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ISABELLA
It’s been an agonizingly long week since I unexpectedly saw Alexei in Columbia.
‘It’s not home without you.’
I stare at the engagement ring on my finger. I’ve tried to take it off but couldn’t.
My thoughts are inundated with Alexei.
Who is he?
The ruthless head of the bratva? The assassin who kills without a second thought?
Or the man who looked at me with devotion while he worshipped my body?
I’m still struggling to align the devil with the man I fell in love with.
Maybe it wasn’t all a lie?
Maybe… just maybe, Alexei does love me?
What will you do then, Isabella?
I shake my head.
“Let’s go for a walk on the beach,” Ana suddenly says. “The fresh air will be good for you.”
Nodding, I climb to my feet, and as I leave the house with Ana, the thoughts of Alexei follow me.
It’s time for Ana and me to head to LA. The shipment of weapons Alexei ordered must’ve arrived by now.
As we reach the stretch of sand, I don’t even glance at the waves lapping at the shore.
“We need to travel to LA,” I say.
Ana’s quiet for a moment. “Are you sure we can trust them not to kill us the moment we’re there?”
I think for a while, and no matter what scenario runs through my mind, the end is always the same. “Alexei won’t hurt us.”
“He’s already hurt you,” she mutters.
“Not physically.” I glance at Ana. “We’ll be safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
A smile tugs at her lips. “I know.”
For a while, we walk in silence until Ana picks a spot to sit down. I make myself comfortable next to her and glance around us to make sure we’re safe before I turn my gaze to the clear blue water.
Ana begins to draw random patterns in the sand, and keeping her eyes lowered from mine, she admits, “I thought you were an angel.”
I frown, but she doesn’t see it.
“When you… when you pulled him off me, I thought you were an angel that came to take me to heaven.”
Goosebumps spread over my skin as my eyes lock on Ana’s face.
This is the first time she’s brought up that night, and I’m holding my breath, hoping she’ll continue and purge the burden weighing so heavy on her.
“I lived with my mother in San Antero. Men broke in, and… they just shot my mother before we even had time to process they were in the house.” Ana’s voice lowers to a whisper. “That’s when I was taken.”
Feeling Ana’s sorrow, I want to hold her, but I keep still, not wanting her to stop talking.
She lets out a sigh. “It feels like another life… the time I had with my mother.”
Unable to stop myself, I place a hand on her back. Ana leans into me, and resting her head against my shoulder, she stares at the ocean.
“I didn’t know this part of the world existed. I didn’t know there was such horror out there.”
I move my hand to her arm and give her a squeeze.
Then Ana’s body shudders, and she lets out a sob. When she turns and buries her face against me, I wrap my arms around her and press my mouth to her hair.