Devotion (3) ✔

19 - Mariana

Mariana

Mariana: I need you come home, our uncle is shouting at your sister.
Mariana: I miss you. I need you

Furious. I was absolutely furious when I didn't receive any reply.

I couldn't stop scolding Lucia like she was 5 year old kid who put her hand into a burning fire. As a woman who'd mastered her emotions after all these years, it felt numbingly terrifying to get kidnapped and then to find out my own sister-in-law turned herself in for my release.

Right at that moment, I realised how much I truly loved that crazy girl because I begged the bastard to keep me and let her go. It was a protective reaction I didn't even know I felt towards her. It wasn't because of what Santiago or how he'd never trade her, even for me but I knew he'd come for me.

Who I was most worried about was Lucia.

The only person who I would have traded my life for was my little brother, who was too innocent for the cruel life fate had dealt him. I looked at Lucia like that. No child should be taken from her dead mother and brutalised for years.

I wanted to protect her because of her.

"Are you not going to speak to me?" She pulled at me crossed arms like a little child. Tears welled in my eyes and my heart twisted.

"NO!" I turned away further, faced the window.

"Oh come on!" She threw her hands up like a kid having a tantrum.

When Jude personally escorted me outside of the mansion, I truly believed that I was going to die. Bursts of nausea forced out sudden emotions out of me, making me cry but otherwise, I was firmly still.

Afterwards, when he started to unbound me, relief washed over me for a second until I saw the damn iron gates open and a tiny girl walk in with short hair.

"No, no. Take me, let her go. NO!" I screamed to no avail. He got his men to drag me towards her where she stopped to meet me.

"WHY? Did he do this?"

"No!" She had whispered. "He doesn't. Go to him. It's going to be okay." Her calmness confused me. There was a determined gleam in his eye. She hugged me tightly before I was wretched away from her and practically got thrown out of the compound.

I had my phone on me, one of the men shoved it into my hand after he released me. I turned around to find Jude grab Lucia.

"No!" I whispered. I had to do something, I had to do it quick. I had to call Tiago but I needed to get the fuck out of here first.

Lucia and Gabe were talking like this was just a normal day and Jamie made a back hand comment to Lucia about not getting shot this time.

"This time?" Outraged, I faced her finally. "You were SHOT?"

"Not this time." She gleamed. Sitting up, she lifted her blood soaked t-shirt until a patch of uneven scar came to view close to her naval.

"Does your brother know that?"

"Nope. It happened when Gabe rescued me. You know the New York gang war, when Mason died?" She let go of her shirt.

I softened. I'd suffered a lot in life but I was never physically violated. Even though I was unfazed by violence and gangs because of my lifestyle as an escort but her painted a different style of suffering. Melting, I forced her into a hug. Neither of us were the hugging type but this was a special circumstance.

"Never." I hit Gabe on the other side. "Do that." I hit his arm again. "Again." Gabe didn't even flinch.

"What's with you and your husband hitting me." He grumbled. Letting Lucia go, looked in into her eyes that were so much like the man's I gave my life to but bigger.