Marco entered the courtyard and strode to Ava. As beautiful as ever, she rose from the stone bench like an angel cast amongst the garden of Eden. She smiled at him and straightened her white skirts around her legs. “Did you have a good trip?”
“Of course.” He lifted her face for a kiss and asked, “how was your time off, my sweet. Did you miss me?”
She chuckled. “Of course.”
His hands tightened and he forced himself to ease his hold. She sensed his mood for her eyes widened. “I have heard you enjoyed yourself immensely in my absence.”
She stiffened in his arms. “I did as a matter of fact, as I always do.”
He leaned down into her face. “Who is he? He isn’t one of your regulars. I do not know this man.” He shook her. “Who is he?”
Ava yanked from his embrace, frustration furrowed her brow. “My clients are none of your concern, Marco. The last time I checked we were not married and therefore you do not own me.”
He seized her again, clasping her to his chest, his hand pointing to their surroundings. “You forget yourself, my love. All of this that you see...it is mine. This courtyard is mine.” He moved with her to the archway and they entered the bedroom. “This bed...it is mine.” He yanked her back around to face him. “That means you...are mine!”
She gasped at the force of his tone. “Let me go,” she whispered.
“The power you pretended to wield over me was because I allowed you to have it!” He shook her by the upper arms. “Everything that you have...I gave it to you!”
She panted now and fear widened her gaze. He soaked it in and reveled in the power it gave him. Struggling to free herself, Ava pushed at his chest until he let her go and she plummeted to the floor. She gasped and peered up at him. “He was just another man, Marco. There is nothing to be jealous about.”
He smiled. “You think it is jealousy?” He chuckled and strode over the sideboard to pour a drink. Turning, he leaned a hip against the mahogany piece as she climbed to her feet, straightening her skirts. “My driver tells me you met with him out at the San de la Vega ruins.”
She nodded. “That was our first meeting, yes. He wished to discover our compatibility. You act as if I haven’t slept with other men before.”
“My maid has informed me of the letters.”
She stilled visibly and then continued brushing out invisible wrinkles. “They’re just letters, Marco.”
Marco swallowed the whiskey and tossed the glass into the fireplace, shattering against the mud bricks. She jumped and screamed. He strode to her and clasped her upper arms once again. “Do not lie to me, Ava. I have made you what you are today. You are rich beyond imagining and you could retire today, living the rest of your life in the lap of luxury. Do not be foolish enough to bite the hand that feeds you.”
“I-I don’t know what you mean, Marco.”
“You hired an assassin to kill me.”
Her eyes widened to the size of the desert sun and she slowly denied it, shaking her head. “N-no, I swear. You’ve been misinformed.”
He rattled her until she sobbed. “Do not lie to me!”
She yanked from his hold, her eyes narrowed. “All right! I did try to hire him. He refused me. Says he’s retired. So you have nothing to fear.”
Marco gritted his teeth. “Nothing to fear? Do you really think I am afraid?” He struck her cheek and she collapsed at his feet. “Do not be a fool. I could care less if he tries to kill me. I am furious that you’ve betrayed me. I’ve given you everything your heart desires and this is how you repay me?”
Tears streamed down her face when she peered up at him, but she clenched her jaw in defiance. “You must first offer loyalty in order to betray someone.” She climbed to her feet. “You wanted a fuck and I gave you one whenever you so wished. Do not speak of betrayal to me. This was business. It has always been business and I earned every damn penny you gave me.”
Marco smacked her again and she cried out. “You bitch. You made me care for you, pant after you, and then you hire someone to kill me?” He grasped a handful of hair and leaned into her face. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you now? I’ve killed people for less.”
“Then do it and be done with it!”
His heart pounded against his chest and he seized her neck, squeezing the air from her lungs and hating the pain in his heart as he did so. He shouldn’t care for her. He should never have come to care for her.
She was a weakness he must rid himself of now — while he still could.
But his hand released her as she choked, swallowing air into empty lungs. He’d killed every person who’d ever betrayed him. Why couldn’t he kill her?
“Just tell me why?”
She seemed to hesitate. “My father was father Estevan de la Vega. He was a man of God, and you slaughtered my family and raped my sister!”
The ghost of a name that had haunted him for more than a decade caused him to gasp, and stumble back in surprise. De la Vega was the only regret he’d ever carried. Fearing God’s wrath, he’d made sure no one would ever utter the man’s name again. He’d forgotten that day, placed it in the back of his mind and erased all memory of it, but it easily resurfaced with just a hint of breath.
He strode away from her and exited the room, heading for the entrance to the house. She was De la Vega’s daughter. He must get away. An explosion threw him back several feet as the entire front of the house was consumed by a fire ball. He tumbled to the floor with a jarring thud. The east side of the house quivered with aftershocks as the dust settled in a cloud.
Marco coughed and tossed debris off, climbing to his feet. Soot covered his hands and arms — and likely his face — and his shirt lay in tatters. Glancing over one shoulder, Ava scrambled away from the door and he loped after her.
If someone were trying to kill him, they’d have to kill her first.