Page 46 of Death

Walking to the trunk, I crouch beside it and lift the lid.

Ciara’s curled into a tight ball, and she cautiously peeks at me.

“Come out,mi sol.”

I move back, and it takes close to a minute before she slowly climbs out. When she’s standing, she wraps her arms around her middle, lowers her head, and curls her shoulders forward.

“I found out who you are,” I say, and it has her eyes darting to my face. “Ciara Devlin.”

Terror tightens her features, and she starts to shake her head, then she drops to her knees and begs, “Please. Please. Please.”

I crouch down again and try to catch her frightened gaze, but she’s spiraling fast and hard.

“Please, what?” I ask.

She shakes her head desperately.

“Do you want to see Grace?”

Ciara jerks back as if I’ve hit her, and then she loses her fucking mind, launching her body at me.

I forget about the video call as her fists slam into my chest and neck. She fights with all her strength and I work my ass off to pin her arms to her side. When I have her in a tight grip with one arm, I press my other hand to her forehead so she doesn’t headbutt me and hurt herself.

Our breaths exploding over our lips is the only sound in the room for a solid minute before Ciara begins to weep, sounding like a wounded animal.

It rips my heart out of my chest, and I quickly turn her around before squashing her to my chest. Holding her fucking tight, it takes forever before she begins to calm down. Her body slumps against mine, and lost sobs drift over her lips.

“You’re safe,” I whisper.

Ciara pulls out of my arms, and I watch as she climbs back into the trunk before pulling the lid shut.

Well, that was a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

Standing up, I grab the phone and leave the bedroom. I bring the screen up so I can see Dominik’s face, then say, “I don’t givea flying fuck about how Grace will feel. Ciara is the only one who matters. She is not mentally ready for anything right now. I’ve just gotten her to wipe her own ass and feed herself. It will take months, if not longer, before she’s able to handle something as intense as a reunion with her sister.”

Dominik shakes his head slowly, but then he nods. “I understand. Grace’s hormones are all over the place, and seeing Ciara like that will break her.”

“You protect Grace and let me work with Ciara. Give me a month, then we can check in with each other.”

“But you’ll let me know if Ciara is ready sooner?” he asks.

I nod, then add, “Whatever happens in the future, I need to be very clear about one thing.”

He raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“Ciara is mine.”

“Let’s just get through the next few weeks, then we can talk again.” I tilt my head, staring Dominik dead in the eye. He lets out a tired chuckle. “I get it, Santiago. She’s yours, but brace yourself for one hell of an overprotective Grace. She’s going to fight you.” He pauses, then asks, “Are we good?”

I nod while lifting a hand to rub the back of my neck where tension is building. “Yeah. We’re good.”

We end the video call, and needing to do some serious damage control, I head back into Ciara’s room.

Chapter 14

CIARA

My body is shivering uncontrollably, and my heart thunders against my ribs.

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