Falling With Grace

“I’ll show you.” His hand fell away from mine as he disappeared around the corner of the home.

What if it’s a trap?

What if he took me to his men instead of them coming to me? It wasn’t the most pleasant experience in the shed, and there wasn’t a bed. Although, that didn’t phase some of Andrés’ clientèle and soldiers.

But he and his men never touched me in two weeks…

I glanced back at the soldiers following close behind.

Rushing forward, my toes skimmed over the tan-stained concrete, and then I quickened my pace, the grass giving way to a large rectangular pool with a bar attached and a grilling patio to the side, my lungs burning with exertion.

Elias waited with his hands in his pockets beside the opened French doors, the curtains billowing in the warm, slight breeze.

I walkedpast two single-cushioned charcoal gray chairs arranged around a wooden coffee table and a three-seater couch.

He moved through a seating area where Javier lingered, feet kicked up on the table, engrossed in typing on his laptop.

Javier glanced up as we passed through, his head shaking before returning to the computer screen.

“Where are we going?”

Elias glanced back as he ascended the stairs lining the open foyer, leading us down a hall to a bright, open bedroom on the second floor.

“This is where you’ll stay.”

I tilted my head and glanced around, my brows pulled down as my nails bit into my shoulders. “Where I’ll stay? You don’t want me in the shed?”

“A deal is a deal, and I always keep my word.”

I stood in the hallway.

It’s a trap.

Someone was in there, waiting for me to let my guard down, and then they’d pounce.

“I thought you meant…”

“The bathroom is down the hall.” He turned his back on me and pointed to a closet door to the left. “You’ll find some clothes in there. Linens are in the bathroom.”

“What’s the catch?” I peeked inside, my feet planted in the hall as I glanced around.

Elias fiddled with a vase on a dresser. “These are from Mamá.”

Purple and white petals formed a pool around the vase, the stems sagging.

“They’re beautiful.”

“If you need anything, inform the staff,” he squeezed past me through the threshold and paused as he walked away. “And Grace, escape is impossible, but should you try, just know that I will add to the blood on your hands and kill the men responsible.” He smiled as though inviting me for tea, then strolled down the stairs, meeting Nadia in the foyer.

He planted a kiss on her cheek, her gaze shooting up to meet mine.

My stomach churned, my hand sliding down to press on my empty belly.

The devil wears a seductive smile, concealing the abyss that lies behind it.

I retreated from the banister, the guards waiting in the hallway as I slipped into the bathroom, stripped my clothes, and scrubbed my body three times over.

17