After I finished eating everything on the plate Sigrid had given me, I stood and resisted the urge to stretch like a sleepy kitten. “Excuse me,” I said, stepping out of the room and going for the bathroom near the ballroom from the night before. It wasn’t far from the dining room, just a stroll through the more open living spaces and to a long hallway that ran behind the ballroom.
Joaquin followed the moment I stepped into the hallway from the place where he’d stood keeping an eye on me. “Give it time,” he said, seeming to sense my anxiety over what may or may not happen in the future. I wanted to be everything Rafael needed, but sometimes it felt like the expectations he placed on me were impossible.
I left Joaquin in the hallway just outside the bathroom, moving into the elegant space and staring at the luxury around me. Rafael’s home was stunning and the details spoke to the wealth he had, but it was beautiful in an easy way that felt like it belonged on the island. The bathroom around me was opulent, with the walls lined with gold-painted stones and a bright light over the top of the off-white sink vanity. I shrugged off the overwhelming need to go back home where I was comfortable, moving to the mirror and staring at my reflection.
Several of the women in the dining room had to be my age, some maybe even younger—the daughters that came along with their parents. Yet somehow as I stared back at my face, I couldn’t help but be confronted with just how young I truly was.
They’d had years upon years to become accustomed to the lifestyle they lived. It was new to me, and even with my harsh introduction to the world there was a quality to my face that they didn’t have. It wasn’t quite hope. It wasn’t quite innocence—not given the things I’d seen and done.
It was just a part of me that I couldn’t explain, and maybe it came from being firm in the knowledge that my husband loved me. I thought that was probably more than many others had.
I did my business, washing my hands and dreading returning to the dining room and putting on a fake smile with the turbulent thoughts swirling in my head. The sight of the chess piece hanging at my neck bolstered me, reassuring me that Rafael had faith in my ability to be this.
But did I even want to be? I didn’t judge the others for the life they lived and the choices they’d made, but I wasn’t sure it was the right one for me. Maybe I really was better off staying onEl Infierno.
I’d taken my first step back toward the door when the wall to the side of the sink shifted. I froze in place, shock stealing over me as the entire thing seemed to just slide to the side and open up to a new hallway. Sigrid stepped into the bathroom, a kind smile on her face. I glanced toward the door, apprehension filling me despite the fact that she’d been nothing but kind.
“There’s no need for that. I don’t have any intention of harming you,” she said, that kind smile remaining on her features to reassure me. I nodded and shifted myself closer to the door so that I could call out if something changed, hoping Joaquin would hear our voices and know that somehow I wasn’t alone. “My husband thinks I don’t know about the tricks in his house of mirrors or how he uses them to sneak around with other women in our home,” she said, scoffing bitterly.
“I’m sorry,” I said with a wince, glancing at the hallway behind her. It wasn’t even bare bones or ramshackle in the way I might have expected of a hallway behind the walls, but looked like just another part of the house. I couldn’t imagine the kind of pain that had to come from being trapped in a marriage with a man who would have an affair like that, let alone be disrespectful enough to do it in the place I called home.
She waved a hand as if it mattered little to her, and I imagined that at her age it had become just another part of her life. “I have my own fun. Not that the oblivious bastard knows it.”
“I’m not sure what this has to do with me at the moment,” I said, brushing a hand over the bare skin of my arm. My fingers felt along the brand on top of my tattoo, drawing comfort inEl Diablo’sname there. The things I’d once fought or thought I wouldn’t want had quickly become a source of strength. If I’d survived that, I could survive anything.
Faye rounded the corner, her eyes wide and her breathing heavy. A bruise marred her cheek, staining the skin with a deep purple tint that didn’t belong. I sucked in a breath, stepping away from the door to move closer to her. She swallowed visibly as she stepped to the side.
My heart stopped.
For just a moment, I couldn’t breathe past the cloying mix of relief and confusion that took control of my chest.
It was like staring at my reflection in the mirror, seeing a ghost I’d thought lost forever. I had enough time to glance down at her neck, seeing Rafael’s name carved into her skin as my breath returned in a sharp rasp.
I opened my mouth, a scream ready in my lungs at the triumphant look on my sister’s face as she moved into the bathroom from the hidden hallway. I realized what was happening just a moment too late, the sound never making its way up my throat.
Pain erupted through the back of my skull, and I crumpled to the floor as everything faded.
Until there was nothing left.