2
Highland Park, Texas
Villa Dorada
Theclicking of her heels on the cobblestone was the only sound echoing off the walls of that courtyard. From the moment we reached the Montesinos estate, Amalia had taken off, and I gave chase. I needed answers, and she was the only one who would know what the hell had happened back there and why her driver and two of her team were dead.
“Amalia! Wait.”
She didn’t stop. Didn’t look back. Her pace remained steady as we reached a large stone fountain. Fed up with being ignored, I caught her wrist, only to be met with a Glock to the chest. I’d been in the presence of this woman for less than twenty-four hours, and she’d already shoved a gun in my face twice.
“Let go.”
“Tell me what happened back there. Who were those men? And why were they targeting you?”
Ripping her hand from my grasp, she narrowed her gaze. While she hadn’t shed tears for her fallen friends, her brown eyes gleamed with emotion.
“Are you serious? What makes you think I’m the target? You and your brother have made your share of enemies, no? Not even in town ten minutes, and we get ambushed.”
I put my hand on the barrel of her gun and lowered it. Amalia didn’t resist, but she was on edge, the tension evident in her shoulders. As I scanned the vast courtyard, I concluded we were too deep inside the property to gauge any possible weak areas or unmanned entry points.
“Are we safe here?”
“Why? You need to hide again?”
With an eye roll, I tilted my head. I thought I saw her crack a smile for a second, but I must have imagined the gesture because her deep red lips pulled into a frown as she took two steps back and holstered her weapon.
“I can’t give you a concrete answer. But to ease your nerves, yes, we’re safe here.”
“To ease my nerves?”
I ate the space between us. Amalia, similar to Eva in height, craned her neck to meet my eyes. She wasn’t the least bit fazed by my closeness, though I wasn’t surprised.
“I think you forget who I am. I don’t scare easily.”
She chuckled almost tauntingly. “Ah, the younger Cain brother. Cute.”
Choosing to ignore her dig, I pressed for more answers.
“Are you on someone’s hit list?”
“Look around you. A woman like me, like my family, we’re always on someone’s roster. You don’t get wealthy on blood money without gaining a few enemies. If anyone knows that, it’s you.”
She turned away from me, and as uncalled for as it was, my eyes strayed to her ass.
I’d heard of Amalia through Leni several years ago, but it wasn’t until Eva’s capture that I’d seen her in person. My first impression of the woman was, of course, her striking beauty and signature red lips. But there was more to her than surface-level beauty. Amalia was a professional in every sense of the word. She carried herself as if she owned every space she occupied. I’d taken notice, though at the time, it seemed she only had eyes for Derek.
That night, she had all but taken over the operation, equipped with blueprints of the Belov compound, and had even spoken over Derek, damn near telling him to shut up and sit the fuck down. Between everything that happened, finding Eva, and Derek almost dying, Amalia’s presence in my memories had become obsolete—until the day she came to collect.
“So I ask you again: Is it safe here? And this isn’t about me. Eva and my niece are here. Today was too close.”
She sighed and seemed to relax, her slightly accented voice softer..
“Your niece is safe. We have security and safe rooms.”
Amalia still had her back to me, and I dared to reach out. “What about you? Are you okay?” My fingers brushed her elbow, and she immediately recoiled and whirled to face me. Her expression was harsh again, her smile cynical.
“There’s no need to pretend. You and I both know what this is. You don’t give a damn about me, just as I don’t about you.”
“It’s a question I’d ask a random stranger on the street if they’d tripped over their own feet.”
She crossed her arms. “And you’d ask said stranger this while checking out their tits?”
If she thought she’d caught me in some embarrassing situation, she was dead wrong.
“Only if they look as good as yours.”
Amalia’s plump lips opened as if she were about to respond, but she closed them instead, releasing a small huff of air.
The word adorable rolled around in my thoughts, and I didn’t know what to make of it, mainly because the woman standing before me was anything but. She was feral, with claws and a sharp tongue—and like a chambered bullet, ready to tear someone’s head off.
Vicious.
Again, she turned away from me. “My staff will show you to your quarters. When you’re settled, you and I can discuss the terms of this arrangement.”
My quarters.Not ours. Just mine.
Not that I’d arrived with the expectations of reaping the benefits of a husband, but she couldn’t possibly expect me to live shackled to a woman I couldn’t touch for the next three years.
Fuck that.
“So what happens now?”
Eva peered out a window, assessing the property. “How do we know we’re safe here? What did Amalia say?”
“She didn’t say much, and to be honest, I’m not sure she knows,” I added, biting one of Valentina’s chubby little feet. She squealed and kicked me in the face.
“We can’t stay here if there’s a threat. Not with Vali.” Derek stood beside Eva, taking watch. “What if Ronan’s behind this? We haven’t heard shit from him in over a year. But he’s still out there…just waiting for me to take his head.”
Eva put a gentle hand on his back. “Not in front of the baby, Derek,” she said in a hushed voice.
Ronan was still very much alive and always a presence in the back of our minds. Leni and Silas had warned us of his plans. I glanced down at my niece, who was idly playing with my watch, and shuddered at the thought of her in Ronan’s custody. Over mine and Derek’s cold, dead bodies.
A knock at the door had us all on alert. Eva had motioned to open it, but Derek held her back. “Who is it?” he barked harshly, so much it startled Valentina, who was serious.
“Me, of course.” The sound of Amalia’s voice from the other side of the door sent a strange rush through my body. It had been hours since we’d last spoken but I couldn’t deny her pretty face had made a home in my thoughts, scowl and all.
“Come in,” Eva finally said.
There was a pause before the knob turned, and Amalia stepped inside. The chaos from the morning had caused her makeup to smear slightly, that much I remembered, but the woman in front of us was fresh-faced, still beautiful, only there was a striking difference from the cold and impassive features from earlier. Pink tinged the rim of her eyes, and it was evident she’d been crying.
And why the hell did that make me feel…things?
“Was the crib okay for her?” she asked, eyes on Vali with a hint of a smile.
“It’s perfect,” Eva said. “Thank you.”
Amalia turned her attention to me, and the softness in her features disappeared the moment our eyes met. “I understand it’s been a strange day—”
“That’s an interesting choice of words,” Derek interjected.
Her eyes slid to my brother and narrowed. “Oh, would you have preferred I said fucked, gone to hell, a shitshow? Take your pick, Derek Cain. I wasn’t aware I had to spell things out for you.”
Derek eyed Vali, who looked to be enraptured by the adults in the room. He took a step toward Amalia, and she squared her shoulders and grinned.
“Enough,” I said, then handed Eva the baby, taking Amalia by the wrist, and leaving the room.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” she seethed, tearing out of my hold.
“Don’t provoke him. When it comes to his family, Derek is—”
“He’s what? Dangerous?”
“Something like that,” I said, as I folded my arms and leaned against the wall.
She snickered and closed in on me. “Is that why you dragged me out of there?”
“Why else?” Amalia inched closer, and it was like every cell in my body was on high alert to her proximity.
Two fingers of a bandaged hand traced the front of my shirt. “I already told you. I’m not helpless. And Derek and I aren’t that different.”
The pricks of something hot crawled up the back of my neck.
“It’s always Derek with you.”
She chuckled and slowly raised a hand to my face. “Are you jealous of your big brother?”
Catching her wrist, I twisted her, slamming her back against the wall and caging her in. “Never. But I won’t be toyed with.”
Her eyes were on my lips, and her chest rose and fell a little faster. “Thats good because I don’t play games.”
“Then we know where we stand.”
“Feels like your cock is standing at attention as well,” she said with a grin.
Despite everything, this woman was beautiful and fiery, and all I could think about was bending her over the hallway table.
But when I met her eyes again, I was reminded of what I’d seen earlier. The traces of grief. She wasn’t as unbreakable as she wanted to portray. We all had our weaknesses, and it was almost tragic that she felt unable to grieve properly.
“I’m sorry,” I said in a softer tone.
Her brow furrowed as she looked at me. “For what?”
“You lost people today, and I—”
With the palms of her hands against my chest, Amalia shoved me back. “Stop. That doesn’t concern you. You and I don’t mix business with our personal lives.”
“Do you hear yourself?”
“Tomorrow. 8 a.m. My downstairs office.” Turning around, she headed toward the main staircase. “My family arrives tomorrow, and we need to convince them we’re in love.”
Amalia had lost her goddamn mind if she thought she was going to drop that bomb and run.
“Amalia!”
“Tomorrow, Cain. Don’t be late.”