6

If I stepped with more force, I would surely stab my heels straight through the tile. The long expanse of corridor did nothing to quiet my angry footfalls as I stomped in a rage toward the kitchen and away from the source of my ire and…

And…

Confusion.

Kai was infuriating. He had all the audacity to think he could touch me and get under my skin, that he could affect me and wear me down and bend me to his will. Did he not know who I was? And what was more maddening was the fact that he could and had.

What was wrong with me?

I ran my fingers through my hair, where a phantom sting still vibrated on my scalp.

Stopping abruptly, a very unladylike growl rippled between my teeth. I bent and tore off my heels, launching them across the hall.

Fuck you, Cain.

High-pitched squeals grabbed my attention from around the corner, and I followed the sweet noise, my shoes forgotten and my mood already lifting as I was met with dimpled cheeks and a mouth smeared with avocado. Eva and Valentina were in the kitchen with Milly. The older woman was at the counter flattening dough for tonight’s dinner and chatting in Spanish with the infamous Mrs. Cain.

I swallowed a knot in my throat, realizing that the same last name would also belong to me soon…not that I had plans to take his name, but it was who I’d be in principle.

“Mi ni?a, you haven’t touched your lunch.”

Milly’s soulful gaze fell on me, and her soft smile disappeared as she took in my aggravation. I must have had my default bitch face on, though I didn’t need it where she was concerned. Milly could always read me, sometimes better than my own mother, who she also helped raise.

“I’m not hungry. Maybe later.”

“Later is dinner. We have to put a little more meat on your bones, mija. Men need places to hold on to, if you know what I mean.” She winked.

“Really? In front of the baby?”

Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she laughed and waved me off. “Laprincesita is too busy enjoying the lunch you refused.”

“Not in front of our guest then,” I chided playfully, pulling a stool next to Valentina.

“Oh, she doesn’t mind, do you, Evangelina?” Milly pronounced her name in Spanish. “Those brothers…” She whistled, shaking her head with a dreamy look. “You two are very lucky ladies.”

Her thoughts seemed to drift somewhere I had no business thinking about. I’d heard the stories of when she was in her prime.

I looked at Eva, who was smiling and spooning more avocado into her daughter’s messy mouth.

Fifteen minutes later, my far too-talkative cook left us for afternoon prayer.

I suddenly realized it was the first time Evangelina and I had been alone together since the day I’d saved her ass from that long-dead bastard, Belov.

We spoke up at the same time that neither of us heard what the other had said, so I motioned for her to speak first, my curiosity piqued.

“Amalia, I know I’m over four years too late, but I wanted to thank you for what you did for me that day. You saved my life…saved me in so many ways.” Her eyes misted as she caressed her daughter’s brown curls. “If you hadn’t gotten there when you did…I wouldn’t—”

“It was nothing. Just another day at the office…princess,” I said with a grin, recalling the nickname I’d given her. Evangelina wiped her eyes and laughed. In the next second, she was on her feet, with her arms around me, before I could stop her.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice clogged with emotion.

While I didn’t return the hug, Eva didn’t seem to mind. She gave me one last squeeze before returning to her chair.

I wasn’t sure what to make of what had just happened; despite our past and the soon-to-be link we’d share, she and I were still very much strangers. While Eva gave off genuine vibes and all that, at the end of the day, this woman was still a cop. One married to none other than one of Ares’s most prolific and ruthless ex-members. Maybe deep down, they weren’t that different. His ghosts didn’t seem to haunt her, as one would assume.

“She has your eyes.”

Eva nodded. “I hoped she would. As beautiful as Derek’s are, these eyes were my mother’s and brother’s.” She stared almost longingly at her child, even as the baby caked chunks of avocado into her hair. I fought a laugh. “Before she was born, and before I knew Frankie…Silas was alive; I prayed for a piece of them in her.”

“You must have prayed extra hard that day.”

I couldn’t help the pangs of envy twisting my insides when I thought of Eva’s brother and how he’d come back to her. No amount of prayer would ever bring Tony back. I was there with my father the day we’d gone to identify his body—what was left of him, anyway.

Pushing those gruesome images from my mind, and never one to hold back, I met Eva’s gaze and asked, “So you’re still a detective?”

She nodded in understanding, inhaling a deep breath. “I know what you’re thinking. But I love him. It’s just that simple. Maybe it’s hypocritical. And maybe I’m just as guilty as all those people I help put away.” Eva held my gaze, her resolve unwavering. “But I don’t care. Not anymore.”

I leaned back on the stool and crossed my arms, surprised and slightly impressed by her admission. In hindsight, this woman had run back into that compound naked, wounded, and having had the day from hell, all while the place was under siege. Her one objective: finding Derek. She was either foolishly loyal or an absolute idiot.

Me? Fuck that.

I would never be like Eva.

“Can I ask something of you?” she said, a hand on mine. My eyes slid to where she touched, then back up to meet hers again.

“You’re going to ask anyway, so go ahead.”

She smiled. “Go easy on Kai.”

I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up my throat. Even the baby stopped and turned to me, puzzled.

“Kai is a big boy. He doesn’t need you taking up for him.”

“That’s not what I meant. He’s just as much a victim here as you are. Neither of you want to go through with this, so there’s no sense in making things worse than they already are.”

I pushed to my feet, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. “Poor Kai, marrying a wealthy and powerful woman against his will. How ever will he survive?”

“Amalia…” she called as I exited the kitchen, no longer interested in anything she had to say.

Admittedly, there was a part of me that felt slightly insulted. Had he expressed his misery to her? I mean, sure, I wasn’t happy either. But I was a fucking catch, and he’d have his freedom within three short years. It wasn’t a death sentence—yet.

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