Page 81 of Hostile Rival
He purposefully takes a step away and I follow, water hitting the crown of my head. After a minute, he walks me backwards.
“Open your eyes, Dani.” The hoarseness of his voice makes my skin burn hotter.
I wipe my face, blink them open, and swallow hard. He tilts his head as our gazes tangle, his fingertips stroking the tattoos on my biceps.
“There’s my little firecracker,” he mutters.
A smile creeps up on me and butterflies go berserk behind my ribcage. All I feel arebigemotions. Which means I have to be honest and hope he doesn’t hate me for it.
“Matheus,” I whisper his name. “I need to tell you something.”
He exhales slowly and drops his gaze to my nipples poking his chest as I breathe. “I’m listening. You always have my full attention.”
I swallow, oddly nervous. “Blanco wants me to bring you to him. It’s not an ambush. He said it’s business.”
He frowns. “Did you tell him about me?”
“Sort of.” My shoulders bounce gently. “He asked about the palace and when I told him what happened, he praised you for it. And now he wants to talk.”
Matheus pulls away and wipes the water from his lashes, his expression suddenly darkened with displeasure. A look that slays me because I put it there. “Is this a setup? Areyousetting me up? Why the fuck would I want to meet with him?”
“Of course, it’s not a setup, Mat.” I shove his chest, although his footing stays solid. “I wouldn’t do that to you. And even if it was, why the hell would I tell you about it first?”
He sighs and angles toward the conditioner bottle, pumping twice. “I have nothing to say to Blanco other than updating him on who you belong to now…seconds before I blow his brains out. But you’re not ready to admit where you belong. Are you, Dani?”
My body tenses. It’s not his fault he doesn’t know the extent of my allegiance. A huge part of me doesn't want him to find out the truth either—that Carlos Blanco is my biological father.
That’s when the heat in his eyes would turn glacial. I can’t bring myself to kill the only connection that’s ever mattered to me in years.
I didn’t mention it in the beginning because I’ve learned to keep my personal business under wraps. It’s not public knowledge and that suits me. Anyway, I never expected to feel this way about Matheus—to actuallyfeel.
I might be Blanco’s eldest daughter, but in the grand scheme of things, I’m his weapon, first and foremost. My half-sister, Sofia, is the daughter he had raised and the girl he adores.
Whereas I’m the woman with one foot in a family and the other outside on my own. Still, that doesn’t mean I’d betray the man who gave me a place and a purpose.
“Look, Mat, I––”
His jaw instantly tightens when I start speaking, and then he cuts me off. “I’ve no reason to meet that fucker face to face. Blanco did bad things to my family. How do you think he blackmailed Giovanni into creating The Covenant and letting someone like you be part of it?”
I know exactly how he did it because I was tasked with arranging the whole thing. My team rammed Giovanni’s vehicle off the road and delivered him and his girlfriend straight to Blanco.
It was me, however, who’d watched over the pretty teenager and made sure none of the men assaulted her. I protected her even though I was responsible for kidnapping her. That was a personal decision on my part and one I’d never regret.
I frown, stupidly hurt by his comment. Regardless, I don't show it. “What is someone like me to a man like you…huh?”
His jaw ticks. “You know what I mean. You’re practically Blanco’s right-hand woman. What he says, you do.”
“So, you’re saying I can’t think for myself? That I’m his puppet?”
His eyes narrow, full of darkness and suspicion. Silver glints from his ring when he seizes my wrist and holds it tight. “Why did you really come in here, Dani?”
While his nostrils flare, hinting at his anger, the tone of his voice slips lower, hungrier, and––almost defeated.
“I didn't have to say anything, you know.” I yank my hand, baring my teeth when he doesn't let go. “Everyone else out therefights and kills each other. I thought being honest would mean something to you. As it turns out, it’s only confirmed this is bullshit.” His grip tightens. “If Blanco had wanted you dead, he would have given me the order to do it, not arrange a meeting.”
His brows drift up. “And if he gave the order. Would you obey?”
I falter a second, a jumble of words on the tip of my tongue. Would I really pick a Souza over the man who’d helped me become the woman I am today––strong and powerful in my ability to survive.
