She sighed. “After we got Angelica free.”
“I see,” Mateo said. “You know you’d be killed, right?”
She nodded without looking up at them.
“Goddammit,” Trent cursed. “What about us? Don’t we matter?”
Her head jerked up, and she stared at him. “Of course, you do. I’m doing this for you, too.”
She could tell she was making them madder, but never once had she ever been afraid of them.
“How do you figure that, pet?” Trent asked.
“I feel like you’ve put your lives on hold for me for so long. I want you to be happy. Find a woman you love who can give you children.”
A shiver raced down her spine when they both stared at her.
“What about what we want?” Mateo asked.
The gentle way he said it broke her heart. “I’m thinking of you. I’ll never be able to have your children. I’m too old. Hell, I might not even be able to have sex. I’m not good for you. I love you both too much to bind you to me for more years.”
Trent walked to the secret passage and turned to look at her. “It would be nice to decide for ourselves what we want. You’re doing to us what your father did to you. Think about that.”
She cried out. “Trent.”
She heard his steps and then nothing. She faced Mateo. “You understand, don’t you?”
“Not at all, baby. We want you in any way we can get you, and now that we might have a chance at being together and happy, you’d take that away from us.”
“The only things changing are my daughters getting out of this hellhole.”
Mateo shook his head. “No, there’s more going on. We have people helping us.”
“What? Who?” Her stomach tightened with anxiety but also a spark of hope for a future she’d not had before.
“We don’t have time now. Please don’t give up on us.”
“I’d never do that. I want to do everything in my power to make you both happy. You’ve done so much for me. There were times I wanted to give up, and if it weren’t for you and my daughters, I’m ashamed to say I would have taken my life.”
Mateo slipped the knife into his belt and walked to her. He cupped her face and ran his thumb over her cheek. “What you’re missing here is that you make us happy, and it would break us if you were taken from us.”
She whimpered and laid her forehead on his chest. “I’m so sorry. I love you both so much.”
“And we love you.”
“What if I can’t—”
“Can’t what, baby?” he asked.
“Can’t have sex. You know I’ve never been treated well in the bedroom.”
He tilted her head up so she looked into his face. “You will be. You’re a passionate woman and have never been given a chance to explore that. I guarantee it will take both of us to keep up with you.”
His lopsided grin always charmed her.
“It’s just…”
He bent his head until his lips were close to hers. He studied her for a moment before pressing them against hers.