Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
L udovico never came. As it turns out, we are heading to meet him in neutral ground. Once the other members of La Alianza found out about what happened, they called a meeting with the heads of the six organizations. Conrado Marte was ordered to bring Dario and me.
We land in Refugio de la Luz , the most neutral of grounds—the untouchable place. This small town between rivers is a santuario where violence of any type is not forbidden.
We are riding in the car with Dario's father and Gustavo. While they talk strategic positioning, I stare out to the green hills rush by and go over the story of how we fell in love and plotted the whole thing to be together. All in my head. How can I convince them when part of me is still so very hazy about Dario himself.
Yeah, he rocked my world.
Yeah, it was my idea to consummate.
But it was awkward as fuck getting dressed with my legs still shaking from the orgasms to go to his father's office, only to find out Ludovico wasn't coming. We retreated to our rooms and didn't see each other again until this morning. The doors stayed open, I just stayed out of sight, trying to pray away the delicious ache between my thighs.
"We're here," the driver calls out.
Conrado and Gustavo step out first. Then close the door after them.
I turn to Dario. "We're not getting out?"
"Are you okay to do this?" he asks instead.
I hate that he doesn't answer my question and pay him in kind. "Do we have a choice?"
He shakes his head. "They'll call when they need us."
I nod. "Who's on our side?"
A faint smile ghosts over his lips. "La Sombra, Los Reyes, La Muerte." Then he touches his fingers to my cheek. "No one can make a move here. But we are prepared if they do."
My heart trembles because Ludovico has no respect for anything, not even the clergy. I would love to pretend he can't hurt me.
"You don't know him..." And I'm not ready for the crack in my voice or the way my eyes fill with tears.
"He's never going to get you, Sole. Ya no eres Marte . Eres Cordero ."
I bob my head up and down, not trusting my voice. I already showed him too much weakness.
He take my chin in his fingers and commands, "Say it."
His voice is rough and startling.
I'm a prisoner of his gaze until I make myself say, "Yo soy Cordero . I'm Soledad Cordero."
"Yes, you are." His tone is resolute.
I breathe, concentrating on putting myself together.
The knock on the door startles me again.
When it opens, Gustavo is standing there. "Game on."
Dario steps out and offers me his hand. Just three days ago, I would have shoved him out of the way and gone in on my own. Now, I take his hand and smile up at him like a newlywed should.
He leans closer and whispers against my lips, "Stay close to me, always."
We move three steps and I stop abruptly, staring at the building in front of us. "Is that a church?"
A half smile hangs on Dario's lips. "Can't get any more neutral than this."
There are men milling about the front, all in their familia's colors, chatting with each other like they're socializing. We quickly climb the steps of the Romanesque revival building and are ushered in by a man from La Sombra, with the signature hat that shades half his face.
Before the altar, there's a table set with the six Padres de La Alianza . All turn to look at Dario and me, but my eyes zero in on Ludovico who smiles, like a benign father and not the pimp he's tried to be since my mother died.
"So the two of you created this mess. Tell me why?" La Sombra asks in his grave voice.
"We met a few times and fell in love," Dario says.
His eyes meet mine, and he squeezes my hand in a reassuring gesture meant for our audience. I smile, not too wide, just enough to make the point.
"Why not come to me like a man and ask for Soledad's hand?" Ludovico's tone is soft and calm, but I know him well. The minute we're alone, he would slap me across the room and punish me. That's why I choose my words carefully, but I need to make a point.
" Es mi culpa ," I say. "I didn't want to disappoint you. You wanted another type of alliance..."
His eyes go cold. "When did you two supposedly fall in love, Soledad? From my understanding, you couldn't stand the Corderito ."
The little lamb, he calls him. Dario tenses next to me.
"I think all that animosity was part of us liking each other. Even though we fought, I couldn't keep my thoughts from him. When he confessed he felt the same at La Muerte's masquerade ball..." My gaze drifts to Dario's again. The smile lights up his face. Has he always been this beautiful? I look away and clear my throat. "Anyway, that's how it happened."
Ludovico rolls his eyes. "How exactly did you feed this romance? There were no text messages or calls between you."
I've always known he monitors my calls and texts. "We saw each other at the library, sometimes at church, or the museum. We both have a shared admiration for the work of Hayez."
Dario let's go of my hand to bring his arm around my waist. The warmth of his body is comforting in ways I don't want to think about but welcome with every tremor shaking my insides.
La Muerte taps the table, his skull tattoo peeking from his sleeve. "I think we heard enough. Go back outside."
The panic begins to bubble up on my throat. I have so many questions. Are they going to send me back? Is it too late to mention we've consummated the marriage? I can't go back.
Dario leads me away, and I hold back my comments for the moment we are alone again. As we descend the church steps, he stops and whispers in my ear, "You're not going back. No one is going to take you from me."
My gaze snaps to meet his. His eyes are earnest. I squeeze his hand.
He looks around and nods to Gustavo who stands in front of our ride. "Let's get inside the car."
We cross the courtyard and almost reach the car when someone calls out my name.
The edge and tone, along with my racing heart, have me spinning toward my sister. MaTe stands in front of us. Her Taina face, as I call it, is set in a look I've never seen before. She's beauty and light, but her bronze features, an homage to our ancestors, is practically boiling. She's wearing a blue fitted dress and heels that are not her style but so painfully familiar. Mami's clothes . But it's the gun in her hand that makes my pulse quicken.
"MaTe, come with us." I extend my hand.
"I'm not going anywhere with you, traidora ," she says and spits on the floor in a way that is so Ludovico it breaks my heart.
She called me a traitor.
"Put the gun down, MaTe. Don't force anyone to hurt you," Dario says calmly.
My gaze snaps to him. "Let me handle this." I turn back to my sister. " Manita , please."
"Don't fucking call me that. You were dead to me when you left our family to get with him. Now you're going to die altogether."
Before I can grasp her words, she lifts the gun, points it at me, and shoots.
Dario moves quickly, and in my next breath, I'm on the ground. The side of my head hits the concrete, and his body collapses on me.
My ears are ringing. Another shot rings out, reverberating through my body. My heart is beating so fast, furiously pounding my sternum.
MaTe screams.
"Dario, let me up. My sister..."
His weight lifts from my body, and when I sit up, the world spins, and I blink back to focus. Across from me, Gustavo is holding MaTe who is squirming and screaming madly, "Let me go, fucking asshole."
A man lays on the steps of the church, blood soaking his suit.
Dario's father. I turn to him.
"Tu papá—" My words and thoughts go blank because Dario is on his back, breathing shallow, blood on his shirt. His face is contorted in pain.
My stomach drops. And the horror hits me all at once. He's been shot. I hover over him. "Dario."
"Help me up," he says.
I shake my head. "We need to put pressure." I look around and meet our driver's gaze. "Give me your jacket."
He shrugs it off and hands it to me. I press it against Dario's chest, and he jerks.
"Fuck."
"Soledad." Ludovico's voice freezes me.
I turn as he places a hand on MaTe's shoulder. The hatred in my sister's face cuts right through me.
"Come home to your family. I'll forget everything."
I look down at Dario on the floor. He was shot because he covered me with his body. And the sister I sacrificed for is staring at me like someone I don't know.
My stomach turns. She said I'm dead to her and tried to kill me. Dario saved me.
I shake my head and look at Ludovico while pointing at my husband. "He's my family now."
La Sombra comes to stand between us and them. "You need to get out of here, Ludovico. You and your family violated neutral land. We need to meet and discuss repercussions. Once Dario is well enough to do so."
"They committed the offense, but you're turning against me?"
I ignore him and look at MaTe. "You said I was dead to you, but no, I'm still alive as you are. And this, Maria Teresa, means war."
A flash surprise crosses her features. I never use her full name.
She opens her mouth, but I turn my back on her and climb into our Suburban. I take my place at the other end of the seat as Gustavo and our driver bring Dario in.
Another SUV takes his father.
We are rushing to the hospital, and his friend presses his own jacket to Dario's back. He's half leaning on my chest while I press the driver's jacket to the front of his chest. He lifts his head to look up at me.
"I'm sorry about your sister. You did this for her."
I stare into his pain-laden eyes. "And she tried to kill me. You took a bullet for me. Why?"
I don't know how to feel about those two things.
"You're my wife. I'll always protect you, Sole."
I can't help the tears that spring in my eyes. "Ludovico raped and abused my mom. Now he took my sister from me, after he swore to protect me."
"I'm not him, Sole. You..." He winces. "You can trust me."
I know I can. He proved it. And that's when I make my decision.
"I believe you. You're my family now, Dario. I'm always going to protect you too."