19. Chapter 19
Cruz
The restraint I’d shown today was nothing short of a fucking miracle.
Lorenzo’s disrespect of Rosa had me seeing red.
It was nearly impossible to stand by and witness the insanity without murdering someone.
And her father stood by and let it happen.
He must be backed into a serious corner to let this shit slide.
Strange that he was feeling so pressed, because the shipments he said he lost, and the people who have died, had nothing to do with the Morenos.
And if they did, Nico hadn’t been told about it.
The revenge we were after was personal. It had never been about money.
I watched her disappear into the jungle, trying to put the puzzle pieces together. Something was wrong with this picture. As her bodyguard, I needed to follow her, but she looked like she was trying to get away from everyone and everything.
Before I had the chance to decide what to do about the barefoot beauty vanishing into the trees, her father’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Go after her and don’t let her out of your sight.” Rafael turned back toward the house, walking away, head drooping between his shoulders, defeated.
And I thought the Morenos were dysfunctional. It must come with the territory.
The path to the beach was well-maintained, but as I made my way down the shadowed slope, sand kicked up into my shoes. Despite the slight discomfort, flashes of bare skin and the streaming flag of Rosa’s dark hair lured me toward the sound of gentle waves.
I caught up to her just before she stepped out of the mangroves into the setting sunlight.
Her makeup was smeared around glassy eyes that watched me as if I were a predator.
Her chest heaved in starved breaths like a frightened, exhausted rabbit.
She shifted her stance, bare feet planting in the sand, ready to run or fight if she had to.
I had no interest in chasing her any further or fighting with her either. I would’ve left her alone if her father hadn’t ordered me to follow. She was understandably upset, but there was nowhere for her to go. The island was secluded. The only way off was the bridge on the other side.
She eyed me and took a step backward, putting a little more space between us. I put my hands up in mock surrender.
I’m not coming for you, yet…
Was she scared? Angry? Probably both.
My heart thrashed in my chest as I took her measure. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be between us. Alphas were protectors, and my nature fought against standing here doing nothing to stop her suffering. I wasn’t going to do anything to her that she didn’t want me to. For now, at least.
When I backed off, her shoulders slumped, and she stumbled into the trunk of a sturdy tree.
I battled my instinct to go to her, but the look in her eyes told me she would bolt again.
Keeping her in my sight, I took off my shoes and socks, shook the sand out of them, and set them aside.
The beach was warm and soft; they were more of a hindrance here, anyway.
I walked past the trembling omega and into the sheltered cove.
It was spectacular. I’d seen pictures and satellite images, but it was a whole experience in person.
A solid white cliff face lined the seawall side of the cove, blocking the surf and wind, leaving only calm, pristine blue water and miles of unblemished white sand in the other direction.
I did a quick check of the perimeter, noting a second sandy path leading back up to the helipad, but not finding anything else.
Not that I thought I would. The only threat to Rosa was me.
Lorenzo was a problem, but he thought he was getting what he wanted in a week, so he wouldn’t make a fuss until then.
Only one week until Rosa would be shipped off to make babies for the Vasco pack.
My stomach twisted in distaste. What a fucking waste.
The omega in question emerged into the golden light and made her way down to the water.
The warm glow hugged her curves like a lover while gently lapping waves kissed her slender ankles, but even in this magical place, she was hunched over with her arms wrapped around herself.
Nothing about this shit was right.
His desperation not to lose the empire he’d given up everything to build was understandable.
His pack was gone, his most loyal soldiers killed, his son and heir dead, and apparently his wife was out of the picture, too.
He was cashing in on the only thing he had left to keep his daughter safe—her freedom.
That was the part I didn’t understand, though.
Did he really think Lorenzo could keep her safe from the Morenos?
If he did, he was wrong. But his error would become clear soon enough.
The bigger question that I kept asking myself was, could I really turn Rosa over to Francisco when it came down to it?
Fuck, I didn’t even know at this point. Her ending up with Lorenzo wasn’t much better, but then at least she’d be alive.
My only hope was if Valentina showed up for her daughter’s wedding, we could take her instead.
I still hadn’t seen any indication she was even alive at this point, so that was a long shot.
Until then, I’d play the role I was trusted to play. A babysitter to a sexy-as-fuck omega. I could see exactly why Nico brought her back to the penthouse. She was everything we normally went for, and in another life, she would’ve been perfect for us.
Rosalina
The tightness in my chest eased as I dragged a breath of cool salt air into my lungs.
The sun dipped low, casting long shadows over the sand.
A heaviness settled over me, and I noticed Cruz’s eyes following my movements from a shadowed alcove.
He always seemed to find the best hiding places, even out in the open. I guess that was part of his job.
My options for escape were falling away just as quickly as they came, and now with only a week left before eternal damnation, I was stumped.
I’d lied to myself about how bad Lorenzo was.
He was infinitely worse than I remembered, and if I didn’t want to be the next omega to throw herself off his penthouse balcony, I needed to get creative.
For now, I had nothing but smudged mascara, a wrinkled dress, and an empty beach with an alpha who probably thought I was a train wreck.
Too bad he was right.
At least he had the decency to give me the space I so desperately needed. If only my father would back off. Only Cruz seemed to get it, but no one else seemed to care.
Claudia—she’d understand. None of my school friends could imagine a world of drugs, guns, and arranged marriages, let alone pack dynamics. But Claudia knew because she was an omega, too, and her parents’ jewelry business wasn’t entirely above board, either.
I wanted to call her, but I’d stupidly left my phone in my room. I kicked the approaching curl of a wave and turned to leave.
The sun’s diminishing light triggered the solar lamps lining the path, and they flickered to life as I approached.
I followed their twinkling brilliance back up the hill to the house.
There was no need to make sure Cruz was following because the breeze stirred, sending his sun-warmed amber and sandalwood scent to wash over me.
As soon as it was there, it was gone again, whipped away by the swirling wind.
But he was close, and my belly clenched at the knowledge.
He smelled like sex and sin and dark things done in the night.
I wondered if he might be my scent-match, but that was unlikely because Nico had the same sort of magnetic effect.
I couldn’t be scent-matched to both of them unless they were in a pack together, and that was impossible.
They were both incredibly addictive, even with the scent-blockers and suppressants they were obviously using.
Nico’s hoodie had an effect on me, though.
I didn’t know what that meant, but it was not nothing.
It might just be the wishful musing of a desperate mind that had run out of options.
It didn’t matter, anyway. I’d already blown any chance with Cruz by being an utter catastrophe.
I wondered if Lorenzo would be so eager to marry me if he’d witnessed all the stupid things I’d done since I’d been back from school.
He probably would. He wasn’t marrying me for me; he was marrying me for my father’s empire.
A bit of broccoli wouldn’t get in the way of that.
I slipped in through a side door and looked both ways before tiptoeing down the hall to my room.
I didn’t want to run into my father, or anyone else for that matter.
Once there, I closed the door, leaving Cruz outside to contemplate life, or whatever he did when he stood in one spot for long periods of time.
He could sit in the hall until I was done talking to Claudia.
When I finally found my phone, it was dead. There’d been so much going on, I guess I’d forgotten to charge it.
Dejected, I set it to charge on my bedside table. I waited, watching the bar go up and the weight on my chest went up with it. Unable to bear the suffocation any longer, I turned it on and tapped out a quick text to Claudia.
Rosa: SOS My life is over. I need moral support. Everything is stupid.
I stared at the phone, waiting for the telltale bubble to pop up, showing that she was typing and would save me from my never-ending spiral of self-loathing. But nothing happened. Zero… “Ugh!”
I flopped back on my bed, leaving my phone leashed to the charger, and waited, but thoughts of that green-eyed alpha from the club intruded on my impatient vigil.
I should’ve texted him back. He probably thought I’d ghosted him by now.
That was for the best. He was a businessman.
Getting involved with him would only get him killed.
He’d never survive in this world, it was too dangerous.
As minutes ticked by there was still no word from Claud.
Flashes of Nico’s sharp jaw and chiseled bone structure paraded through my mind.
It couldn’t hurt just to have a conversation.
It could never go anywhere, but that was fine.
Just an innocent text. With my stomach in my throat, I scooped up the phone and read back what he’d last said.
Rosa: I don’t even know your name
Nico: it’s Nico
I considered how to reply. It would be best to pick up like no time had passed. No need to bring attention to that.
Rosa: That's a good name
Oh god. What?
‘That’s a good name.’ That was right up there with the stupidest text I’d ever sent.
How could I recover from that? Nerves fluttered in my stomach. This was starting to feel like the limited and embarrassing experiences I’d had in high school. I started typing again. There must be a way to salvage this.
Rosa: You can call me Lena
There, that was better, sort of. He hadn’t asked for my name, and here I was volunteering an old nickname that only my brother ever used, but I liked it. It would be nice to have someone else use it. Not that I’d ever see Nico again.
I watched. Nothing. No typing bubble or even left on read.
This was stupid. I was stupid. This wasn’t high school, and I wasn’t going to sit by my phone waiting for a guy to text me back. If he did, great. If not, that was fine, too.
I tossed my phone face down on the nightstand as anxiety turned over in my stomach. I was still alone and feeling even worse than I already had.
Suffering the empty void of self-pity filling my chest by myself was too much.
So, against my better judgment, I pushed my bedroom door open in silent invitation to the dark menace I knew was waiting just on the other side.
This was a terrible idea. He probably wouldn’t even come in, but I didn’t want to just sulk in the depressing silence.
I curled up on the couch, wishing it was his warm sandalwood skin holding me and not the furry blanket I’d latched onto.