Chapter 32
Jasmina
HE BOUGHT MY FAMILY dinner at a beautiful restaurant that he had closed down, and while my cousins went out on the roof to take selfies, I talked with Monte and Perla all about the trafficking, the woman I met, and the goal to help.
At one point, Monte took my hand and kissed it while Perla cried. We were broken from what other family members had done, but we were trying to make it right.
And Callahan swore to them, and to me, he would continue to help in all the ways he could.
Monte, Callahan, and I discussed the Fuerte Firearms business too, like we would be allies, like we had the same goals, like the Ruizes and Knights could unite.
I went to bed happy, Romeo curled up at our feet in the penthouse I thought I’d never see again.
And when we flew home the next day, I wondered if Callahan and I could live like this.
Maybe we could survive. Maybe two years would be just the beginning.
But only if we were honest with one another, and how could we be honest when our relationship was based on a contract about business and money? About a trust that couldn’t exist? I know it didn’t.
But then again, that little SD card was still stashed in the lining of my suitcase, and a lullaby was still being sung on and off in my head.
Callahan had done enough for me to trust him, but I didn’t even trust my own family right now with the information.
I turned to him as our car was pulling up to the estate and considered what I could say, but then I saw that there were more men outside. “Who are they?”
“Just security, Jas,” he said as if I should be fine with it.
I didn’t ask anything else until I saw more men outside my room. Callahan set the cat carrier down on the bed and unzipped it. I glared at Romeo waltzing out of there to go purr around his leg.
Callahan, the man who was supposed to hate my cat with a passion, pulled a few small treats from his pocket.
“What are those?” I practically screeched.
“A palate cleanser for our cat here. He’s sick of his food. He told me.”
My cat was losing the plot as he took a brown pebble from Callahan’s hand, then meowed for another.
Okay, maybe I was losing the plot too, because I almost melted at the sight and started to wonder if Callahan wouldn’t just dote on a pet, but also dote on a child?
My ovaries were going on lockdown. I blinked quickly and took a step back, trying to focus on anything else. I pointed to the doorway. “Why are there more men in your driveway this morning, and more outside my doorway?”
“Extra precautions?” He set down his work bag on the couch so he could rifle through it.
“You know I don’t like men standing outside my door and milling around the house I live in.”
He stopped looking through his work bag and met my gaze. “Why not?”
“Because I can take care of myself.” I moved the huge ring on my finger. God, it was heavy. Carats upon carats too heavy, but I wouldn’t complain. That ring could hold the family over for years if this didn’t all work out.
He waited a beat and then said slowly, “They’re trained in combat.”
I lifted my chin, sitting there in the bed, and cracked my neck. “So am I.”
He looked toward the ceiling and grumbled a swear like he knew I wanted to fight. I couldn’t deny it. I did. “Viper, it’s safety. They’re the best in the w—”
“I could beat any one of them in hand-to-hand combat, a knife fight, or at target practice,” I cut him off. “You expect me to just trust them? You didn’t even ask me if I wanted them here. You just took it upon yourself to make the—”
“You trust me?” he asked, his eyes searching mine.
I licked my lips to stop myself from immediately telling him yes. The time in New York had been perfect, but when my aunt hugged me goodbye, she reminded me, “Keep your wits about you, mija. A charming man can be a deadly one.”
I wasn’t supposed to trust the enemy, let alone fall for him, but he was feeling less and less like one as the wedding neared.
“I’m hoping that, for now, I can,” I admitted quietly.
He hummed and walked over to the bed to sit at my thighs.
He put his hands on either side of them and got so close I could feel his breath against my lips.
“You can trust me, Viper. Always. Now, stop searching for something to be mad at. You can’t build a wall between us just because you’re scared. ”
“I’m not scared,” I shot back.
“Aren’t you? Because I am,” he admitted.
“Of what?”
“Of the fact that I’m still contemplating killing your uncle for not taking care of you after you got stabbed, even though the partnership is working out like it should be.
Of the fact that I’m worried you want a line between us when I never want a damn thing between us ever.
Of the fact that I think of you day and night in that wedding dress and can’t wait to see you walk down the aisle in it. ”
“Callahan.” I moved to touch his cheek. “We might be getting carried away with this business marriage arrangement.”
“Doesn’t seem like a business arrangement for me at this point. It seems like I want you, business or not, for the rest of my life.”
“That’s … What?” I stuttered, not sure I heard him correctly.
“Viper, I saw that someone hurt you and it made me want to go after a whole nation to find out who did.” His jaw ticked as he thought about it again.
Those words, I trusted. That statement I knew to be true. Callahan was furious about my wounds.
“They’re almost healed.”
“I want you to see a doctor again.”
“Why? He said I was fine.”
“And even still, I think I’d like confirmation.”
“That’s over the top.”
“I’m going to continue to be over the top with you, Jasmina. Get used to it.”
“For two years,” I whispered, like I needed him to remember, or like I needed to remind myself as he pulled me into his arms and nuzzled against my neck.
“Or as long as you’ll have me. After two years, you can walk away with half of everything I own, Jasmina.”
“Oh, please. I’m more than aware I’m coming out of this with less than what I walked in with. Your lawyers wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“You’re right.” He drew out the word. “That’s why I went over our contract and prenup right before it was brought to you. Guessing you actually didn’t read all that fine print.”
“I knew I was signing away my life. I didn’t need the details.”
“Details are you get half of everything and are always protected.”
“Um … what?”
“I figured you might be the mother of my children, Jas. Plus, I knew I needed you alive after you almost drowned in the ocean and I had to save you.”
“I did not almost drown.”
“You were barely breathing, baby. It’s okay. I saved you.” He said it cheekily, and I slapped his chest.
“Whatever.” I sighed at the rest of his omission, though. “You didn’t have to do me any favors, Callahan. I’ll be fine either way.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. You divorce me, I don’t know what sort of target will be on your back. I wanted insurance there wouldn’t be one.”
“Why?”
“Because I might want to kill you half the time, but no one gets to do that but me.”
“How romantic,” I scoffed, but really, my heart was going a mile a minute, my mind was going even faster, and my palms had begun to sweat. He’d wanted to protect me, and he’d been honest always.
Never did he hide anything from me, and still there was a tiny little SD card I was hiding from him.
From everyone.
I touched his cheek and took a step back. “We shouldn’t be making plans beyond the two years until we’re through them first, Callahan.”
He shrugged. “That’s the one and only plan. To keep you safe and comfortable.” He pulled me back in with his arm around my waist, and I couldn’t stop the smile that came as he kissed the sensitive skin at my neck.
“Well, how about I take care of myself, and you call off all these men milling around your house, Knight?”
“Our house.” He nipped at my collarbone, thinking about my negotiation. “I want you safe.”
“You’re being overprotective.”
“You were stabbed.”
I sighed. “I’m still here, though, and you said you got someone with eyes on the three men, right? I can keep myself safe.”
He hummed like he might agree, then murmured, “But also, Viper, I can keep you safe, and I intend to at all costs.”