Page 3 of Cutting Ties
Chapter 2
Anthony
“I really don’t think this is a good idea, Anthony,” my brother’s voice said in the earpiece as I rode in the backseat of a privately chauffeured SUV to the Rossi estate. The privacy glass was up between the backseat and the driver so I could speak candidly and without interruption.
“Whether it’s a good idea or not, I’m doing it. I’m on the way there right now.” This was at least the dozenth time we’d had this conversation. If he couldn’t change my mind before I left the country then how in the hell he figured he could change it now when I was minutes away from her was beyond me.
“She’s the daughter of the largest cartel head in Colombia, fuck, possibly the entirety of South America. Maybe the world! It’s fucking crazy.”
Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. It was crazy. Of all the women in all the world why the fuck I had to fall in love with Valentina Rossi was beyond me. To make it worse I hadn’t even met her yet! This could all be just a dangerous trip for nothing. And there was always the fear she was doing it for U.S. citizenship, but with her family’s money and connections that was highly unlikely. She didn’t need me to make her American dream come true when it came right down to it.
Reaching my hand into the pocket of my black blazer, I fingered the tiny velvet box that contained a solitaire engagement ring. If the week I was here went well then the plan was to propose and then move her to Los Angeles immediately and get married.
“You can’t help who you fall in love with, James,” I replied. James didn’t know the proposal part of the plan. I already knew what his opinion on the topic would be. In all fairness Valentina didn’t even know the idea of proposing was floating around in my head either. We’d spoken of marriage and kids a time or two, but she had no idea I was planning on sooner rather than later.
“You’re not in love, you’re in lust. She’s fucking hot… Swimsuit-model hot. I get that. But that doesn’t mean you should be going there to bring her home. I heard her family was in a fucking drug war with some other family. Bodies everywhere! Don’t you be stupid and be bringing a mail-order bride back!”
The mail-order bride comment ticked me off. She certainly was not that. He didn’t understand. People met their future spouses online all the time. It was the norm nowadays! Big deal, I met mine from another country; I wasn’t the first and would hardly be the last.
While I was aware there was unrest in Colombia between the cartels at the moment, the streets were hardly lined with blood as the media would like people to think. I wasn’t a complete idiot. I’d done my research on the situation. It was grim, and it pained me to know the anguish Valentina had endured over the years, being caught up in the world she was born into and had no choice but to inhabit. I suppose there was a part of me that took some satisfaction in knowing I’d be the one to swoop in and save the woman I loved.
Yes, that sounded naive, I knew it did. But I also knew she longed to be free.
I wanted to be her knight in shining armor and give her that freedom she so longed for.
“And what if she’s just using you to get her out? Ever think of that?”
I sighed. That was my worst fear. “She isn’t. You’re not part of this relationship so you wouldn’t understand. Not everyone meets the love of their life in college. Some people have to take chances and work hard to make that happen. Even if the situations to make that happen are a tad unorthodox.”
My phone buzzed in the opposite pocket from the ring. Pulling it free from my jacket, I brought it to eye level and a smile spread across my lips. It was Valentina.
Valentina: Small problem.
Anthony: What is that, my love?
Valentina: My brother is in town. He’s at the house now.
I hesitated a moment. I didn’t know much about her brother aside from the fact she hated him and that he was the devil as far as she was concerned.
“Anthony… Anthony. You still there, bro?”
Pulling my attention back to my brother, I responded. “Yes. I’m here. I just got a text from Valentina. Her brother is in town.”
My phone buzzed again.
Valentina: He wants to meet you. Just play it cool and it’ll be fine. Please don’t engage with him. Please. I don’t want our week to be ruined by drama.
Frowning, I stared at her message a moment, a voice in the back of my mind telling me that maybe my brother was right. Maybe I was getting in way over my head with this. But then I looked down at the picture that I used as her text message image. It was a headshot of her; her large doe-like dark eyes stared at me. She was a stunning woman, but there was a hint of something else – loneliness, maybe. Fear – perhaps.
I wouldn’t lie and pretend that it wasn’t her beauty that initially attracted me to her. But it was her heart that made me fall hard for her and want to protect her for the rest of our lives. How someone could grow up with such violence around them, yet seem so kind and genuine at heart moved me. She wanted to belong, but she didn’t belong in the life she was leading now.
“Her fucking brother! Do you have any idea how dangerous that man is?” my brother practically screamed in my ear.
“I do. I have an idea at least. But let’s face it, I’d have to meet him eventually anyhow. Might as well get it over with. It’s not like I’m some crackhead off the street, James. I’m a fucking surgeon. So just calm down. It’ll be fine.”
“I should have come with you.”
I chuckled at the thought. My brother was only two years older than me, but insisted he always knew better, attempting to play the older-brother card. “It’s fine. I’m a doctor for fuck’s sakes. The only effect I’d have on this family is to offer a reduced-price plastic surgery or perhaps stitch someone up that’s been shot or stabbed. I’m not exactly a threat.”
