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“I don’t care if it’s an insult to the Camorra. I will kill him for violating you.”
The Camorra. So, Massimo was with the mafia. I’d already known, but the confirmation made my blood run cold.
“I’m going to tell my husband to take our charming Italian guest to the basement. Stefano will make sure he regrets touching you before he finally allows him to die.”
“What?” I gasped, horror chasing away my conflict over Massimo’s criminal lifestyle. If Stefano was Carmen’s husband, it was no wonder she wielded so much power here. She would order Massimo’s execution, and the drug lord would carry out the sentence.
“No! Massimo didn’t rape me. I…” The admission that I’d enjoyed every deviant moment of his erotic game stuck in my throat, too humiliating to utter. I’d willingly kissed my captor. I’d allowed him to touch me in ways no man ever had, and I’d begged for more. “He saved me,” I said instead. “He’s been protecting me.”
Carmen’s gaze snapped back to mine, those keen eyes peering into my soul. “I see,” she said after a moment. “I understand that desire can be…complicated. If you’re with him consensually, I won’t say another word about it.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m with him,” I countered. “I mean, he saved me from George and Los Zetas. And he hasn’t forced himself on me.” My cheeks warmed, but I continued on, “But I don’t want to be here. I told him I want to leave, and he won’t let me go.” Hope budded in my chest. Carmen cared about my wellbeing. She cared about my consent. “Will you help me?”
She cocked her head at me, long, wavy hair swaying around her lovely face. “What is it that you want? To be away from Massimo? You just said he’s protecting you. And you’ve been with him willingly.” She eyed the bite mark again, a pointed reminder of the fact that I’d eagerly kissed my captor and welcomed him to ravage me.
I breathed through my embarrassment and pleaded my case. “I just want to get back to Albuquerque. I can’t stay here.”
“Why?” she asked, a soft challenge.
I considered my next words carefully. She was Stefano Duarte’s wife. I couldn’t risk pissing her off. “I don’t have anything to do with the cartels, and I don’t want to. If you help me get out of here, I will leave Mexico City and go back home to America, where I belong.”
Her jaw firmed. “You became associated with the cartels because of your fiancé’s poor choices. I understand that isn’t your fault, but that doesn’t change the facts. You’ve been in my home. You’ve seen my face. You know who I am and what I do. I can’t risk sending you back to the American authorities.”
“I won’t say a word to anyone, I swear.” I tried to reason with her the way I’d reasoned with Massimo. “I would be dead if it weren’t for Massimo. That’s not a debt I can repay. I would never betray him, and there’s no way I could tell the DEA about you without involving him. You have nothing to fear from me.”
She laughed softly, genuinely amused. “I know I don’t. I don’t think you could hurt a fly. But I didn’t get this far by taking stupid risks. I have an empire to run, and I don’t intend to lose it. I’ve worked too hard to get to where I am, to be happy. I brought you over here to speak to you privately, so that I could find out if Massimo was abusing you. He’s not. In your own words, he’s protecting you from Crawford and Los Zetas. There’s no need for me to be worried about you staying with him.”
“I’m not staying with him,” I said bluntly. “I’m his captive.”
She shrugged. “Life is full of gray areas. The situation can be as difficult as you choose to make it. Believe me, I know.”
“What do you mean?’ I couldn’t understand her cryptic words.
She eyed the man who’d blocked Massimo’s path to us, her lips curving with unmistakable affection. “Let’s just say that my relationship with Stefano had an unconventional start.” She sighed and made a point of looking for a server. “Where is our mezcal? Honestly, you’d think they’d know to serve the women first. Come on.” She grasped my hand and stood, tugging me toward the bar. “Let’s get back to the men before Massimo decides to stop playing nice and drags you away from me.”
Our conversation was clearly over. The cool queen was back, the concerned woman disappearing behind her regal mask. Carmen was satisfied that I wasn’t in immediate danger, and she wouldn’t do anything more to help me.
She hummed conspiratorially as we neared Massimo. “He is a big one, isn’t he? Stay close to him. With his mark on your neck, no one will dare to breathe the same air as you. I would tell you to come talk to me if anyone bothers you, but I have a feeling they wouldn’t be alive by the time you got to me.” She sobered slightly, her coy smile firming to something more serious. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He would kill every man in this room to get to you. Massimo will keep you safe, Evelyn. That’s what matters. He might even make you happy, if you let him.”
I didn’t have time to formulate a reply before we reached the men, and Massimo’s big hand settled on the small of my back once again. Without thinking, I leaned into his possessive touch.
Chapter 19
Massimo
Duarte beamed at Evelyn, and the sharp edge to his grin made me tense with aggression. I wanted to snap at him not to look at her with that subtle threat in his black, shark’s eyes, but he was my host. I couldn’t protect her if I got myself killed for insulting the notoriously mercurial drug lord.
“It’s so lovely to meet you, Evelyn.” He addressed her warmly, as though he was genuinely delighted to make her acquaintance. Then his cold eyes cut to me. “Massimo has been very…bold in choosing to bring you as his guest. I was under the impression that you were engaged to someone else.”
She stiffened at my side, and I traced a soothing pattern on her lower back, trying to offer her quiet comfort.
I kept my own charming smile fixed in place. “Do you see a ring on her finger?” I asked blandly.
Duarte let out a soft hum. “Interesting. I must’ve been mistaken.”
Carmen stepped close to him, and he draped a possessive arm around her waist.
“Don’t interrogate them, darling.” She brushed a kiss over his cheek. “Evelyn has chosen to be with Massimo.”
