Page 119 of Devil's Bride

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah. We got into a fight, which was why we didn’t see two SUVs that appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, there were gunshots. I had a choice. Save my brother or save Isabel.”

“You chose Isabel.”

I nodded. What more was there to say?

“Your brother was killed.”

“Yes.”

“Your father blamed you.”

A dark chuckle rose from my throat. “Yes.”

“That’s why you have scars on your back. Not from the other woman. He wasn’t teaching you a lesson. He was punishing you for the loss of his firstborn son. Your brother.”

As we neared the castle, two of the three SUVs keeping us secure rolled to the side of the entrance where they would remain untilfurther notice. Only Kruz and another soldier trailed behind us as I drove up the hill.

She lifted her head, staring at the castle briefly before unfastening her seatbelt and sliding closer.

“Yes, Genevieve. I was punished in front of every soldier, chained inside a barn for thirty days. Thirty days of penance with little food or water, left in the dark to wallow in my sorrow. Thirty days when my brother had lost over thirty years of his life. Because of me.”

“Not because of you, but because of monsters. They do exist.”

“You’re right. And you’re looking at one.” I finally gazed into her eyes as I pulled close to the entrance.

“No, I’m looking a man who’s endured far too much suffering for something he couldn’t control. What happened to Isabel?”

“She was told I’d been killed. Ten days after the ordeal, she ate a bullet.”

Genevieve’s eyes opened wide. “I’m so sorry.”

“I wasn’t allowed to attend either Tadeo’s or Isabel’s funeral. And to this day, I’ve never been to either gravesite and I never will. Too much loss. Too many memories.”

With the car in park, I killed the engine where I sat still staring at the cinderblock walls of the very prison I’d once believed would protect someone I might care about.

Nothing would protect her. Not me. Not my army.

And certainly not God.

“Jago. You need to listen to me. You’re a good man. And I’m not going anywhere. I’m not Isabel.” She reached for the door handle, her head turned away. “I want you to know, I remember what I said last night and I meant every word.”

CHAPTER 33

Jago

Treachery was the most dangerous weapon of all.

At least that’s what I’d believed for years.

I’d experienced it and used it, both ending tragically.

Yet I’d learned a valuable lesson that was more painful that the thirty lashes that had scarred me for life.

Love was even more dangerous.

I stood off to the side, staring up at the sky as if doing so would provide the necessary answers. Not from God as he’d forsaken me long before. Perhaps from some hopeful other deity who might intervene. Maybe the same one who’d created the most incredible goddess in Spain.