Page 59 of Hostile Love
But this…he didn’t deserve to die.
I should bounce to my feet, let this agony turn into wrath and take one final stab at self-defense. Show these motherfuckers I’m not weak. That I’m not their prey.
Despite all of that, there’s no fight left inside of me. The spark has gone out. My typical instincts have vanished, and my brain has malfunctioned.
He’s dead, because I failed to protect him when I swore I would. Making that promise to Matheus became the only oath that truly held any weight.
Not pledging my allegiance to The Covenant or vowing to serve my father.
Keeping him safe was all that really mattered to me in the end. I realized that fact the moment he’d stepped into an SUV and disappeared.
And that’s why I flew to Sicily and made peace with my decision to fall in line as an agent again. Because that way, I’d be waiting in the shadows to protect him.
I didn’t need wedding vows to tether me to him. We were already betrothed on a deeper, more intimate level.
While I’m spiraling in grief, Giovanni’s light footfall moves into my line of vision. I gulp down a tattered sob and stare up at him, noticing a rare glimmer of what could be empathy in his eyes.
As quickly as it happens, all traces of it vanish from his cold gaze.
He holds an iPhone in front of my face and taps the screen.
My blurry gaze settles on the video footage and my heartbeat goes haywire.
“Matheus?” I whisper-croak and reach out for the device.
“The fucker whose brains are decorating the terrace colluded with our enemies and allowed an armed imposter into André’s home. Traitors die, agent Buffalo,” Giovanni informs me.
I hear him, but I can’t take my eyes off Matheus as he climbs the grand staircase inside the mansion not far from me.
He’s beautiful with that dark hair of his all disheveled and the top button of his white shirt left undone. I can’t hide the smile on my face or the bubbles of happiness popping inside my chest.
Giovanni sighs heavily. “What you’re watching is in real time,” he announces. “Crow is safe.”
I laugh a little. The sound of it deranged, but the emotion that caused it is unlike anything I’ve ever known. Relief hits me hard and warmth charges through me, giving me weird fuzzy vibes, like I’m in love.
When Giovanni takes the phone from me, I wipe my nose with the back of my hand, sniffing. To my surprise, Tomás steps into me next. He hunkers low so our eyes are level.
“It was the fuckingatrocioussmell that got to me first.” The calmness in his deep voice makes me shiver. “I will never forget that old barn, Daniela. The sight of those women, their bodies piled up. I’ve seen death before. Sprayed a round into my enemies and not regretted a single bullet, but those girls…” He clears his throat as if he’s trying to escape the hideous memory. “But amongst all that death, there was a little life trembling on the floor…an innocent heart thumping so hard it couldn't be hidden…and a powerful pulse thrumming in the neck of a girl who knew she had to pretend to be dead like them to survive.”
I can’t speak, desperately trying to muster more energy, physically trying to prepare myself for what would happen next. Yet I’m eager to hear more, to understand the Souza bastard I’ve hated for years.
“My father would have shot that girl in the head and carried on with his business conversation,” Tomás says matter-of-factly.
“Me––” He reaches for my arm, lifts it towards the moonlight and studies my tattoo of justice scales.
Something obscure passes over that black ice expression on his face.
“I decided to give her a fighting chance and purposefully left the barn door open. Then I ordered my men to incinerate the dead. While they gathered fuel and talked shit, the girl fled. I made sure they didn’t notice her scrambling barefoot and pathetic towards the trees.”
My stomach churns and my heart jerks. There’s no way he could have known that, unless…he really did watch me head for the biggest tree trunk and hide behind it.
He drops my arm.
“After that, I made it my mission to change the way we ran things in certain areas. However, after my father died, I’d since learned a Souza lieutenant and his men continued to conduct other shady shit without my approval. And that’s why I agreed to have Eduardo executed. You did me a favor. We both benefited from it.”
“Tonight was a test…” My voice sounds small following the power of his words.
“Matheus is my brother, Daniela. I will do anything to protect my family.”
