Sweet Collateral

My teeth grind together so hard that my jaw aches with the effort. “Anna…” Her nails rake over my wrists, and I force myself to loosen my hold just enough that she can breathe. “Please don’t say that.” My voice is a low growl.

“Rafe,” she whispers.

“Are you scared, little warrior?” I ask. I need her to say the words, to snap me from this.

Her eyes drop to my lips before her small hands cup my face, nails scratching over stubble. “Of you? Never,” she breathes. My grip on her throat loosens further, and she leans in, pressing her lips to mine. Pure and innocent. “I’m sorry,” she says against my mouth, and my anger instantly drops to a low simmer.

“You are not a whore, Anna. And you are far from weak. Your sister of all people will see that.” I wind my arms around her small waist, plastering her to my body. She still looks so dejected, and fuck if I’m not completely weak for her. This girl has so much power, and she doesn’t even know it. “But if you really want to learn how to fight, I’ll teach you.”

A small smile pulls at the corner of her lips. “You’d do that?”

“Under one condition.”

“What?”

“If you ever actually get attacked, you shoot, or you run.” She nods. “And I have another condition.”

She narrows her eyes. “You can’t just change the goalposts, Rafe.”

“If I hear you call yourself or reference yourself as a whore ever again, I’m done.”

Her expression shutters, a tinge of panic creeping through her eyes. “Done?”

“No more fighting.” I’d love to tell her that I’d walk away from her—that I’d be done with her. It bothers me that much. But I know it would be a lie. I’d never admit the level of my addiction to anyone but myself, not even her, but I’m hopelessly in love with the broken little warrior. Men like me don’t often become weak, but it’s fitting that one as resilient and strong as her should be my one soft spot. I don’t know any man who could not fall in love with her. She’s infectious, her lure, magnetic.

“Okay.” Her voice is tentative, unsure. She swipes her hair behind her ear nervously. “When do we start?”

Standing up, I force her back a step as I move away from the desk. “I have to go into the city, so after that.”

“You’re leaving?”

I nod, going to my desk drawer and taking out my colt, checking the clip. “Yeah, I have some shit I have to handle.” She says nothing, and I glance up to find her knotting the bottom of her shirt in her fingers.

“Can I come with you?”

“Anna…” She looks at me with those pleading eyes. “It’s not safe in the city. Dominges still wants you.”

“And my sister, I know.” Una is no longer a problem. But she doesn’t know that.

“And the people who want Una. You’re not coming.” I move around her, and she steps into my path. I cock a brow at her. “My, my, we’re feeling brave today.” She grabs the front of my shirt, tilting her head back to look up at me.

“I just…I think I’m safer with you.”

I groan. She has no idea what it does to me when she says things like that. Such a small, simple thing, but her trust is precious.

“You’re safer in the hilltop fortress surrounded by my men. They’ll protect you.”

She swallows heavily, her eyes shuttering closed for a second before she nods and steps back. When she opens them again all the vulnerability has washed from her features and in its place is a steely coldness. I both hate and respect it. I check my watch and pick up my phone, shooting a text to Samuel.

“I changed my mind. I’ll work with you in the gym now, but after that, I have to go, and you will stay.”

She glances at me. “Okay, fine.”

33

Anna

Sweat trickles down my spine, and my muscles scream in protest as I collide with the mat again. Jesus, I thought Rafael might go easier on me than Carlos. He’s brutal. I shove to my feet, chest heaving as my hair falls from its braid. Rafael cracks his neck from side to side, and I swallow heavily as the thick muscles of his body roll and flex ominously. I swear he only took his shirt off to scare me more.

“Faster, avecita. You have to be small and fast because you’ll never be stronger.” He comes at me, and I panic, the same as the last twenty times. I dodge to the side, but not fast enough. His tree trunk of an arm hits my chest as his foot sweeps my legs out from underneath me. I hit the mat with a thud, air rushing from my lungs. This time, he lands on top of me, pinning both my wrists beside my head.