Page 82 of His to Bedevil
His chuckle is deep. “Why do you think Alejo banished me from the estate when I got injured last year?”
“He banished you?”
“I refused to rest or take any time off. So, he physically removed me and told me I wasn’t allowed back home until I took some actual time off.”
I remember Alejo telling me about him losing the woman he loved, Emily. He was still mourning her and got a little sloppy on a job and almost died. I’ve always wanted to ask Lucas about her, but I know it’s something he’ll bring up if he wants to. “Where did you go for all that time?”
“I started out in Italy.”
“Why Italy?”
“Emily loved it, and I never got to take her like I promised.”
“I’m so sorry.” He doesn’t say anything. “Italy is beautiful. I love it there.”
“Sorry your trip there just got spoiled.” He tries smiling.
I shrug. “Hopefully we’ll get to go sometime next year or something.”
He scoffs. “If you think his protectiveness over you was bad before, be prepared for it to get a whole lot more intense. Alejo almost lost you,pajarito.”Little bird.“He will not take any risks when it comes to your life, and now he’ll be too paranoid to let you step even a foot off of the estate.”
I groan. “Awesome. As if my imprisonment wasn’t suffocating enough.”
“Oh, don’t act like you’re a prisoner here,hermana. Maybe at first you were, but you want to be here now.”
“How do you figure?” I stop in the hallway, planting my hands on my hips as I scowl up at him.
“Why didn’t you run,chaparra? You could have spread your wings and took off, but you didn’t. Even when you pulled Alejo out of danger, you could’ve run.”
I groan again and continue in the direction we’ve been slowly walking. “Not you too,” I murmur.
“I know why you didn’t run. I just want you to admit it out loud.”
“Oh, yeah? And why didn’t I run?”
“Because you actually want to be here. You want to be with your husband. You might actually even care for him.” I glance up at him, and he gives me a tiny smirk, eyeing me out of the corner of his eye, looking all smug as if he knows something I don’t.
“Whatever.” It’s the only thing I can think of to say. I won’t admit to having feelings for Alejo. At the end of the day, he’s my captor. The man who has clipped my wings, plucking my feathers out one by one.
Alejandro
My mind is awake, but I can’t open my eyes or move a muscle. It’s as if my body weighs a ton and nothing will listen to my brain. I demand it to move, but nothing will listen, no matter how hard I fight. No matter how loud I yell. How am I supposed to protect my wife when I cannot even open my eyes?
Someone blew up the plane. I remember hearing the blast behind me, and I curled my body around Irma’s and launched us as far forward as possible. If I survived, she had to have as well. But I won’t know that until Iopen my fucking eyes.
I can faintly hear voices, but they’re too far away to recognize who they belong to. Does one of them belong to Irma?Mi esposa?If Irma is dead, I will quickly follow her into the afterlife. She’s my reason for living; without her, there is no more meaning to my life. I will become dead inside and won’t be able to walk this lonely earth without her. She is a constituent of my life, and without her, I cannot live.
I can feel light petting along my face and tiny puffs of air on my skin. “Alejo,” the voice of an angel whispers, begging me to open my eyes. I feel something delicate and warm curl around one of my hands. I think it’s another hand. Whose hand though? It gives mine a little squeeze, then I feel the bed, or what I’m assuming is a bed that I’m lying in, dip beside me. Then the angel lets out a little sigh, and the way my blood rushes and my heart pounds, I know it has to be Irma. My love. My life. My heart. My everything.
I fight even harder against the darkness still holding me captive. I have to see my Irma. I have to open my eyes and look at her. I have to know that she’s really alive. That’s she’s really real. That we’re both still living and breathing. That I still have a chance to win her heart and her unyielding affection.
As soon as I discover it’s Irma’s hand that was holding mine, I feel it slip away. I want to reach out and take it back so badly.Why the fuck can’t I move?I put every single bit of energy and strength into my eyelids, forcing them open. It takes several attempts, but I’m able to crack them open just slightly. Allowing me to see some light. “Irma.” I strain my muscles to force out the word, but it’s hardly a whisper, so I try again. “Irma,” I say just a little louder, and I blink my eyes several times to open them a little more.
“Alejo,” I hear my angel speak, and there’s a blurry image moving with it.
I see the image coming closer, and I flex my fingers, wishing I could reach for it. “Irma, my love.”
“I’m here, Alejo.” I feel the bed dip again and her hand slip into mine.
