I frown. “What?” I look at my surroundings. Ahead of us is very tall grass, and beyond it are docked boats in a small marina. Wet cement and wooden boards lead to each boat.
From where we stand, no one can really see us. We’re beneath the roof of a broken down shack, hidden between shadows, the moonlight not even touching us.
“Do not argue with me, Gianna,” he mumbles when a set of new men walk past him, loading up their guns, slamming bullets into chambers and gripping their Glocks. There are ten of us now.
Patanza and Clark stand at the edge of the roof, glancing back at me once before pulling away.
“You will stay here, keep watch. You see anyone or anything, you shoot and then you run.”
“Draco, no. I can’t just stand here. I want to be out there—I want to help you,” I plead.
“I know you do but I can’t risk it, Gianna. As soon as we walk past this field and to the marina, it will become dangerous. I can’t promise to watch your back as well as my own. I need you here, where it’s safe. You can still fight from here. If any shit goes down, put those guns to use. Don’t hesitate. But don’t come out and try to help. You hear me?” He grips my face between his fingers, breathing heavier now, eyes boring into mine. “Do not come for me, Gianna. You fucking run if you see or hear anything wrong, and you don’t look back. Do you understand?”
“Draco.” I grip his forearm.
“I need you to understand.”
“Please,” I whisper, the rims of my eyes burning now.
“Stay. For once, reina,” his head shakes, eyes sealing, “fucking listen to me, and stay.” When he opens his eyes again, they’re glistening, cloudy with emotion.
My chest tightens, throat thickening with the same emotion. My grip slacks around his wrist. I lower my arm, keeping my head high, and finally nodding.
He needs me to stay. He wants to keep me safe. He wants this. More than anything right now. Honestly, he may be right.
“Fine.” I whisper. “I’ll stay.”
“Bueno.” He steps forward, gripping my chin. His lips fall down on my forehead, a soft, damp, warm kiss. And then his lips are on top of mine.
The kiss deepens, his other hand cupping the back of my neck. He kisses me hard and rough. It’s both demanding and empowering. I kiss him back, clutching him tight around the neck, breathing raggedly when our lips are forced apart by a guard’s whispered warning that they have to get moving.
Draco drops his hands, but his eyes don’t pull from mine. He takes several steps away, holding my gaze. The rims of my eyes are wet and hot. He tears away before I can, turning and marching after one of the guards.
“Protect yourself, Patrona,” Emilio says, eyes stern, serious. He leaves too.
Patanza follows Emilio’s lead, glancing back at me and then at Clark, nodding once at him. They all disappear in the depths of the tall grass, and I squeeze the handle of my gun until it hurts.
“Let him handle this,” Clark mumbles, stepping to my side. “He’s keeping you safe.”
I know he is, but . . .
“I’ve heard so many horror stories about that man. They made it seem like he had no heart—no soul. That he was the boogey man of the cartel world. But when I see him look at you—touch you—well, shit.” He huffs. “There has to be a heart in there somewhere.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, voice low. Soft.
“He looks at you like he would die for you, Gia. He holds you like he never wants to let you go. He kisses you like you mean everything to him.” He sighs heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. “Now I see why he was so lenient with you when he sent you away. Now…I get it. He’s in fucking love with you and that motherfucker is in deep.”
39
DRACO
If I die…
If I lose…
If I never get to see her again, at least I know that I gave her a chance to get away from it all.
Even if my dying breath is used to take Hernandez’s, at least I know that she’ll be safe from her.
She will be Queen.
I prepared her.
Whether I live or die, nothing will stop her.
Whether she chooses to remember me or not, at least I know that I morphed her into the real woman she is.
A woman of power.
A woman of strength.
A woman who knows exactly what she wants and what to expect from this fucked up world.
My woman.
She’s no longer the niñita that was shackled and weak.
She is strong.
She has risen.
She is Queen.
Mi reina.
40
GIANNA
It takes everything in me not to let my emotions show.
Instead, I do what he needs me to do. I keep watch, my gun at my side, ready to fire if necessary. It’s so damn quiet I can hear my own heart beating, the bell of the buoy a short distance away.