Page 49 of His to Bedevil
The rest of the fight is like that. He dodges a lot of my punches and kicks, but I land a few. Never once, though, does he get angry and try to retaliate. He takes every hit tastefully, even when I draw blood, splitting his lip open. I almost feel sorry for him, but I don’t want them seeing me as soft.
Taking him completely off guard, I manage to sweep his legs out from under him, and then I’m on top of him with my fist cocked back. His face is wide open, and I slam my fist down at lightning speed but halt it right in front of his nose. His eyes remain wide, and he’s lying there still underneath me. Then his lips curl up in a grin, and he puts his hands up in surrender. “Okay,mami. You win.”
I get to my feet and offer him a hand. Chuckling, he takes it and stands as the crowd gathered around us claps and throws jabs at Diego. “Why’d you stop,chapara?” Lucas calls out in between chuckles.
“I just couldn’t go through with it, messing up his pretty little nose.” I give Diego a playful punch in his arm.
He throws his head back and laughs. “You’re too much,pajorita.”Little bird.“I almost forgive you for splitting my cheek open before.” He rubs the area, but it’s only pink now from our spar. He’s referring to when they captured me. I got in a good right hook with him before I stabbed the other guy.
I decline to take Lucas on next. I have a lot of work to do before I take him on. Diego wasn’t as easy to take down as I thought he would be. Alejo’s men are obviously trained well and know more than just street fighting.
Lucas and I decide to just walk back to the house instead of running again. I’m sure all for my sake and not his. “You got some spirit,chaparita.” He reaches over and ruffles the hair on the top of my head playfully. I swat his hand away, glaring up at him, causing him to chuckle. “I don’t think I’ll mind you as a sister-in-law at all. Might be fun.”
I screw my lips to the side, trying not to smile. I’ve never had a brother. “So, this babysitting gig isn’t too terrible for you?”
“A lot better than I thought,” he admits. “So, where’d you learn to fight like that anyway?”
“I took a bunch of classes when I was younger,” I vaguely elucidate.
“How old were you when you first started?”
“Fifteen.”
He’s not satisfied with my short answers. “And what kind of classes did you take?”
I sigh and focus ahead. “Martial arts, karate, boxing, women’s self-defense. Whatever I could.”
“And what made you want to take all those classes?”
“I had to learn how to defend myself. I’m small, so it’s not like I’m capable of being as strong as most men physically. I needed to learn how to fight with more than muscle.”
“But why did you need to learn how to fight?” he asks as he just caught on to something.
“I told you. I’m small, so—"
He cuts me off. “Why did you need to learn how to fight, Irma?” All of a sudden, he sounds a lot like Alejo, demanding and authoritative.
I snap my mouth shut, not willing to get into it with him. “It doesn’t matter,” I finally say. “I learned how to fight, and it’s kept me alive.” Just because he might be my brother-in-law soon doesn’t mean I owe him anything. He’s a total clod if he thinks he can pick apart my brain and use my weaknesses against me.
He doesn’t pry anymore, and we continue the trek to the house silently. But it isn’t an uncomfortable silence. I’m somewhat complacent around Lucas. He might put on this stone-cold mask in front of most people, but when no one else is around, he’s an easy person to be with. Unlike Alejo. Alejo has been nothing but sweet to me ever since he pulled me out of my cave, but I’m not at all at ease around him. Alejo is somehow more intimidating, and there’s always this crazy tension between us. I’m afraid what will happen when that tension finally snaps.
After Lucas leaves me at my room, I head into the bathroom to shower. But first I go to where I stashed the knife two days ago, and when I find it gone, I panic.
Fuck, Alejo found it before he left. How the hell did he find it? Why didn’t he say anything? Oh, shit. Will he punish me when he gets back? I guess I’ll soon find out.
Alejandro
The deal with the Russians doesn’t go as easily as I would have liked, but we end up getting what we wanted out of it. The Kalashniks and the Rogovs were giving me a hard time, but they were outnumbered and overruled. We now have full access to their country, able to come in and out undetected, and we can buy a warehouse there where we can store the cargo. I had to sweeten the deal by promising him some American women. It’s my least favorite part of the job, but even if I give up that part of the business, someone else will run it. And that someone could bring in underage girls to traffic, and that’s something I make sure does not happen. It’s just how it is.
We’re just pulling up to the estate, and I can’t wait to lay eyes on my fiancée. It’s been almost three days without seeing her, but every feature on her face has been stamped in my memory.
Right away, I head straight for our bedroom, assuming that’s where I’ll find her. Trying to be quiet when I open the door, since she’s probably asleep, I slip inside. I walk over to the bed silently and find it empty. I quickly rummage around the room, the bathroom, the closet, and the terrace. When I find them all vacant, I pull my phone out and dial Lucas as I stomp out of the room. Fury swirling inside of me that she has been misplaced.
He picks up right away, and before he can say a word, I bark into the phone, “Where is she?”
“We’re in the theater room,hermano.Tranquila.” His voice is playful, but I’m not feeling very playful at the moment.
Hanging up the phone, I quickly make my way downstairs and to the other side of the estate. As I approach the theater room, I almost falter in my steps when I hear laughing, and it’s coming from Irma. I enter the room, and both sets of eyes snap to me. Irma looks relaxed, lounging back in a recliner, with Lucas doing the same two seats over. Something’s playing on the screen, but I don’t know what it is, nor do I care.
