Page 28 of His Brother's Wife
Ama nodded. “How much does she know? I don’t want to upset her.”
“Everything. She asked to be told everything. It …god …she’s stronger than even I realized.”
Ama touched his face. “Raff, I’m so sorry about the baby.”
He half-smiled, but it was a strained thing. “The strange thing is …we had made our peace with not having kids. This seems like a cruel joke. As if being stabbed nine times by two men twice her size wasn’t bad enough.” His voice broke and he looked away. Enda gripped his shoulder.
“Come on, Raff. I’m buying you a strong coffee and something to eat.Cara mia, do you mind if we leave you two alone for a while?”
Ama shook her head. “I’ll be here with Inca. Take as long as you need.”
Inca woke less than ten minutes later, and Ama helped her sip from a cup of water. Inca smiled at her. “Hey, you. How are you? Is there any news?”
Ama bugged at her. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking ifyou’reokay?”
“Well,” Inca looked down at the heavy bandaging around her torso. “I’m going to say I’m all set.” She grinned, but then her smile faded. “And don’t even think you’re responsible for this. Raff told me that’s what you told Enda and it’s a bunch of crap. This is all Jackson Gallo. Asshole.”
‘Asshole’ was such an understatement when it came to describing Jackson that suddenly Ama got the giggles. Inca looked at her in surprise, then started to laugh too. “Oww, oww, don’t make me laugh. My stomach muscles are compromised. Oww!” But she dissolved into giggles too.
“I don’t know why I’m laughing,” Ama said, wiping her eyes, “You’re in here, my sister’s still missing, and Jackson …”
“Is still breathing,” Inca said, her smile fading. “Girl, if you can wait until I’m mobile, I say you and me go Black Ops on his ass.”
“From your lips to God’s ear, Inks. But seriously now, I am so sorry you got dragged into this. I can’t imagine what it was like.”
Inca winced a little as she shifted in the bed. “Personal. That’s the word I keep coming back to. The man who stabbed me …it was personal for him. He enjoyed it. He got off on sticking that knife in my belly. Jackson’s surrounded himself with men like him. Psychotic, sociopathic, and devoid of empathy. They like to kill, and they like to kill women.”
Ama dropped her head in her hands and moaned. “Inks…I can’t sit around waiting for Jackson to kill Selima. I know the men are doing everything their money will allow. It’s not enough.”
Inca was studying her. “Now I know you’re not thinking about going to Jackson?”
Ama met her gaze. “If it was a choice between you and Raffaelo …what would you do?”
“Jesus, Ama …you can’t ask me that. Goddamn it.” Inca’s voice broke. “I wish you hadn’t told me. Please, darling, I’m begging you. Don’t give in to him.”
Ama shook her head. “No, you misunderstand me. I have no intention of giving into him. I’m going to kill him.”
Ama was quiet on the way back to the villa that night, and when they got home, Enda sent the staff home and they went to their bedroom. Enda sat on the bed. “What’s going on in that mind?” he asked gently.
Ama sat next to him, brushing her fingers through his hair. “Enda …I think we need to go back to San Francisco.”
Enda looked at her, and she could see the conflict in her mind. Finally, he sighed. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. We’re not getting anywhere here. It’s just …the thought of you being in his sightline.”
“We don’t know he’s there, but I guarantee he’ll be watching. We go back. I go back to work as if nothing’s changed. We—you and I—will be visible in society. We goad him into contacting me again. We make a deal. Me for Seli—“
“No way. That’s not’s going to happen,cara mia,” Enda got up and paced the room. “I agree we should be there, but if you think we’re going to use you as bait.”
Ama sighed. “I think it’s too late to consider anything else, baby. Iamhis bait. I’m what he wants. We’ve established he could be anywhere in the world, which means I’m already in his sights. He knows we’re here. That’s why he sent men to kill Inca. He wanted me to know he is always close.”
Enda looked unhappy and was silent for a long time, looking out of the window. Finally, he returned to her side. “Fine. But the level of personal security you’re getting will be insane, okay? Please. I know you hate the intrusion, but this is your life we’re talking about. Until Jackson is …put out of action …you’ll have to promise me.”
Ama nodded slowly and met his gaze. “I promise, Enda. I do. But we’re getting Selima back alive.”
He pressed his lips to hers and she kissed him back, almost urgently. “Take me to bed, Enda, and fuck mehard.”
She felt his lips curl up in a smile. “That’s my girl.”
He pushed her back on the bed and began to unbutton her dress, taking the time to kiss every inch of skin he uncovered. Ama sighed, giving into the sensations he was sending through her. When his mouth found her sex, she shivered, and as his tongue lashed around her clit, she stroked his hair. “Baby, I want to taste you too.”
