Chapter 16

Camila

My pajamas were replaced with a pair of shorts, top, and hoodie. If seen by my parents or any of the guards, the change wouldn’t incite anyone’s curiosity. The long white sundress I have stuffed into my backpack would. It wasn’t what I imagined my wedding dress would be, but as my circulation hummed with anticipation, I knew my dress wasn’t what I’d remember about this night. It would be the significance of saying ‘I do.’

Turning my phone to vibrate, I stuffed it in my back pocket. I zipped my backpack and swung it over my shoulder. Inside my bedroom, I stilled, standing with my hand on the doorknob and looking around.

Seeing the room I’d lived in my entire life, memories stared back at me. Pictures in frames and others pinned to a bulletin board. Hurrying to the bookcase, I grabbed a framed picture of Em, Catalina, and me. It was taken at Catalina’s graduation from college. Taken before her life changed forever. The innocence we shared could be seen in our happy and clueless eyes. The time from before tugged at my heart.

I slipped the framed photo into an outer pocket on the backpack.

The rest of the room represented my childhood, the period of time I was walking away from.

I was leaving of my own volition, not acquiescing as Catalina did, a bargaining chip handed over by our father and gifted to the Kansas City Mafia. The fact that I was headed to the same place was insignificant. The truth that I was leaving based on my own desires was what mattered.

Opening my bedroom door, I saw Miguel’s empty chair. It was fair to assume he’d gone to his room for the night, assured of my obedience. Soft lights directed at the floorboards on each side illuminated the quiet hallway. Holding my tennis shoes, I walked barefooted, quietly making my way to the back staircase.

The memory of Miguel keeping me safe in this exact spot crushed my chest. He’d be blamed for my absence. My parents would take my disobedience out on him.

“I’m sorry, Miguel,” I whispered as I slowly descended the back staircase.

Turning on the midway landing, I stopped walking and listened for noises coming from the kitchen.

Nothing.

My plan was to exit out onto the pool deck, duck behind the pool house, where the Roríguez men lived for a few months. I knew that hidden along the fence line was a gate leading off the property that allowed the two of them to come and go without dealing with the security.

Slipping through the kitchen, I descended the next set of stairs to the lower level. A quick look at the green light near the glass doors let me know that the sensors were disarmed. Opening the glass door, the sound of the surf from beyond the cliff filled my ears. Darkness encompassed the pool deck and the abyss beyond. Even the stars and moon were obscured in shadows. Only the colorful illumination of the ever-changing hues beneath the pool’s crystal-clear water penetrated the darkness.

Keeping myself in the shadows, I slid on my tennis shoes. With one last look at the only home I’d known, I took the path around the pool house. As I reached the tall gate, it opened inward.

My heart forgot to pump as the viscous liquid drained from my face to my feet.

“Where are you going?” my brother asked, eyeing me up and down, his gaze settling on my backpack.

“Em, forget you saw me.”

His iron grip came to my wrist as his voice lowered. “Fuck, Camila. You can’t fight this. I wish you could. I’ve done what I could. Cat couldn’t fight it. You can’t either.”

Lifting my chin, I met his gaze. “I’m not fighting. I’m choosing. Please respect that.”

His grip loosened. “You’re choosing? What the fuck are you choosing, to run away? Don’t you think the cartel has the resources to find you? You will be hunted. And what if you’re found by the bratva?”

The thought sent a cold shiver over my flesh. I lifted my chin. “I’m not running away. I’m choosing who I’ll marry.”

Em’s dark stare narrowed, drilling into me for an extended moment before he connected the dots. “You’re choosing Luciano?”

“I am.” I softened my voice. “I love Dante, Em. Please respect that.”

“I fought for Rei with Papá.” His expression morphed. “You know him. Rei is a good man.”

“He is,” I agreed. “I’m sorry he got dragged into this. Dante asked me to marry him before talking to Dario and before Dario approached el Patrόn. I said yes.”

Em pressed his lips together. “I’m supposed to be okay with both my sisters leaving our family and moving in with the famiglia?”

“You’re supposed to support both your sisters. You supported Cat.” I feigned a smile. “I know you gave her lessons to protect herself.”

“Should I slide my blade into that backpack?”

“I’d be happy with your blessing.”

His nostrils flared. “To marry Luciano?”

“To marry the man I want to marry.”

“Do you have any idea how fucking ballistic Papá is going to be when he finds out you’re gone?”

I nodded. “That’s why you need to say you didn’t know anything about it.”

“Does Dario know?”

I shook my head.

Em inhaled, his chest pressing against his shirt as he lifted his hand, palm up.

I looked suspiciously at his opened hand. “What are you doing?”

“Who is coming to get you?”

“Please don’t fight him, Em.”

He repeated his question.

“Dante,” I admitted.

“Papá won’t be giving you away. Let me take you to him and ensure you’re safe until I give you to him.”

A lump of emotion formed in my throat as I laid my hand in my brother’s.

Em closed his fingers around mine. “I need to tell Luciano that if he hurts you in any way, I don’t give a damn about the alliance, I’ll fucking hunt him down.”

Letting go of Em’s hand, I wrapped my arms around his torso. “Thank you.”

“Where is he picking you up?”

I told my brother the cross streets.

“Come this way,” he said, “I’ll help you avoid the cameras.”

Under the blanket of darkness, Em led me beyond the gate, around the side of the house, and through the underbrush of our landscaping, skimming neighbors’ properties until we came to an opening facing the street, two properties away from ours.

Immediately, the lights flashed from an unfamiliar black sedan. Em reached for his gun as the car slowly rolled toward us. The car stopped, the driver’s-side door opened, and two hands came into view.

“Don’t shoot.”

My heart filled with hope as Dante Luciano stood, his wide shoulders appearing as if they couldn’t possibly fit in the small car. His body unfolded. Beneath the shirt I’d seen him wear earlier at my house, I imagined his toned torso. As he stepped around the car, I scanned his long legs. With my knees weak, I dropped my backpack and ran toward him.

When we collided, Dante wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his chest, inhaling his scent of leather and spice. “You came all the way out here to fight for me.”

His large palm gently cupped my cheek. “I was willing to do more to fight for you.”

Em appeared behind me, my backpack in his hand and his gun no longer in sight.

Dante extended his hand. “Emiliano.”

My brother used his dominating tone. “Dante. You realize this is going to cause problems with el Patrόn and your brother.”

Dante nodded. The sharp edge of his chiseled jaw clenched as his Adam’s apple bobbed. “We’re getting married tonight. Come with us.”

Em looked from Dante to me and back. “I don’t know what the fucking fallout will be, but I know Camila wants to go with you.” He inhaled. “Take care of her, motherfucker. The alliance will survive, but if you hurt her, you won’t.”

Dante’s lips quirked. “Do you give this woman…?”

I took a step away from Dante and turned to my brother.

Em wrapped his arms around me. He then pulled back and lifted my chin. His next words came in Spanish, keeping them from Dante. “Love you, Camila. Don’t shut us out. We’re your family.”

I replied in the same language. “I love you, too. I won’t. I promise.”

He continued in Spanish. “Mama will be heartbroken.”

That reality tore at my heart. I didn’t want to hurt my mother. I hoped that one day she’d understand. “She’ll survive.”

Em reached for my head, tilting my face down and brushing a kiss to my hair. When I looked up, Em and Dante were in a stare-down. I spoke in English. “Love you, Em. Thank you.”

Dante’s hand found mine, intertwining our fingers.

I looked up at him. “Let’s get married before I’m engaged to someone else.”

Dante walked me around the car, opening the passenger door and brushing his lips with mine before I slid into the soft seat. After the door closed, he stopped and spoke to Em. They both nodded before he walked to the driver’s door.

As Dante folded himself into the driver’s seat, he reached over and took my hand in his. “I can’t believe you came up with this plan.”

“You came all the way to the West Coast to fight for me.”

His nostrils flared. “I failed.”

Turning my hand in his until our palms were together, I squeezed his much-larger hand. “You didn’t fail, Dante. From now on we’re a team. You made the first play. I made the second.” Warmth filled my cheeks. “I think that means it’s your turn.”

He put the car in gear as a sexy smile filled his expression. “I’ve been thinking about having you alone and to myself since you appeared in my apartment.” His dark gaze connected briefly with mine. “I’ve had plenty of time to imagine all the things I can do to you.”

I fidgeted in the seat. “I’ve been doing the same, but admittedly, my imagination is rather limited in its knowledge.”

Dante drove a few blocks before pulling the car over to the side of the road.

“What?” I asked.

Dante leaned toward me. The scent of leather and spice filled my senses as my body warmed. His nose touched mine as his dark stare melted my insides, turning them to a molten lava. Without a word, he unbuckled my seatbelt.