Page 30 of Secrets of the Six

I chuckle to steady my beating heart. He's extremely forward for a Don. Not at all like the other conservative and secretive councilmen. "I'm afraid one glass of whiskey won't be enough to earn my company for the evening, Señor."

He leans toward me, allowing his lips to hover above my ear. When he whispers, I can smell the slightest hint of whiskey on his tongue and hate myself for finding the scent intoxicating. "Before the evening is through" – there's a cadence in his voice that sends a shiver down my spine – "you'll be exactly where I want you."

"And where is that?"

His calloused hand slides up my exposed thigh. "Do you want me to be descriptive or should I surprise you?"

I laugh, infusing a girlish giggle in the mix, and he retreats. "You are extremely bold, Don Rafael."

"Fortune favors the bold, mi reina." My queen. "And as you can see" – he winks and takes another swig of his whiskey – "I am quite fortuitous, so I believe my boldness has served me well."

"I see why you sit on the Soberano's council, Don Rafael." I rest my hand on his knee, and he hums in the back of his throat.

"Oh? And why do you think that is?" He reaches for my face and I permit his thumb to trace the curvature of my jaw before sweeping across my bottom lip.

"Apart from your charm, of course."

"Of course."

"You are sharp, cunning and direct. The Soberano is fortunate to have …"

Behind Rafael, a woman clearing glassware from tables catches my eye and silences me. The way she moves reminds me of someone I used to know, someone I thought died when we were fourteen. But when she turns to walk to the back of the establishment where the kitchen is located, a scar on her right cheek stops my heart. It can't be her.

Before I realize what's happening, I've abandoned Rafael and our flirtatious game and chased after the brunette. Each step I take feels heavy and the noise in the tavern slowly dies down until all I hear is my heart thundering inside my chest.

Years ago, she was the only friend I had. We scrounged up food and lived in an alley after escaping the brutal orphanage we were placed in as children. One day, she never came back to our make-shift home. I waited for her all night and the next morning went looking for her. I scoured every alley, asked everyone who would give me just a second of their time if they'd seen her, but to my dismay, no one knew who I was talking about. For months I thought she'd come back, but eventually I had to accept the fact she was dead. After all, that was the only reason she wouldn't have returned. We made a blood pact; no matter what, we'd stay together. The only way one of us would walk away was due to death claiming us.

I mourned her. But when it came time to throw her only prized possession into the sea as we promised to do in the case of death, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Cheaply made and missing a back pin to cling to a lapel, the broach was left in a trash pile, but she saw it as a sign we’d make it out of the Brogratto one day. Keeping the broach was the only promise I ever broke.

Surely, the woman I've followed through the bar to the back section isn't the friend I lost. My mind must be playing tricks on me.

Before I lose my nerve, I storm through the swinging door and step inside the kitchen. The woman whips around, hands clinging to the glassware she snagged moments ago. A soft gasp escapes me, and the tears welling in my eyes burn from the sight of the ghost before me.

"Carmen?" I manage.

Her eyes are wide. She looks horrified. "Ines?"

I reach for her, but I stop short when a jolt of pain shoots through my body. My head begins to throb, and before I can do anything to prevent it, I fall to the floor. Darkness clouds my vision and the last thing I see are two boots stomping toward me before I lose consciousness.

Chapter 11

Ines

I'm not sure how long I've been incoherent but from the stiffness of my body and the splitting headache I'm nursing – where I'm sure there's a knot from the assault– I've been asleep for at least a couple hours. I blink several times to allow my blurred vision to refocus, but I don’t see anything. There’s a thick blindfold tied around my head, denying me the opportunity to scope out my surroundings. And worse, when I attempt to move, I find I’m bound to a wobbly wooden chair.

Shit. I just had to follow Salvador tonight, didn't I?

Despite the unfortunate situation I currently find myself, Carmen pops into my mind.

She's alive.

How can she be alive?

Why didn't she come back for me?

I have dozens of questions but no time to sift through possible answers because two sets of heavy footsteps approach. I would hope they're friendly, but with assault, kidnapping, and tying me to a chair blindfolded under their belt, I'm going to wager they don't have my best interest at heart.

I brace myself when a door flies open.