Page 80 of The One
My heart stops and then races. “You’re injured? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“No, I wasn’t hit,” she quickly reassures me. “It was just so close. A millisecond slower, and I’d be…” She shudders, her gaze dropping to her hands as they shake. “I’ve never been that close to death before.”
Her words send a chill down my spine, twisting my gut in a whole new way.
“Thank you,” she says softly before my thoughts can spiral further. “Thank you for looking after me back there and… and for caring now.” I watch the first tear slip down her cheek and that knot in my stomach tightens.
Christ, did she think I’d leave her behind? What sort of expectations does she have of men?
“I’m sorry I was so weak. Sorry I couldn’t help when you—”
“Mari, stop,” I cut in, more commanding this time. “You were brave, and you held it together. I am proud of you.”
And I truly am. Most people would’ve fallen apart or dissolved into hysterics in a situation like that.
“That was nothing,” she whispers, her voice barely audible, more tears falling down her cheeks.
“You were brave,” I tell her firmly. “You trusted me. You followed me even when you were scared out of your mind. That’s not nothing, Mari.”
She swallows hard, her gaze distant. “I felt so helpless when my life depended on it. So… powerless,” she whispers.
A tidal wave of anger surges inside me, aimed directly at Antonio. How could he raise his daughters so unprepared for the harsh realities of our world?
“We’re almost home,” I murmur, trying to push down my anger. It’s not what Mari needs right now.
I turn onto the road leading to Carloso. The gates appear ahead, already swinging open.
I keep glancing at her in the rearview mirror, resolved to look after her. She won’t have to deal with this alone.
And tomorrow, I’ll teach her the most important things she’ll ever learn in her life.
She’ll never feel powerless again.
Chapter Thirty-One
Mariella
We drive straight into the garage, the other cars that had surrounded us peeling off and disappearing into other corners of the property.
The engine’s low rumble echoes off the walls, the door sliding shut behind us.
I take a deep breath in, trying to get it into my head that we’re safe now.
I must be in shock. The way I’m feeling isn’t normal. My senses are dulled, and everything around me seems distant, as if I’m not really here.
I could have been killed. That thought is on a continuous loop in my mind, and I’m fighting to push it away.
Mateo’s calm, steady presence has been my lifeline. I’m in awe of him, now more than ever.
Every move he made was so sure, so deliberate. There was no hesitation, just unrelenting focus on getting us both out alive.
I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if I’d been with my father instead. Would he have kept me safe? Would he have worried whether I lived or died?
Mateo cuts the engine, the sudden quiet strange after all that terrible noise. The silence should be a relief, but instead, it only seems to exaggerate the pounding of my heart and the tremor in my breaths.
He turns to look at me, worry written all over his face. He slides over onto the passenger seat that’s still reclined flat, and shimmies back until he’s sitting right beside me.
His hand moves to my face, fingertips brushing so lightly it almost tickles as he tilts my chin, scanning for any sign of a bullet graze.
