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  He collapsed onto her back, his arm wrapping possessively around her neck. She turned her head to the side, taking in as much air as she could. They lay that way for a few moments until Alejandro seemed motivated enough to roll to the side, tucking a winded Gina against him.

  “Madre de dios,” he groaned. “You’re going to kill me, woman.”

  She giggled. “Hey, you started it!” She cocked her head to the side as though thinking. “Twice!”

  He groaned again and gently set her away from him, tugging a blanket up to cover her nakedness. “Perhaps, mi amor, but you finish it every time.” He sat on the edge of the bed and reached for his underwear. “I have work to do, go back to sleep.”

  Gina snorted and leaned up on her elbow to watch him while he got dressed. “You keep waking me up,” she said accusingly, smothering a yawn.

  He leaned down after tugging on a shirt and kissed her forehead. “I promise to let you sleep until this evening.” Then he said seriously, “Don’t go up to the main house without an escort. Samuel is at your disposal.”

  Gina frowned. “Why do I suddenly need an escort? I thought we were safe here in the valley.”

  He towered over the bed and reached for his jacket. “You don’t need to question it, you just need to do it. Sam will be your personal bodyguard from now on.”

  Her jaw dropped, and she sat up straight, clutching the blanket to her chest. “But I never had an escort before,” she protested. “I don’t want one, Alejandro.”

  Alejandro’s head turned and he pinned her with a look that told her she needed to quit arguing. They looked at each other for a moment until Gina dropped her gaze to the bed. He leaned forward and took her chin, tilting her face until she was looking up at him. “Are we going to have a problem?”

  “No, Alejandro,” she told him quietly.

  He turned and strode from the room without another glance, leaving Gina alone, naked and shivering in the bed. She yanked the blanket up to her neck and curled onto her side, trying to enjoy the slide of new sheets while banishing the chill of Alejandro’s exit. She knew that her marriage wouldn’t be all roses and rainbows. He’d told her as much at Gustu. Still, a personal bodyguard in the middle of the Andes seemed like overkill. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and decided to sleep on the problem.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Do you have arsenic?” Gina asked, leafing absently through a cookbook.

  “What on Earth for?” Casey asked, stacking supplies on the counter. “What else do you need?”

  Gina leaned over and checked the muffin recipe. “Creamed butter and milk.”

  Casey opened the stainless-steel door of her refrigerator and stuck her head inside. “Don’t have creamed butter, just the regular kind, but here’s the milk.”

  Gina laughed and reached around her cousin for the butter. “The regular kind will work just fine. I can cream it myself. You really need to learn how to cook.”

  Casey backed out of the fridge with a key lime pie held in her arms like a prize of war. She looked around for her housekeeper and danced toward the drawer for forks, handing one to Gina. “Haven’t needed to cook for myself since… well, since I’ve been alive. Why learn now?”

  Gina frowned. Casey had a point. She tilted her head to the side and ate a bite of pie. “Well do you at least know how to use a can opener in case of a zombie apocalypse?”

  Casey shrugged and took a huge bite of pie. “I’m a slow runner and I usually wear designer heels. I fully expect the zombies to get me right away. You’ll probably have to put me down so I don’t try to eat your brains.”

  Gina made a face and took another bite of pie. “No way. Reyes wouldn’t let that happen. He’d chain you up in the basement and feed you a steady diet of bad guy brains until the scientists he had locked up in a laboratory came up with a cure.”

  Casey laughed and high-fived her cousin. “True that, thank goodness for his crazy ass!”

  The two women continued to chat and laugh together until the kitchen door banged open, startling them both. Casey dropped her fork and looked guilty for a split second thinking it was the housekeeper busting their asses. When she saw Reyes and Alejandro enter, she hopped up with a grin. “Hey, we were just talking about you…” she trailed off when she saw the grim look on their faces. “What’s going on?”

  Gina was glad Casey was brave enough to ask because the cold look Alejandro was giving her was enough to freeze her to the spot. Not even her vocal chords seemed capable of working. Without a word to either woman he stepped into the kitchen, took Gina by the arm and escorted her out. She glanced back at her cousin.

  “Hey!” Casey snapped. “I asked you what the hell is going on?”

  “You don’t need to speak right now,” Reyes told his wife calmly.

  “What the fuck, Reyes,” Casey said, her voice high-pitched with concern as her cousin was hauled away. She tried to follow them through the kitchen door, but Reyes grabbed her and held her back.

  Gina was on her own. She stumbled to keep up with him as his long legs ate up the space to the front door. Her feet barely touched the ground as he swung her through and out into the afternoon sunshine. She gasped as he flung the door to his jeep open and shoved her inside. He jerked the seatbelt across her breasts and latched it before crossing in front to get in the driver’s side. Gina briefly thought about jumping out and running back to the safety of her cousin, but the look Alejandro gave her told her that would be a bad idea. Plus, she was pretty certain Reyes wouldn’t hesitate to give her back to his second-in-command.

  “Please!” she cried as he threw the jeep into drive and hit the gas. “Why are you angry with me? What’s happening?”

  “Not angry with you,” he growled.

  “Well if this isn’t anger then I hope I never see what angry looks like!” she yelled as the jeep took a turn going way too fast in her opinion.

  “I’m frustrated!” he snapped. “Because of all the motherfuckers in the world that could have come back from the dead to cause problems, it had to be this one.”

  Gina flinched against the door when he slammed his fist into the dashboard, crushing the hard plastic. Her knuckles turned white and she counted the passing seconds in her head until they were in front of their home. She practically leapt out of the car and ran around the front of the vehicle where he took her arm and walked her up to the front of the house.

  The moment they were inside he turned her to face him, his dark eyes black with the intensity of his emotions. She’d seen Alejandro in many states, but she had never seen this loss of control before. This desperation. What was going on?

  He took her face in his big hands and backed her up until she hit a wall. “Tell me you are loyal,” he demanded, his voice a deep growl. “Loyal to me, loyal to El Rey. Tell me you will never leave, no matter what happens. No matter what you hear.”

  “Of course!” she gasped, her hands coming up to cover his. “I promise. But Alejandro… you know I’m loyal. I’ve never given cause to question this.”

  “Not good enough,” he growled and slammed his mouth over hers, kissing her with such brutality she felt her lips cut under the onslaught and blood fill her mouth. She struggled to turn her head, but he brought a hand up to hold her still. Then his hands were everywhere, tugging and tearing at her clothes until her leggings were torn from her body and he was lifting her, wrapping her legs around him.

  “Alejandro!” she cried out, clutching his shoulders, not sure if she could accommodate him while fear and anxiety flooded her system. He didn’t wait to find out though. He reached between them, unbuckled and unzipped, pulled his hard length from his combat fatigues and then urged her down on top of him. She cried out as her body struggled to accept his thick girth.

  He dropped his head into her shoulder and licked her. “Come on baby, I need you. Please, take me in,” he groaned, wrapping one huge hand around her ass and squeezing. The caress combined with his deep voice vibrating through her created a
swirling need within, easing his way. She cried out again as her body accepted his more easily, sliding down. He took her curvy ass in both hands and lifted, then dropped, sheathing her completely on his steel-like hardness. She moaned and dropped her head back against the wall, wrapping her legs firmly around him and holding onto his shoulders as he began fucking her against the wall with hard, deep strokes.

  “Look at me,” he demanded.

  Gina opened her eyes, tears streaming from the corners as she did. He shifted her so that one arm wrapped around her waist while he continued to thrust. He used his other hand to brush the tears from her cheeks and smear the blood on her lips. Then he held her head in place and stared at her. “I love you, Gina.”

  She smiled through her tears and hugged him tighter. “I love you, too.”

  He turned with her and dropped her against the edge of a leather couch she hadn’t even sat on yet, leaned over her, wrapped his arms tight around her and thrust so deep she saw stars as she came with a sudden explosion, her pussy tightening around him. “That’s it, mi amor,” he groaned from above her, swallowing her cries as she thrashed beneath him. “Just let yourself go. I’ll take care of you.”

  Then he followed her over the edge, thrusting hard into her for several more seconds while she clung to him helplessly, staring up at his harsh features with awe. She reached up to touch his face as he bathed her in his seed, his face twisted in a fierce grimace. When he finished, he set her naked on the couch and knelt at her feet.

  When their breathing evened out, he began speaking. “We know who was behind the attempt on my life in La Paz and your kidnaping.”

  “Who?” Gina asked, eager for knowledge so they could put the episode behind them and move on.

  He sighed, rolled his massive shoulders and cracked his neck to the side, relieving tension. He took her hands in his and asked, “How old were you when your family died in the cartel hit?”

  Gina frowned. Alejandro knew all this. “Sixteen.”

  “What do you remember?” he asked.

  “Nothing, I was on a school trip when the hit took place. That’s why I wasn’t killed too,” she told him. “Why are you asking me this? You already know everything.” She was agitated. She hated remembering what happened to her family, the hits.

  “Don’t you think it’s strange that an organized crime group would ensure both your and Casey’s family is all together for the execution, then miss you?”

  She reached for a blanket folded on the end of the couch and covered herself, averting her eyes. She didn’t want to talk about this, it was too painful.

  Alejandro sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms, but forcing her head up so she had to look at him. He tucked the edge of the blanket around her shoulders. “I know you do not like discussing this, but we need to, mi amor.”

  Gina nodded, tears pricking her eyes. She shrugged, clutching the blanket against her chest. “I guess I always wondered how I escaped. I assumed it was luck, but the mafia doesn’t really deal in luck, do they?”

  Alejandro smiled grimly and touched the tear that trailed from her eye to her cheek. “You were never lucky. You were allowed to escape. Someone in your family sold out to the Mexicans, telling them when and where the hit was to take place in exchange for both of your lives. He didn’t trust that they wouldn’t kill him anyway, so he fled. His plan was to come back for you when the dust settled on your family’s graves.”

  Her mouth opened, and her eyes glazed in horror as understanding dawned. There could be only one person that Alejandro was talking about, one person whose body had never been found. “My brother,” she whispered. She’d always assumed he’d been taken, tortured and killed. Like Casey’s, his grave in Miami was empty. “But why?” she asked, heartbroken, already knowing the answer.

  Alejandro’s voice hardened when he answered anyway. “Money. Power. The things men will usually sell out their family’s for.”

  “My mom,” Gina gasped, the tears coming faster now. She closed her eyes tight and tried not to picture her mother in a pool of blood, shot in the back of the head. She’d been whisked away from her school and put into protective custody the moment the bodies were discovered. She hadn’t experienced any of the violence her cousin had. But she still imagined it, every time she thought of the horrific events that brought her family down.

  “Sosa pulled weight and had you across the border and into Venezuela before the feds had any idea what was happening. Their one piece of leverage against the Mexican cartel was gone. It was the one good deed I’ve seen the man do.”

  Gina smiled softly. “He’s done many good things for me, for our family. He loves us… in his own way.”

  Alejandro snorted. “He loved Casey’s mother, your aunt, and he fucking hates the Mexican cartel.”

  Gina shook her head absently. “Love isn’t what motivates him now.” Then she looked up at Alejandro, hope and fear warring in her eyes. “Are you saying my older brother is still alive?”

  He nodded sharply. “Si.” The single word held a wealth of disgust.

  The hope faded from her gaze. Her brother was not only a traitor, the reason for her family’s demise, but he’d attacked Alejandro and kidnapped Gina. His death was a foregone conclusion. This was the reason Alejandro was demanding her loyalty, why he was angry. Not at Gina, but at this impossible situation. Despair bubbled up inside her until she was nearly choking on it.

  “Alejandro…” she let out a sob.

  “I know,” he said gruffly and hauled her onto his lap. He held her tight, tucking the blanket around her while she cried against him, soaking him in tears. He didn’t lie to her, tell her that everything would be alright. It wasn’t. She’d found out her missing brother, presumed dead, was actually alive, but he would have to die at the hands of the man she loved. “We will get through this,” he murmured against the top of her head, kissing her.

  “I don’t know if we can,” she hiccoughed and snuggled under his throat. “How will I survive another loss? How will Casey? This will crush us.”

  “No, it won’t,” he said, steel infusing his words. He stood with her in his arms and looked down at her. “You will be strong because you don’t have a choice. Your family is here, in Bolivia, not with a man that caved into weakness and sold you out.”

  “Not me…” she protested weakly as he strode with her up the stairs.

  “Everyone you know, cariña,” his voice grew harder with each step. “Just because he didn’t have the cajones to see your death through does not mean he does not bear responsibility for everything else. Your mama, your papa. Your cousin and her entire family. Do you think that Casey will care that he is blood? He is the reason that she was shot and sold to a monster. Toughen that soft heart and face reality. Your brother is not the child you once knew.”

  He set Gina on her feet in the bedroom. She held the blanket against her chest and watched as he pulled a bag from the closet and began packing. Panic swelled within her. “Where are you going?”

  He looked at her sharply and said, “Can’t tell you.”

  She took a step back, hurt piercing her chest. “I wouldn’t betray you,” she whispered. He continued to stare at her, frowning. She raised her chin and said more clearly, “I may not be exactly what you need in a mafia wife, but I know all about family and loyalty. I know who my family is and where my loyalty lays. I don’t need you or anyone else to tell me that.”

  He nodded, his face softening a little. He finished packing and pulled on some fresh clothes. Then he hugged her against his chest and said, “I’m going to Mexico. Sources have informed us that Beck is hiding out in Mexico City.”

  “But isn’t it dangerous for you in Mexico?” she protested, squeezing him tight against her as though to keep him safe.

  He chuckled and said, “Baby, I can handle myself. Mexico won’t be a problem.”

  She nodded. “When will you back?”

  “I’ll be back when I’m done,” he answered gruffly.


  He’d be back when he had Beck in custody. She felt a harsh tug in her chest and realized it had nothing to do with brother. She couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Alejandro. “Please be careful, Alejandro,” she told him huskily, kissing the base of his throat. “Come back to me as soon as you can.”

  “Always, mi amor.” He tightened his arms until she was crushed against him. “I will never stay away longer than necessary, knowing you wait for me here.”

  She nodded and breathed him in, taking in his essence, cigar, soap and masculinity. Her body warmed for him again and if she didn’t know he had to leave right away, she would try to convince him to crawl into bed with her. Instead she held him for as long as he allowed and basked in the warmth of Alejandro, grateful for his love.

  Chapter Fifteen

  3 weeks later

  “Drop it!” Gina yelped.

  She heaved a sigh of relief as the muffin hit the floor and bent over to scoop it up, tossing it in the trash. She placed a new chocolate chip raspberry muffin in Casey’s palm and whirled around the side of her kitchen island to check on the batch still in the oven. They were rising beautifully, the tops baking to a lovely golden brown.

  “You want to tell me what that was about?” Casey asked suspiciously, peeling the paper away from the base of her still warm muffin. She took a big bite, closing her eyes in what looked like ecstasy.

  “Uh, nope,” Gina mumbled, mixing another batch in a big metal bowl.

  “My god,” Casey moaned, licking her lips. “You suck at hand-to-hand combat, weapons and pretty much anything else self-defence related, but damn girl, you can bake! Can I take some up to the main house for Reyes and the housekeeping staff?”

  Gina laughed, covered her hand in an oven mitt and took the trays out of the oven, making room for her next batch. She chewed her lip for a moment, staring down at them, then nodded decisively. “Uh yep, you can have these ones here. I’ll just pack them up.”