Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Liana
Aloud sound and harsh bumping has me shooting up and my eyes opening wide.
Grogginess tells me I must have fallen asleep finally.
I feel my weight being pulled as the plane comes to a stop and I grip my arm rest tightly.
It’s not until it’s at a complete stand-still that I finally let out the breath I've been holding. If I never have to step on a plane again, I’ll be the happiest girl alive.
I rub my eyes, attempting to wake myself up, before unbuckling my seatbelt and standing up to stretch.
“Let’s go,” my uncle’s guard says as he hauls my suitcase away and I’m left scrambling after him.
“Do you know where we are heading?”
“We are here,” he responds.
“I know we are here,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I meant do you know where in Arizona we are heading?”
“We are not heading anywhere,” he says as he finally stops at the bottom of the stairway and turns to look up at me while I descend. “You are heading to your new home and I am heading back to Italy.”
He drops my suitcase to the ground before pushing past me and heading back up the staircase. It’s only then that I realize how hot it is. Or am I just nervous? I feel like I’m boiling right now.
‘Is he really leaving me out here? I mean it’s not dark, but I am alone.’
“Wait! Where are you going? You can’t just leave me out here all alone! I could be kidnapped or murdered…or worse! Haven’t you ever watched a scary movie?” I stamp my foot, fully aware of how childish I must look, but I don’t even care.
He sighs loudly and turns around before gesturing over my shoulder.
Slowly, I turn around, scanning the desert landscape, before my eyes land on two men, not twenty feet from us.
They are both leaning against a sleek black SUV, looking thoroughly unamused.
I can feel my face turning a deep shade of red as I scan both men who happen to not look like the ugly old cowboy I’m set to marry.
Both men are in blue jeans and crisp t-shirts, not the normal attire I would expect a cartel boss’s henchmen to be wearing.
‘Shouldn’t they look more formal?’ I think as I scan each of them.
“If you would pay attention to anything other than yourself every once in a while, you would actually see the things surrounding you,” my uncle’s guard states from behind me. I can practically hear the scowl I’m sure is plastered to his face right now. “Ciao.”
I hear the sound of a thud and look down to see my backpack I accidentally left in the plane, on the ground. The contents in it have fallen halfway out and my poor book is open against the asphalt. I lean down to pick it up, only to realize the pages are now bent.
‘What a jerk,’ I think as I glare up at him, preparing to give him a mouthful but my thoughts are interrupted by the smooth sound of a male voice.
“We don’t have all day.”
My uncle’s guard smirks at me causing me to glare back as I snatch up my stuff and shove it back into my bag.
Then without another glance, I grab my suitcase and flip him off as I walk away.
Normally I wouldn’t be quite so brazen but seeing as how my uncle is no longer around, I don’t see the harm in my last goodbye to his jerk of a guard.
It’s only when I get a little closer that I really get to see the two men before me.
One looks a little bit older, although not ugly, and big too, like he lifts weights in his sleep.
Maybe in between my uncle and my cousin’s age?
It’s the second man that catches my eye and my knees go weak as I take him in.
He’s beautiful, like in a sexy I might kill you in your sleep kind of way.
Tattoos cover both of his arms and travel up his neck to right under his jaw.
His crisp white shirt hugs his tanned skin so perfectly that I can practically see the ridges of his muscles popping though the fabric.
He’s not overly big either but you can tell he definitely works out.
His black hair is shaved close to his head with only the slightest length left on top and his lips are full and pouty like soft pillows.
They pull into a small smirk that makes my gaze flick from them up to his bright green eyes that seem to glitter with something I can’t name.
“Are you ready to go, or did you need another minute?” he purrs out making my eyes narrow.
This cocky jerk definitely just caught me staring at him like he was my last meal and now I watch in return as his gaze scans down the length of my body. He pushes his tongue against the side of his cheek as his eyes return to my own and I can feel the heat pulse between my thighs.
‘Don’t let these men see you weak, Liana. Be strong like Andre taught you.’
“No,” I say with a pause. “I don’t need another minute. Just take me to Grandpa.”
“Grandpa?” The man questions and they both look at each other in confusion.
“Yes, the old man I’m supposed to be married off to. You know…your boss,” I say matter of factly.
The bigger man bursts out laughing while the other one scowls at him. Now it’s my turn to be confused. What is so funny? Surely he didn’t think I was telling some kind of joke.
“Get in the car, little girl,” he says as he whips the door open and gestures for me to jump in.
The bigger man continues to laugh behind him but pauses to speak just before my door is closed.
“I don’t think your future husband will like to be called grandpa, but he might not mind you calling him Papi.”
The door slams shut behind me and I watch through the windows as both men speak to each other in hushed tones. I can’t hear a word they are saying but after a few minutes, my suitcase is dumped in the back of the SUV and both men get into the front seats.