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Story: Fatal Misstep

Not if she wanted to stay alive and find a way to escape.
Find her way back to Caleb.
To think she’d once believed she was in love with this monster.
Caleb had shown her what love truly meant.
He’d accepted her, even when she lied. Admired her skills as a doctor. Called her brave. Protected her. Cherished her.
Vincente’s version of love was twisted. Ugly.
He didn’t want a partner—he wanted a prize. Someone to control. An obedient wife and mother to his children. Her career was a hobby to him, something to keep her occupied until marriage, not a calling.
A shiver skittered across the base of her skull, hunching her shoulders. She reached up, rubbing the back of her neck—then froze.
The tracker.
Tucked beneath her hair, nearly forgotten. But now, its presence pressed against her skin.
If it stayed hidden, Caleb—or someone from Dìleas—could find her.
If Vincente’s men searched her, she’d have to think fast. Fake a panic attack. A seizure. Anything to keep their hands off her neck.
For now, her best chance was to play along. “Are we returning to Miami?”
Vincente’s laugh crawled over her skin like a spider, raising the hair on her arms.
“We’re going to my family’s estate in Mexico.” Hard fingers gripped her chin, forcing her to meet her ex-lover’s soulless eyes. “It’ll be a long time before I trust you enough to bring you back to Miami. You’ll have to prove your loyalty to me first.”
His hand slid down her throat, across the curve of her breast, pausing there.
“And to my men.”
Revulsion rolled through her. She shrank from his touch.
“I’m not your whore, Vincente. If you have so little respect for me, why go through all this to get me back?”
“Ah, but you are,” he sneered. “You let that soldier touch you, didn’t you?”
She turned away, only to meet Juan’s leering gaze.
Slap.
Her head snapped back from the force of Vincente’s hand.
“Didn’t you!”
She curled into the seat, away from Vincente’s flushed face and trembling hands.
Mercy wouldn’t come from him. Not now.
She shut her eyes. Prayed.
To God. To every angel. To anyone listening.
Please. Let me escape before they reach Mexico.
After Antonio, she’d realized what Vincente’s hospitality empire truly was—a front for cartel operations. A way to play the respectable citizen and climb the social ladder in Miami while importing poison that killed thousands.