Page 70 of Till Death Do Us Part

Closing his eyes, Aléjandro’s nostrils flared. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he emptied the tumbler and slammed it down on the table. His biceps bulged and the muscles in the side of his face pulled tight.

Bravely, I took a step toward him. “Are you hurt?”

He shook his head once before pouring more tequila. Taking the glass with him, he turned and disappeared into the bathroom. The door closed with a loud thud.

Emotion clogged my throat as I turned away, shaken by his cold response. Out on the balcony, the sun was nearing the horizon, casting orange and red hues over the glistening water. The clock on the bookcase told me it was only a little after seven. We had an hour and a half until dinner. The sound of a shower came from behind the closed door.

Looking down at my dress, I lamented the time I’d spent preparing for his arrival. He’d barely noticed my presence. While I considered imbibing on the tequila, I had another idea.

He isn’t him.

My husband needed a wife, a wife who understood the dangers and pressures of his livelihood, and one who offered support rather than wallowing in self-pity.

ChapterEighteen

Aléjandro

Fifteen hours earlier

The clicking of the lock woke me from whatever sleep I’d managed to drift into. It was nearly impossible not to spend the entire night with a damn boner with Mia sleeping at my side. Her soft skin smelled of scented lotion and radiated warmth. I could get lost in the way her lips parted as she slept.

Click.

Instantly, I was on high alert.

Who the fuck would try to enter my suite?

Quietly, I scooted away from Mia, careful not to wake her. Moving without sound was an asset in our world, the element of surprise. Wearing only my pajama pants, I padded barefoot to the bookcase where I’d laid my weapons last night before feasting on my wife. One last glance at the beauty sleeping in my bed before I reached for one of my knives and made my way to the door.

As the doorknob turned, I pulled the door open and lifted my knife, the point of my blade landing squarely on the intruder’s throat. His eyes bulged and his lips parted as I shoved him into the hallway and against the far wall, my arm against his chest as a droplet of blood oozed from where the tip of the blade penetrated his flesh.

“Qué chingados haces,” I asked, my voice low.

The man babbled an apology as his stare stayed fixed on me.

I angled the knife under his chin, where the soft flesh was easily slit. The windpipe put up more resistance than the carotid, but once sliced, the victim quickly died from the combination of blood loss and suffocation.

I recognized this man as one ofmi padre’sguards. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t a traitor, looking to kill Mia and me in our sleep.

His hands went up in surrender. “Your father sent me,” he said in Spanish.

“No one walks in on my wife.” I pressed the blade for emphasis and ripped open his suit coat, taking the revolver from his holster. Once he was unarmed, I took a step back.

“SeñorRoríguez, there’s been an incident. Yourpadrewants you andSeñorReinaldo to go to the mainland right away. He sent me to wake you.”

“We’re going tomi padre,” I said, flicking the knife in the direction of the hallway. The guard walked a few paces in front of me as we made our way down to the first deck, to the door ofmi padre’soffice.

Rei’s voice came into range as we approached the open doors.

The guard stepped to the side before entering and turned to me. “Mi pistola?”

I shook my head and entered. “Did you send this asshole into my fucking suite?”

Instead of answering,mi padreand Rei turned in my direction. “Andrés’s home was attacked tonight,”Padresaid.

The house where we’d just had our wedding and where Rei and I had been staying.

“Attacked?”