Page 19 of Sins of the Orchid

The terror in her eyes. “I-I…” Her hand reached out to me, gripping my shirt weakly.

She tried to say something, and I grabbed her shoulder, shaking her slightly. “What’s the matter?”

She struggled to breathe, grabbing at her chest with one hand.

“Don’t let me die,” she whispered, the words barely leaving her lips.

“Everyone stooooop!” My brother shouted at the top of his lungs. “She’s dying.”

It worked. Everyone stilled and suddenly, Bennetti and her grandmother were next to me, kneeling beside her limp body as she gasped desperately for air. Amore’s small hands tugged on my shirt, holding on to it for dear life.

“Did you hurt her?” Bennetti growled.

“It’s a panic attack,” her grandmother said, her hands on her face. “Amore, breathe! You are safe. Breathe!”

Blood seeped out of her nose, a stark crimson red against her pale skin. Her startling green gaze hazed over, and her dark lashes fluttered, struggling to remain open. She was losing her battle because her grip on my shirt loosened.

“Baby, breathe!” Bennetti’s voice broke, his hand shaking her.

“The monsters are gone, Amore. Nobody is here. You have to breathe,” her grandmother begged. “Breathe, Amore. Please, love. Breathe. You have to breathe. Remember the promise.” My head snapped to her grandmother. “Fight, Amore. You can do it.”

My gaze went back to the small body in my arms. Her eyes shut, and the depths of the green lakes blocked from my view. Without thinking, I leaned over her small body, pressing my mouth on her cold lips and breathed air into her.

She wasn’t dead yet, but fuck if I’d let her die in my arms. Breathe, Amore.My order was silent, hoping she’d hear it.Another breath into her mouth. Breathe, Amore.

This kid mattered, and I’d always save her.

CHAPTER6

Amore

Santi’s arms around me held me tight as I kept my ear pressed against his chest. I listened to his steady heartbeat.Thump. Thump. Thump.And I found my focus. My panicked breathing eased and slowly evened out. The buzzing in my ears slowly ceased, and I found safety in his arms.

I never expected to see that blonde Venezuelan again. When I spotted him, I acted on instinct and went to hide as I typed up one word and sent it to Santi. I have no idea why I sent him the alert. He was the first one I thought to scream for, and he was at the top of my text messages. It seemed like a no brainer, except it wasn’t rational. He was supposed to be across town.

A wrong decision could have cost me everything.

The images of my mother’s tortured body played on repeat in my mind, and my heart ached. It was a dull ache, but it still hurt whenever I thought about it. More often than not, I tried to not think about it. It triggered my panic attacks and nightmares.

The rancid smell of musty body odor, blood, moisture, and the decaying vegetation of the jungle caused my fear to flare up and were triggers for my panic attacks. From all my experiences in South America, that was the only one that remained.

DeAngelo had been training me to become stronger, to learn how to protect myself. Today, I failed miserably at it. The fear I felt at seeing the Venezuelan almost paralyzed me before I finally woke up from my stupor and ran. I’d have to work harder. I could have been killed by this guy too easily. There was no way I’d be another victim to the Venezuelan Cartel. I’d pave the way to my own future and find a way to avenge my mother, eliminate all those men that hunted us only because our bloodline traced back to the old cartel. I wouldn’t be a scared little girl anymore who needed saving.

Perèz Rothschild, my great-grandfather, started his own drug trafficking business, teaming up with other cartel heads. Perèz became one of the biggest drug distributors to the Cosa Nostra and other criminals, courtesy of my grandfather. That cartel caused more deaths than several Cosa Nostra crime families combined. But then Grandpa was killed while Mom was pregnant with me. It broke Grandma’s heart. She blamed it all on his criminal life and wanted nothing to do with it. All ties to the Perèz Cartel were cut. Or so everyone thought.

Raising my head, I met Santi’s eyes. He came to my rescue.Again.I have no idea how he got here so fast, and I wasn’t going to question it. I pressed my forehead against his chest, and Santi’s strong, steady heartbeat overwhelmed all my other senses and peace washed over me. It didn’t matter to me that he was one of the most feared men in the Cosa Nostra; to me he’d always be my savior.

The door flung open, and Santi acted on instinct, shoving me behind him, barricading me with his strong body.

Adriano rushed in and both of us exhaled in relief.

“What happened? The guys said you ran off into the bathroom and some scary dude was looking for you.” His eyes darted to Santi. “I guess that scary dude is Santi,” he muttered.

Santi wasn’t scary. He was my savior. I was grateful he came when he did.

“What are you doing here?” Adriano questioned his brother, his posture tense.

In a split second, Santi was in his brother’s face. “Don’t ever fucking leave her alone and vulnerable again. She could have been taken or killed.