Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Liana
The smell of churros, fry bread and grilled meat filter through my nose as I take in the festivities around me.
Children run around while their parents try to wrangle them in and I watch as Rio laughs at something one of his friends says.
My heart aches in this confusing way I can’t understand as images of us chasing our own child flicker in my head.
I have a choice.
A week has passed since Antonio appeared in the garden and I've barely slept a wink.
Every night, Rio ravages my body before pulling me into his embrace, his body a furnace against mine.
And every night, I lie there listening to his heartbeat while my mind races in circles.
He hasn't mentioned anything about that morning and hasn't given any indication that he knows my cousin breached his fortress. Sometimes I catch him watching me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle. It’s like he's waiting for something. Or maybe I’m just paranoid.
"You're not eating," Rio says, nudging my elbow with his.
He's holding a paper tray loaded with street tacos, looking impossibly casual in a fitted black t-shirt and jeans.
The tattoos on his forearms catch the afternoon sun, and I have to force myself not to trace them with my eyes.
Why does he have to be so damn good looking?
"I'm not hungry," I lie.
Really I’m just a little sick to my stomach at the thought of my cousin showing up at any moment to steal me away. It's been like this every time we leave the house. The anxiety of my indecision is eating me alive.
"Bullshit." He tears off a piece of tortilla and holds it to my lips. "You've been picking at your food for days. Eat."
I take the offering, more to shut him up than anything else, but the flavor explodes on my tongue and I find myself reaching for more.
The food in Arizona is good, I’ll give him that.
He smiles, that rare genuine smile that transforms his face from dangerous to devastatingly handsome, and something in my chest aches a little more.
"Good girl," he murmurs, leaning in to press a kiss to my temple and even though it sounds innocent, heat floods my core.
"I need to use the restroom," I say, spotting a row of portable facilities near the edge of the festival grounds.
Rio's hand tightens on my waist.
"I'll come with you."
"To the bathroom?" I raise an eyebrow and laugh. "I think I can manage that on my own."
He hesitates, and I see the war playing out behind his eyes. The possessive part of him that wants to keep me within arm's reach at all times versus the part that's been trying so hard to give me space and let me breathe.
"Five minutes," he says finally. "Then I'm coming to get you. I’ll be right here counting."
"Ten."
"Seven."
I roll my eyes but don't argue because I don’t actually need that long to pee but…
small victories. I slip away from him and weave through the crowd, navigating between food trucks and craft vendors.
The restrooms come into view, but just as I step up to them, I hear a voice echoing from behind the row.
"You’re harder to get alone than I expected."
I turn slowly, walking around the back with my heart hammering against my ribs. My cousin leans against one of the walls, looking completely at ease.
"Antonio." My voice comes out steadier than I feel. "What are you doing here? Are you insane? Rio's men are everywhere."
"I know." He moves closer, his hand reaching out to grip my arm. "That's why we have to move fast. The car is parked two blocks from here. We can be at the airport in an hour, on a plane to Italy before he even realizes you're gone."
"I told you I…I’m not sure this is the right thing to do."
"Its been a week, Liana. We can’t waste time." His grip tightens, not enough to hurt but enough to convey his urgency. "Every day you stay here is another day you're in danger. These people…"
"Are my family now," I finish, confusing even myself. But they are true. Rio’s family…they have become mine. If anything, over the past few weeks, I’ve felt more at home here than I ever felt in Italy. Antonio's face contorts when he hears my words.
"He's brainwashed you. That's what they do, Liana. They isolate you, make you dependent on them, make you think you can't survive without…"
"No he hasn’t," I growl out, pulling my arm free from his grip and stepping back. "He's shown me who he is. Who his family is. All of it. The good and the bad. He's given me choices I never had before."
"Choices?" Antonio laughs. "What choice did you have in marrying him? You never had a choice. You are so naive and that is why we kept you close to Andre. So nobody could take advantage of you."
"You’re right," I say quietly. "I never had a choice in marrying him and he didn’t have one in marrying me either. You’re forgetting one thing though, Antonio. I wasn’t given that choice because a Manitellie stole it from me. Not a Sanchez and certainly not Rio. Your father.”
His eyes flicker away for a minute and he has the sense to look ashamed.
“Please, Liana. Let me take you home. Alessio is dead. You have mine and Andre’s word, you will never be forced into a marriage again."
I think about Italy. The cage that felt like safety because I didn't know any better.
I think about Andre, who always protected me, and Antonio, who's risking his life right now to save me from something he doesn't understand. Then I think about Rio. The way he looks at me like I’m his world.
I think about when he was still Frankie and I was just a girl who didn't know she was hanging out with her future husband. The way he holds me like I’m something precious, something worth protecting, not just an object he owns.
I think about the way he's been trying, really trying, to let me in and show me that we can make this work.
"I can't," I whisper, and the words feel like both a confession and a revelation.
Antonio's face goes pale.
"What?"
"I can't. I can’t leave him." I swallow hard, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "Antonio, I…I love him."
The silence that follows is deafening. Antonio stares at me like I've just sprouted a second head.
"You love him," he repeats flatly. "The man who…"
“Who lied to me, yes. Who kept secrets. Who showed me things that should have sent me running."
I laugh, and it comes out watery, almost on the edge of tears. "But also the man who taught me to fight so I'd never be helpless again. Who treats me like his equal. Who looks at me like I'm the only thing in the world that matters."
"Liana…"
"I think I started falling for him before the wedding," I finally admit out loud, the truth spilling out of me in waves. "When he was still Frankie, when I thought he was just some guard forced to watch over me. There was something about him, even then. Something that called to me."
Antonio runs a hand through his hair, looking lost.
"This is insane. You know that, right? This is absolutely insane."
"Maybe." I step closer to him, reaching out to take his hand. "But it's my choice. For the first time in my life, I'm making a choice that's entirely mine. Not because my uncle arranged it and not because my family decided it. But because I want it."
His jaw works, and I can see him fighting against everything he wants to say. Finally, after a few seconds, his shoulders slump.
"Andre is going to kill me," he mutters.
"Tell Andre I'm okay. Tell him…" I squeeze his hand. "Tell him I'm happy. He will understand."
Antonio pulls me into a firm hug, his arms wrapping around me so tightly I can barely breathe.
"I’m not going anywhere, little L. If he ever hurts you," Antonio murmurs against my hair, "I will personally cut off every part of him that touched you."
I laugh, tears spilling down my cheeks.
"I'd expect nothing less, but also, you will have to watch for his sister. She’s a little…unhinged."
"I mean it, Liana. One word from you, and I'll…"
"She won't need to say a word."
I spring away from Antonio at the sound of Rio's voice. He's standing ten feet away, a guard at each side and his face carved from stone. My heart stops, then restarts at double speed.
"Rio." I step toward him instinctively. "I can explain…"
"No need." His eyes flick to Antonio, cold and calculating. "I heard everything."
Antonio tenses, his hand moving toward his waistband where I know he keeps a weapon. The guards mirror the movement, hands hovering near their weapons.
"Rio, please," I say quickly, positioning myself between them. "He's my family. He came because he was worried about me."
"I know." Rio's gaze doesn't leave Antonio's face. "I've known since the first time he showed up in my garden."
My blood runs cold.
"You…you knew?"
"Security caught him on camera." Rio finally looks at me, and some of the ice in his expression thaws. "I watched the whole thing and heard every word. Do you really think I could ever let you out of my sight?"
My mind replays everything from our conversation. The uncertainty, my conflicting emotions and the admission that I didn't know what I wanted.
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I needed to know," he says as he moves closer, his hand coming up to cup my face with a gentleness that contradicts the tension radiating from his body.
"I needed to know that when you had the chance to leave, when your family came to take you home, you would choose to stay. That you would choose me."
"You heard what I said. Just now?" I ask as tears blur my vision.
"Every word." His thumb brushes away a tear that escapes down my cheek. "You love me."
It's not a question, but I answer anyway.
"Yes. God help me, but yes, I love you."
Something cracks in his expression, something vulnerable and he pulls me against him, one hand fisting in my hair as he kisses me with a desperation that steals my breath.
"Dios mío, Datura," he murmurs against my lips. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that. And it’s a good thing too, because I love you too fucking much to ever let you go."
Behind us, Antonio clears his throat pointedly.
"I'm still here, you know."
Rio pulls back, keeping one arm firmly around my waist as he turns to face my cousin. The two men stare at each other, and I hold my breath, waiting for the violence that seems inevitable.
"You came for her," Rio says finally. "Risked your life for her."
"She's my family,” Antonio says, lifting his chin.
"She's my wife." Rio's arm tightens around me. "But I respect what you did. It took balls to walk into my territory, not once but twice."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"It's supposed to be a warning." Rio's voice drops, taking on that dangerous edge I've come to recognize. "You got lucky. Twice. But there won't be a third time. If you try to take her from me again, I'll kill you. Family or not. She made her choice and she is mine now."
Antonio's jaw clenches, but he nods slowly.
"As long as you take care of her."
"I intend to,” Rio says and pauses, taking a long look at my cousin. “Stay, eat, party,” he says to Antonio as he drags me away. “I’m taking my wife home to worship her body for the rest of the day.”
Antonio scowls, making me laugh, but nods his head before turning and heading into the crowd.
The heat of Rio’s breath hits my ear, sending a chill down my spine as he leans in and whispers.
“I’m glad you chose me because I wouldn’t have let you walk away from me anyway. I love you, Datura and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you remember that.”