Page 90 of Deceptive Vows

“He hasn’t hurt you?”

“No. I’m not hurt. But I’m so scared. I’ve been scared every day that he’s going to find out my secret.”

“I know. I wanted to come before now, but this is the first he’s allowed me.” He nods. “The house in Mexico was burned down. I managed to destroy everything inside there before the guards got to it that would give the secret away.”

“Oh my God, you did?”

“Yes. I got rid of all of Adriana’s pictures and the ones Raul had of him and his family. Everything.”

“Thank you so much.”

He takes my hands into his.

“You’re more than welcome, mi amor, but you know that’s not going to be enough. It won’t. You can’t stay here and live this life. I did my best, but it’s still risky. I was only able to get rid of what I could in the house. We don’t know what could come from the outside. We don’t know what Mikhail could find.”

I nod. “I know. What am I going to do, José?”

“There’s nothing you can do, so don’t even try. My powers are limited, but I’m still trying to get you out of this mess. I’m still looking for an escape route. All I can say is, be ready to leave when I find one. Things are happening that might work in our favor.”

My heart races. “Like what?”

“People are still trying to kill Mikhail and his family. When that happens, we leave.”

When. He saidwhen, as if he was sure.

“You think that will happen, José?”

“I don’t know details, and I probably won’t. Whatever is happening is big, with people who are above anybody we’ve ever dealt with. My only concern is you. The only way I can see out of this is Mikhail’s death. Until then, I’ll play nice and look for another way out. Either way, you have to get out because someone will find out the truth and kill you. You hear me, Natalia?”

“I hear you.”

I’m listening, and now that I’m even more aware of the situation, my heart aches.

Someone still wants Mikhail dead. If his death means my freedom, I should want him dead, too.

But… I don’t.

I don’t want to die, either.

“Be ready to leave the moment I give you the word.”

“Yes.”

25

Mikhail

I’m in my office waiting for Eric to arrive. He should be here in a few minutes for a quick visit. When he leaves, I’ll try to catch up on the work I wanted to do yesterday.

I’m standing by the window.

From here, I can see Adriana and José sitting on the terrace.

When I came up here, I found myself moving over to the window to watch them. I’m not even sure what I’m looking for anymore.

I know there’s nothing romantic going on between them and everything is as they both say.

What I’m looking at tells me that Adriana really does view José as a father figure.