“Just return my knife and give me a weapon. You might be surprised.”
“If I agree, will you stay right by my side?”
“Of course.” My stomach was doing flip-flops. For all my bravado and the display of my intense training in the club a couple of nights before, I was no trained killer. But I wouldn’t back down now. Not a chance.
He obviously didn’t believe me. Hell, I wouldn’t believe me at this point. When he backed me against the wall, taking his time placing one hand on the right by my head and the other on the left, another wave of current crackled against my skin.
While the desire from earlier lingered, his clenched jaw was a sheer indication he wouldn’t tolerate any indifference or disobedience.
“I’m going to make this very clear to you. This isn’t anything like what you trained for back in the US where bodybuilders were pretending they’re something they aren’t. This also isn’t like what you’ve seen on American television. They don’t simply gun you down and be done with it, Fallon. They enjoy torture. They enjoy killing. They like dismembering their enemies. While they’re alive.”
I winced but knew he was doing everything in his power to terrify me. Okay, so it was working, but I refused to back down. “Bring it on. You’ve seen what I can do.”
He laughed as if I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had. “This compound doubles as an exotic animal sanctuary, my falcon. Only Javier Bandoles isn’t the best caretaker, often forgetting to feed them. When he does get around to it, as you might imagine, the beasts are famished.”
“You’re not scaring me.”
“Then you’re not hearing me. I said no and I meant it.” With a smile on his face, he dared wrap his fingers around my throat, taking deep breaths as he rolled his thumb back and forth across my bottom lip.
The sensual move was meant to both terrify and disarm me. If he thought it would work, he truly didn’t know me at all. His actions became rougher and his chest heaved in response as I stared at him defiantly. When he pulled my lower lip down by a few centimeters, issuing a dark chuckle while doing so, I rubbed the flat of my hand down his stomach, cradling his thick bulge between my fingers.
Two could play at the intimidation game.
His laugh was subtle and he slowly slid his thumb into my mouth, pumping several times. The move was as sensual as it was annoying. The taste held hints of dirt and blood, tobacco and whiskey, enticing me while reminding me how treacherous the situation was. I couldn’t be a fool. I was in so far over my head I would soon be consumed by the deep water.
“Una mujer que se niega a quedarse atrás aprenderá que conducir puede ser peligroso.”
I also laughed at his words, repeating them with a lilt in my voice. “A woman who refuses to take a back seat will learn driving is dangerous? Really, Navarro? You couldn’t come up with anything better than that. If that’s what you think of me then you truly have no understanding of my resolve or how far I’ll go to protect my family. Just like you’ve done with yours. Think of Maya. Think of the lengths you’d go in order to save and protect her. That’s the way I feel, Navarro. I need to be there. I need to play a part in saving her. I will do everything you say. I promise you.”
He jerked away, but not before taking the time to rub his crooked finger under my chin.
I wasn’t used to begging anyone for anything. The thought alone churned my stomach. Even during my passive stage where I’d remained in the shadows, there’d been a stark resolve, a knowing that I didn’t need to kowtow or surrender to anyone.
Yet studying Navarro’s concerned face and the way he was picking apart my defenses as well as his own was enlightening. We were two birds of a feather. Two kindred yet broken souls who’d endured unimaginable sadness and, in his case, tremendous tragedy. Both of us had been shaped into the people we were today, which was why our connection was both electric and tenuous.
When he tried to turn away from me, I placed my hand on his arm more gently than I had before. “Please, Navarro. Maybe it’s time that you trust me. I need to be there. With my sister. She might be all the family I have left. I promise I’ll stay right by your side.”
His deep exhale was exaggerated and he lowered his head. As he’d done so many times around me, he cursed in Spanish, but I caught every word of his aggravated soliloquy.
The woman is going to be the death of me. I should spank and chain her.
“You can try to chain me, but you know how that worked out before.”
He stood where he was, turning his head as two men walked in through the door. I’d seen them before. They were the men Navarro worked with, both as dangerous looking as the man I was…
The man I found myself not hating nearly as much as I had only two days before. Maybe miracles never ceased.
He pointed his long finger in my face, his breathing even more labored than before. “You will do exactly what I say. Do you hear me?”
I offered him a salute in return. “Yes, sir.”
“Goddamn it, Fallon. If you’re hurt, I will burn down the world.” He lowered his hand, placing the tip of his finger on my nose.
I wrapped my hand around his wrist. “Trust me.”
“Uh-huh. We shall see.”
Navarro
