Page 20 of Naked Truth

Chapter Twelve

Raoul

I seered as the need to protect my woman consumes my every move. There’s a man I recognize as one of the family lawyers with his hand on Valentina. That’s a grave mistake on his part as he’s the one I target first.

“Mr. Santiago!” is all he has time to say before I knock him out cold. I grab Valentina and place her behind me.

“Who else touched you?”

“Raoul,” she cries and grabs my arm.

“Respóndeme ahora,”I demand before repeating in English. “Answer me now.”

“No one,” she responds quickly. “No one else touched me.”

“Señor, por favor.”Another lawyer makes the unwise decision to reach for me. I grab his arm and twist, then slam the heel of my hand into the joint, breaking his arm at the elbow. He screams as I release his useless appendage.

Juan, the overly anxious nephew of one of our most valued lawyers, jumps in and takes out a man sneaking up behind me. I nod in thanks to Juan, who returns the gesture. The rest of the cowards retreat to the corner as Dom Hernandez’s less well-known team of lawyers file in and form a wall of muscle behind me.

“Who speaks for you?” I bark. No one answers, so I take a step forward and ask it another way. “Who is the one in charge?”

An older man steps forward, and I narrow my gaze. I recognize him as a lawyer Felix favors. I didn’t like him before. Now I have reason to hate him. “My name is Roger Sanchez. I speak for the firm that officially represents the Hernandez family.”

“That’s where you are wrong,” Luis says as he steps forward. “The firm of Garcia, Lopez, and Morales represent the family in all matters of true importance. I am Luis Garcia, senior partner. You do not speak for the family, nor do you have the authority to speak to Ms. Hernandez without her legal counsel present.” He glances at the stacks of paperwork on the table. “You weren’t attempting to coerce my client into signing something against her will, were you?”

“Of course not!” Sanchez fixates his gaze on Valentina, who shrinks behind me in response. I square my shoulders, blocking her from his line of sight.

“What did he say?” I ask as I turn to face her. When she doesn’t answer, only trembles in my grasp, I hold her more firmly. “Look at me, Valentina. You have no reason to be afraid. Tell the truth. Did these men threaten you in any way?”

Her eyes grow wide. When she darts her gaze toward Sanchez, I move to block her view and hold her gaze to me. “You will tell me. Don’t look to him. He has no answers for you. Look to me.”

She stares up into my eyes and her expressions softens as if she finally sees that it’s me and not someone here to do her harm. Her eyes shine with frightened tears, and her words pour from her lips. “They threatened Dom Hernandez. They said if I didn’t sign some papers that they’d bury him in so much paperwork he’d have nothing left. They-They—” she can’t go on and collapses into my arms.

“I’ve heard enough,” Luis growls. “This meeting is over. You will leave the grounds and not return. If you wish to speak to my client, you will do so through me.” When several cowardly lawyers move to collect the papers, Luis lifts his hand and my lawyers move in to block them. “Leave the documents. I’m sure my team will find the information they contain very interesting.”

“That’s not necessary.” Sanchez tries to move in again, but I stop him with my hand on his chest, my glare riveted to him.

“I’m sure it’s quite necessary.” I turn him and walk him to the door. He wisely doesn’t resist. The cowards exit the room single file. When the man with the useless appendage approaches, I straighten. He cowers and hurries past.

Once the room is empty of the opposing lawyers, I return to Valentina and pull her to me. “It’s over, mi amor.”

“How did you do all this?”

“I told you I was your greatest weapon.” I motion for the men behind me to gather the papers. They do, each grabbing a stack and shoving it into briefcases. “These gentlemen represent my greatest weapon—my faith and loyalty to you. And they all come armed with mighty pens.”

“Oh, Raoul.” She hugs me tight. “I was so scared.”

I frown. “I’ll never let anything happen to you. You know that.”

“I wasn’t scared for me,” she corrects. “I was scared for my grandfather. They said such hateful things, all to ensure they get their hands on his money.”

Of course, she’s not scared for her. I expected no less. “Greed makes people do terrible things. Come, you have news to share with your grandfather.”

She pulls back to look into my eyes. “I do?”

I kiss her pretty nose. “You do.” I nod for Luis to hand the paper to her. She takes it and her hands shake as she carefully unfolds it.

As she reads, her eyes grow wider and wider. Then the smile of comprehension slowly spreads across her lovely face. “It’s true,” she whispers, the tears free-flowing. “It—It’s true. ¡Dios mío! It’s true, Raoul! It’s true!”

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