August
Five Days Later
The bright sun cast a shimmer down the length of her body as she stood at the window, her lovely copper hair smooth as silk. She seemed pensive, her eyes never blinking as she stared out at the parking lot. I stood in the doorway, watching her.
Bathing in her beauty.
I heard Bruno behind me, the larger than life man refusing to stay in the hospital for more than two days. He’d been my constant companion, rarely leaving my side. The days had been nothing but a blur of activity, including shoring the ranks within the family, but thankfully, today I was taking her home.
“I’ll be waiting downstairs, boss.” Bruno kept his voice hushed, his eyes twinkling from the sight of her.
I nodded, waiting until he walked away before taking cautious steps inside. She and I had talked for hours after she’d garnered her strength. Although I hadn’t confided about the information in the box, only telling her that her mother was safe and in good hands, she needed to know. After she’d asked about Drummand three times, I’d been forced to tell her about his arrest and the reasons why. Since then, I’d refused to allow her to watch television, even going so far as to have the set removed from the room. She didn’t need to be mired with the sweeping events that seemed to occur every hour. I would tell her the rest soon enough.
“You’re late,” she said, her tone the seductive purr I remembered.
“Five minutes.” I inched closer, sliding my hands over her shoulders.
Sasha leaned her head against my chest, basking in the warmth of the day. “I missed you.”
I kissed the top of her head, longing to have her safe in my arms and very much behind closed doors. “There were some things that had to be done. Are you ready to go?”
“More than ready.”
I took her hand, grabbing her small suitcase and the moment we were in the elevator, I dropped the bag, palming both sides of her head and growling as I lowered mine. “I have you all to myself. All mine.”
“You know what the doctor said. Rest. Quiet.” Tipping her head, she moaned before pressing her lips against mine. She clutched my jacket, twisting the thick leather as she rose onto her tiptoes.
I darted my tongue inside, tasting her sweet essence, the scent of her even more intoxicating than it had been before.
Before the lies.
Before the deceit.
Before the truth.
I was just as obsessed with her as Carmine or my father had been with Margaret, perhaps even more so, but I was determined to do this the right way. Many would say that love wasn’t enough, that my criminal activity would always keep her in danger. They might be right, but I was willing to risk all I had in order to savor this happiness.
She loved me. The why didn’t matter and I wasn’t going to ask.
The notion was one I hadn’t been able to get used to. I’d been dominating, bordering cruel and she’d unraveled the steel bindings wrapped around me with ease.
The ping of the elevator was the only reason I eased away, but not before whispering in her ear, “The things I’m going to do to you.”
She rolled her eyes, pushing my chest in an effort to sidestep me. Her defiance hadn’t dampened even though she’d almost died. “Not yet.”
I chuckled and kept my eyes sweeping the lobby as we walked toward the door. While I no longer feared being arrested or assassinated given the shakedown that had occurred in several phases of law enforcement, I would forever be cautious.
“Bruno,” Sasha muttered. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She threw her arms around his neck, shocking the hell out of him.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, grinning like a kid. “No place I’d rather be.”
I was no fool. There were going to be difficult times ahead, especially since there was continued speculation regarding drug-related activity, but I was cautiously optimistic that Drummand would spend a significant amount of time behind bars. Slave trafficking was indeed a heinous offense that crossed state lines, much more so than anything my family could cause.
As far as I was concerned, the Gonzalez family was out of the drug business.
At least under my regime.
We both remained quiet after Bruno started the engine, pulling away from the curb. He’d already broken off his cast, insisting he was healed. Soon enough, he could become a capo, one of the few men I could trust with my most valuable possession.
I took her hand, wishing I could make the information easier for her to learn. “I’m glad the box was recovered.”
“And opened. You already know what she was desperate to tell me.”
“I wish you’d shared that with me, had trusted me enough.”
Sasha sighed. “I do trust you, August. Maybe I’m crazy or the attraction I feel for you clouding my judgment, but I know in my heart I can trust you. I’d forgotten about her plea before she… Before Drummand imprisoned my mother. Bastard. If only I’d found it earlier, she wouldn’t have suffered. You have no idea how terrible I feel.”
“What I can tell you is that even if you had found the box, you couldn’t have known that he was capable of something so devious. My guess is you wouldn’t have believed it even if you suspected.”
“I suppose you’re right. I just… Why didn’t I follow my gut? I knew something was off about her death. It happened in the blink of an eye. She supposedly was very sick and didn’t call me, dropping into a coma and dying and my own father didn’t contact me?” Hissing, she looked out the window. “I was played but I’m the one to blame.”
“No, baby. You’re not.”
“Well, you know all my tawdry little secrets. No wonder my father was happy to sell me off.”
The comment seemed out of place. “I had to know the connection, why Drummand would go to so much trouble in order to take down the Gonzalez family. What I uncovered was a man hiding from himself.”
“How could Drummand do such horrible things to those girls?” Shivering, she glared at the box with hatred. This was the second time she’d used his first name.
She already knew.
“You should look inside before you meet with your mother. That will make it much easier, at least for her.”
“I already know what she needed to tell me,” Sasha said quietly.
“You do, huh?”
She looked into my eyes. “Drummand isn’t my father.”
I eased a strand of hair from her face before shaking my head. “No.”
“I guess I always knew that. He tried to care for me, especially when I was little, but I could tell by the way he looked at me that he was…” She huffed. “He was frightened of me, like I was the devil’s spawn.”
“You’re an amazing woman, Sasha Morales.”
She placed two fingers across my lips. “I’m just me. Thank you for protecting me, loving me.”
“And I’m just me, Sasha. All I can offer you is a promise that I’ll love and care for you as my heart.” After kissing her fingers, I eased the box into her lap. There was nothing else I could say, no promise that her pain would be eased. Her reaction might alter the course of our future, but this was her choice.
I refused to remain the man chaining her to a life she didn’t want.
She took several deep breaths before sliding the lid to the side, fingering the envelope. After a nod of her head she opened and removed the contents. Only two minutes later she replaced everything, closing the lid and placing the box on the opposite seat. She remained quiet, staring out the passenger window.
I’d promised her privacy, time to spend with her mother and I was going to honor that promise. Bruno had already swept the safe house earlier in the day. I remained in my seat, unable to find the right words.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Why are you thanking me?”
She moved closer, kissing me on the cheek. “For helping me learn the truth. I will never forget it.”
As she stepped outside, the wind lightly blowing, a sparkle of sun floating in through the open door, I clenched my fist. She was so damn beautiful.
My greed and anger had almost allowed me to lose the only good thing that had ever happened in my life.