2
Rafael
My shoes tapped against the tile as I made my way through my home. Most of the men kept their distance from the main house even on a good day, but knowing that only hours stood between me andmi princesabeing in my arms meant they most definitely were as far away as the island would afford them.
Regina stood in the kitchen, chopping garlic to cook something for Alejandro that night. My greatest regret in going to meet Isa was that I wouldn't get to eat it.
I hated being away from her cooking.
"Mi hijo,why must you pace so much?" she asked, casting a wrinkled smile my way. She'd been my mother's best friend once upon a time, the only reason I tolerated her overly familiar greetings. She was the closest thing I had to family.
Regina had even taken my mother's place in my father's bed after he burned her alive. Not that she'd had much choice in that matter. Miguel Ibarra wasn't known for his kindness to women.
"Where's Alejandro?" I snapped, snatching a bite of peach off her cutting board while she tutted at me and waved her knife in my face. Another day, I might have laughed at the audacity of the woman.
"If he's smart? Hiding," she said, wrinkling her forehead while she turned her face back down to the peaches. Glancing at the watch on my wrist, I frowned. Isa's flight was due to arrive in a matter of hours, and she would make her way to Ibiza Town shortly after.
I very much needed to be in the city before then, so I could ensure all my plans went off without issue. I detested depending on other people to move the pieces into place. Nothing set me on edge more than the lack of control I felt knowing that if the hotel manager failed to give Isa the invitation to the party at my hotel, she wouldn't come.
I'd kill the fool and then have to come up with an alternative plan.
"I know you are eager to see your Isa," Regina said with a smile as she wiped her hands on her apron and took mine in hers. The stickiness of the peaches touched my skin, making me frown in consternation. "But she will love you. How could she not with a face like this?" she asked, tapping the end of my nose. I scowled at her as I moved to the sink to wash the peach juice off my skin.
"I imagine it would be easy not to when he scowls all the time," Alejandro, my second in command, said as he stepped into the kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Where have you been?" I growled, my voice holding every bit of the warning that had sent the rest of my men running to the other buildings in the compound to keep busy. "I'm due to leave in less than an hour."
"Rafael, you will be gone for a week. We will survive with you off the island for a few days," Alejandro said, raising a brow at my impatience.
I scoffed. "I have complete faith in your ability to keep my home from burning down. I am more concerned with how your conversation with Pavel went." He pursed his lips in thought. The hesitation did not bode well for my desires to delay the bastard's requests for a meeting. "Regina could make a nice supper out of your tongue if you aren't inclined to use it," I warned him.
He sighed, finally opening his mouth to tell me what I needed to know. "He does not want to wait. We knew he would be impatient. His livelihood is at stake."
"More like his life," I returned. "I do not care what you have to do to make him understand, but I will have nothing to do with Pavel until I have Isa safe on my island. Hewillwait until I deem it an appropriate time to discuss his removal as Pakhan."
"I'm fairly certain talking about his removal won't help him lean toward patience," Alejandro said with a shake of the head.
"So remind him he has sons. He doesn't need five of them, but I could kill one for every opportunity he takes to annoy me," I said, making my way to the windows to overlook the pool area. The Mediterranean Sea shimmered with azure waters down below where the compound I called home sprawled into the hillside of my private island,El Infierno.
A simple walk down a wooden path would take me to the beach that I knew Isa would love when she finally came to the island and got over her fear of the water.
"Mi hijo, you cannot threaten a man's lineage because you are impatient. Off with you!" Regina said, shooing me toward the front door. My bag already waited for me in the car, loaded by the house staff.
"Verify the arrangements with everyone one last time, please?" I asked her. She rolled her eyes but nodded her head in agreement. She would do as I asked, because she knew better than most what the consequences might be should I be disappointed. I may not murder my mother's best friend, but I had no such loyalty toward random business owners who didn't do asEl Diablocommanded.
"I'm going!" I protested, making my way down to the path that would take me to the marina.
When I’d hurried down the steps, there was no doubt in my mind, as I watched my men load my neon orange McLaren onto my yacht, that Isa would need time to adjust to her new life.
She’d have ten days.
* * *
Tossing my keys to the valet driver, I climbed out of the McLaren and made my way toward him. "Not a scratch," I warned. He nodded his understanding, eyeing my car like the masterpiece it was. I had several vehicles in my garage, but the McLaren was my favorite for the moment.
Moonwas a massive white structure and looked commercial in the front, but the interior was pure luxury, and no hotel in Ibiza Town could compete with the views from the pool area. It would be the perfect place to seduce Isa and start our lives together, second only to my home.
Sadly, that wasn't an option. Convincing Isa to go up to a hotel room with a strange man would be tricky enough. Taking her home with me would prove impossible.