Page 9 of Veiled Amor

If only Santiago had listened to her, gone to Giancarlo, and told his brother he was in way over his head. All he’d ever wanted was to be as successful as his siblings. He’d paid with his life and took the rest of the Mercado family with him.

Swallowing, she tore her gaze away from his face, sure he would see the festering guilt in her eyes. Why wouldn’t he? She was drowning in it.

Knowing she should have spoken up sooner made white noise rush through her ears. Despite the dire situation of her wedding all those months ago, she’d grown to love the Mercado family. Mama Mercado had been the mother she’d never had.

She cleared her throat and wondered again if she could somehow slip out.

There was nowhere else to go other than to her father’s compound.

He’d expect her to. He wouldn’t allow her to live alone.

It was a surprise he hadn’t sent one of his men to collect her. Only, she knew he’d left her here as a lesson.Do as you’re told, Lucia, or look what happens.

“Come with me,” she heard, and then her hand was swallowed in his bigger palm. He didn’t drag her through the house, but she had to trot to keep up with his long strides. His house was a two-story Spanish style, boasting five bedrooms, three baths, and a generously sized summerhouse on the grounds. Because of Santiago, she’d been here more times than she’d wanted to be. He threw the best parties, but she’d always felt out of place, though he’d never treated her that way.

For a second, she thought he was throwing her out when they ended up in the backyard, but he didn’t drop her hand until he unlocked the summerhouse door. He ushered her in and then flipped on the lights.

“What… what’s going on, Giancarlo?”

He rounded on her. Head dipped down in the way she always thought was sexy, giving a person his full attention. “You were holding your breath so fucking much; you were about to pass out. Relax in here,nena. No one will bother you. I’ll bring some food over. You will eat,sí.” It wasn’t a question. She nodded, though was sure she couldn’t stomach a morsel of food.

“They’ll think it’s weird. I should be over in the house.”

“Fuck what they think. They came for the free food and liquor, anyway.”

She chuckled, then felt bad for laughing in front of this man when he’d only laid rest to eight members of his family hours ago. Lucia sobered and found him watching her in a way she couldn’t translate, only that it made chills rush down her spine. They were in the midst of Florida summer, so she wasn’t cold.

“Sorry, Gi.”

“For?”

“This. Everything. For your loss.”

“You already told me, Lucia. You lost Santiago too.”

Yeah, but not in the way he thought, and nothing like his loss.

The elephant in the room continued to grow larger.

Turning, she chose the nearest soft white couch to sit, taking a minute to relax in the quiet room before she got back to the wake.

She was a nineteen-year-old widow with the weight of a secret on her shoulders. And now, at thirty, Giancarlo was the head of his family, what was left of them. No parents, sister, brothers, or their wives.

She had to say something before he left.

“What are you going to do?”

He seemed to understand she didn’t mean the mourners across in the house.

“I’m going to even the score.”

Oh.

A tight fist clamped around her whole chest, and she inhaled hard, letting it out slowly. She knew she should feel something hearing how he was going to exact revenge on her father. All she felt was emptiness.

She’d once loved the man who raised her more than life itself. They’d been alone most of her life, but for the last decade, he’d changed. Becoming an unfeeling, dangerous man.

“I don’t want something bad to happen to you.”