“I suggest you take your hands off her, hijueputa.” My husband’s voice rings loud inside the room and my eyes snap to his; I find him sitting atop an oversized chair with a body at his feet. It’s of a man, looks young, and with a large bleeding gash across his neck. “You have five seconds.”
“How the hell did you get in here? I had the place—”
“You fucked with the wrong man, Miguelino.” The door closes behind us and two more men enter; both work for us. “Three.”
“I’ll kill her.”
“One.” Our guards quickly step between us a second before Alejandro shoots both his kneecaps, a few drops of blood splashing them. “Now, come here, Preciosa.”
As I take a step forward, my uncle’s cries hit a higher decibel and I turn my head just in time to see one of the guards take a hammer out of his suit jacket and bring it down upon the bleeding man’s leg—once, twice, three times before focusing on his ankle. There’s a sickening crunch that fills the room and I’m perturbed by the sound, but then that seems insignificant when I take in the three dead bodies atop the bed, all with their horror-filled eyes open.
Closing my eyes for a second, I take in a deep breath and shake off the shock. This won’t be the last time I encounter death, and I’m also not afraid of my husband or his men. My uncle and the people trying to harm me brought this upon themselves.
With that in mind, I walk over to my husband and take a seat on his lap. We are a united front. I am safe because of him.
“Now, tell her what your plans were, Miguelino. Your life is in her hands.”
“They owe me.” My uncle’s voice is low and full of fear, a complete contrast to the man who’s always gone out of his way to make me feel uncomfortable. “My mother paid a heavy price for being Quintero’s mistress, and I inherited that shame. I stayed quiet all these years, never brought their dirty secrets to light, but the price for my silence was heavy and her father knew it. He agreed to her hand in marriage once she came of age as long as I stayed out of the limelight and didn’t sully their name.”
Before Alejandro, that would’ve crushed me, but right now I feel nothing. No sadness. No despair. No fear.
And it’s all thanks to the man whose lap I’m sitting on. God, I love him.
“Her hand was promised to someone else. Did you know this?”
“It was a temporary agreement. Their marriage would’ve been terminated after she gave Signio a son.”
“Fucking disgusting pieces of shit,” Alejandro hisses and then nods, giving the man with the hammer the go-ahead to do more damage. This time, he swings down across Miguelino’s face, breaking his nose and creating a large gash that spills blood profusely. “Again. Knock his teeth out this time.”
“Si, Patron.” Without hesitation, another blow lands across my uncle’s mouth and a few teeth fly out, spittle with blood staining the carpet below him.
“Please stop.” It’s garbled and his face looks disgusting, but I feel no empathy. He deserves this. I deserve to extend my own revenge.
“Give me your gun.” All eyes turn toward me, my uncle’s being the most surprised while my husband looks proud. From his pocket, Alejandro pulls out a small gun compared to his, and I recognize it as the one he gave me a few weeks back. You knew, didn’t you?
“I’ll explain later,” he says, but those expressive eyes confirm my suspicion. This isn’t a one-off. Miguelino had to have been following us or was sold out by someone he ran his mouth to.
Because for the right price, people talk.
“No need. I trust you.” Turning toward the man who tried to hurt me, I raise my gun and aim it at his head. “When you said you’d kill my husband, I warned you that those words would cost you. The man I love is above my own life, and you tried to hurt him by taking me. You threatened his well-being, and that hurt me. I belong to him and he is mine, and no man will ever destroy that.”
Before he can reply, I empty the entire magazine into his body, hitting his head and chest and not stopping until he slumps over with vacant eyes. There’s no remorse in me, nor do I feel shock at my actions, I’ve lived a sheltered life long enough with a family that did nothing but try to destroy me.
But this life I’ve created with the Lucas family is mine, and I’ll fight to the death to keep it.
“Are you okay?” Warm hands cocoon mine, and Alejandro takes the gun from me. “Let me get you out of here and—”
“You know what I’ve always wanted to do with you if we ever came to Sin City?” I say instead, my head turning in his direction while the room around becomes busy. Men in suits enter, some are ours and others I’ve never seen, while we stand in the middle ignoring the bodies being carried out.
I know this floor is empty and precautions have been taken, so I’m not worried in the least.
“What’s that, Preciosa? Tell me, and it’s yours.”
I slowly wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his lips. Slow and sweet. Just enough to tease, and the way his arms snake around my waist and yank me against his hard chest makes me smile. “Take a wild guess.”
“I’d rather you tell me.”
Lips hovering, I press closer. Inhale his masculine scent that never fails to set my blood ablaze. “There’s a little white chapel not far from here that renews vows at all hours of the night, my husband.”
“You want to marry me again,
