Page 17 of Falling for the Enemy

“Jefe, how long are you going to watch this perra?” Benito’s irritated tone rips me free of the thoughts that have no place in my head. “Because this shit is dangerous, reckless even, and—”

One stern look from me silences him.

Mouth snapping shut, he drops his arms and shoves his hands into his pockets. “I’m just reminding you, we’re here to fuck up La Famiglia. Not to fuck the Queen of the Fallen Kings.”

His words are the wake-up call I need.

After only one meeting, Arianna has captivated me, putting me under a spell I’m not even sure she intended to cast. This must end before it ever truly begins. The less I know about her, the easier it’ll be for me to handle business.

Which again, may include killing her.

“What’s the status on my sister?” I ask, mentally reminding myself of everything that’s at stake. “Did Christian make it there to relieve Luis?”

Benito runs a hand along his jaw. “He’s there. Said everything’s quiet. Has been all day from what Luis and Javier told him.”

I nod without replying.

Knowing we need to leave before drawing unwanted attention, I allow myself one last look through the binoculars. But when my eyes land on the room where Arianna remains, my stare crashes into hers, surprising me.

No longer sitting on the bedside chair, she now stands next to the window, facing me, her robe hanging half-open, giving me a teasing glimpse of her smooth, naked flesh. Flesh that, unfortunately, will never be stroked by my hands or caressed by my tongue, much less fucked by my cock.

It’s a tragedy, but not what I focus on.

No, it’s her eyes. Those bottomless, soul-piercing eyes. Eyes that belong to one of my many enemies but that have entranced me, beckoning me closer.

Through the glass, her magnetic stare holds mine, neither of us blinking. It’s as if she can see me, though I know she can’t. Not with the distance between us, along with her standing in the light and me in the dark.

Regardless, I know she feels my presence.

I take a breath, my lungs burning.

None of this loco shit makes sense. Not the instant possessiveness that consumed me when I first saw another man’s body touch hers, or the rare admiration I developed when she fearlessly went toe-to-toe with me before slitting the rapist’s throat, shattering every delusion I had of her being unworthy.

I need to leave.

To put miles of space between us.

If I don’t, I’m going to develop a softness toward her, and when I do, it won’t be me who pays the price for such weakness and the inevitable mistakes it will likely cause.

It’ll be Carmen.

I take a step back, preparing to lower the binoculars, breaking our connection. But I stop when her palm presses against the glass in what I stupidly tell myself is a silent plea for me to stay.

Or to come closer.

“Fuck!” I tear the binoculars away before I can hesitate further and toss them off the bridge and into the Ashley River, rendering any chance of retrieving them impossible. “I’m losing my fucking mind!”

Angry with myself for letting the little witch seize and hold my attention, I spin around and jump in the car. Following my lead, Benito rounds the SUV at a jog, shaking his head the entire way, and climbs in, landing on the passenger’s seat in record time.

Without speaking another word, I start the engine and shift into drive. As I pull away from the curb, I tell myself this is it, that I won’t be returning to watch her.

Deep down, I know it’s a lie.

SIX

Ari

I wake to someone watching me.

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