wrath in his wake.
It was on that night that he knew he would do anything for the man who held Camila’s heart.
After spending weeks with Matias in the slums of South America raiding slave operations, he gained a friend and lost all hope of requited love from Camila.
He might’ve been her closest friend, but Matias… He was the counterpart to her passion, the mate to her vengeful soul. They shared a spirit Tate couldn’t begin to understand.
So he consented to Matias’ plan. He would watch over her, protect her, and call Matias every day with every detail of her life.
But he wouldn’t, couldn’t stop loving her.
“You need to return to her.” Matias eyed him from across the table at his Colombian estate. “Her safety is my number one priority.”
“I’ll head home tomorrow,” Tate said, distracted.
He scanned the floor of Matias’ veranda, every inch of it covered with piles of papers, maps, and photos of warehouses and slave traders.
When he left Camila in Texas three weeks ago, he told her he was going on a soul-searching journey across the States. Now he found himself in the luxury of Matias’ home, poring over an unsolved mystery.
“There’s nothing there.” Matias rose from the table and stepped toward the interior door. “I searched for Camila’s sister for two years. She’s dead, Tate.”
“She’s missing.”
“For six years.”
“You don’t know she’s dead.” Tate stared at a photo of Lucia Dias, hypnotized by the huge brown eyes of a girl who looked so much like her sister.
“I know she was inside a transport of trafficked slaves that crashed in Peru. No one survived. That’s where the investigation ends.”
“You gave up.”
“I prioritized.” Matias gripped the door jamb and straightened his spine. “My priority is—”
“Camila.” Tate swiped a hand down his face. “Mine, too. But there’s no harm in digging further, to see if there’s something you missed.”
“Camila can’t know. If you get her hopes up, I’ll cut your—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I won’t tell her.” Tate lifted a photo of Lucia and Camila embracing each other in an orange grove.
In their teens, their likeness was uncanny—long black hair, delicate bones, stubborn chins. Yet there were notable differences. Lucia was two years older, her features sharper with maturity, her smile more relaxed, carefree. She was even more beautiful than her sister, if that were possible.
“I’ll make copies of the documents.” Matias blew out a breath. “I can digitalize everything and send it to you.”
Tate nodded, his gaze glued to the image of the lost girl.
He might not hold Camila’s heart, but could find her sister—dead or alive. He could bring her closure. It would give him purpose, a distraction from the persistent ache inside him. He desperately wanted to do this for her.
Because he loved her.
————————————
DEVASTATE is the fourth book in the DELIVER series. It might be darker than its predecessors, but within its pages lies soul-deep salvation and love.
Van Quiso plays a huge role in this book, and many of the previous characters make appearances. There’s also a new villain, one who makes Van look like a boy scout. Are you ready to meet Venezuela’s most feared crime lord, Tiago Badell?
CLICK HERE to buy it now.
OTHER BOOKS BY PAM GODWIN
LOVE TRIANGLE ROMANCE
TANGLED LIES TRILOGY
One is a Promise-FREE
Two is a Lie
Three is a War
DARK COWBOY ROMANCE
TRAILS OF SIN
Knotted #1-FREE
Buckled #2
Booted #3
DARK PARANORMAL ROMANCE
TRILOGY OF EVE
Heart of Eve-FREE
Dead of Eve #1
Blood of Eve #2
Dawn of Eve #3
DARK HISTORICAL PIRATE ROMANCE
King of Libertines-FREE
Sea of Ruin
STUDENT-TEACHER ROMANCE
Dark Notes
ROCK-STAR DARK ROMANCE
Beneath the Burn
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Dirty Ties
EROTIC ROMANCE
Incentive
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author,
