Page 26 of Branches of Betrayal

“He knew I had connections through the business, that our number one priority was keeping children safe and hidden from predators. Darío wanted me to take Itza back to Texas with me, hide her so that his father could never find her.”

Peyton blew out an unsteady breath. “That must have been so difficult for him. To say goodbye to his daughter. Especially when she was only a baby.”

“It was,” Hadina agreed. “It killed a part of him. But Itza has always been his priority, his end game. He traveled home with me, made sure that she was safe and that I would be able to protect her. He waited a few weeks, telling his father that he was on business, so that he could check out the safehouse and security I arranged for her. Ever since then, he’s been working to dismantle the toxic empire his father built and turn it into something more legitimate.”

“But why couldn’t you tell Don about it? This had to have been weighing on you all this time.”

“Darío didn’t know my father or my family. He knewme. He needed to trust someone with her and if I toldPapior anyone else, I’d have been betraying that trust. I fell in love with that little girl the first time I held her in my arms and I’d do anything to protect her, even if it means keeping her a secret from my own family. She may not be my blood, but I love her just the same. She’s my niece and she always will be.”

Catching Hadina off guard, Peyton pulled her into a long, slow kiss. It sent delighted shivers down her spine and by the time Peyton extracted herself from Hadina’s roaming hands, they were both grinning.

“What was that for?” Hadina asked.

“For showing me again the reason I fell in love with you in the first place. No matter what you do, your heart will always be good, Hadina.”

Chapter 16

Peyton

“Can I meet her?”

Peyton felt nervous even asking, knowing how hard Hadina had tried to keep Itza a secret all these years. It still amazed her—and left her a little dumbfounded—that Hadina had practicallyraised a childwithout any of her family knowing. Though when she evaluated it more closely, Peyton knew that the lives of everyone at Adis & Co. held an air of mystery and secrecy.

Hadina looked at Peyton for a second, her eyes soft as they often were when she looked at her. “I… Yes, I would love that. Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll make some phone calls to let them know we’re coming?”

“Sounds good,” Peyton agreed, pressing a soft kiss on Hadi’s cheek before disappearing into the bathroom.

She felt renewed after a hot shower and washing her hair, letting the water take away her anxieties with it. Peyton was so used to being on edge that for once, she was happy to justbefor a moment. By the time she had dried her hair and put on alight layer of makeup, Hadina was already waiting for her in the bedroom, dressed to kill.

“You look so fucking hot when you wear things like that,” Peyton said, taking time to let her gaze rove over Hadina’s frame. Her woman had decided to wear high waisted black pants, a cropped corset top which was almost see-through, apart from the black ribbing and lace embroidery, and layered it with an oversized blazer. Peyton knew that a pair of polished stilettos would be on Hadina’s feet and her mouth watered as she imagined kneeling before Hadina’s altered height, messing up those pressed clothes, and devouring her until the shadow queen was nothing but putty in her hands.

“If you keep staring at me like that, I’ll tie you to this bed and we won’t be going anywhere for a week,” Hadina admonished, though Peyton could hear the sultry tone in her voice.

Tilting her head to the side as she licked her lips slowly, Peyton let her eyes wander again. “That sounds like a perfect week to me.”

Hadina rolled her eyes and pointed to the closet. “Go choose something to wear. We need to leave soon. I don’t want to be too late or it’ll disturb Itza’s lessons.”

Peyton padded over to the racks of clothes, looking for something that saidhi, I’m your aunt’s girlfriend and I almost died like three times in the past few weeks, so I really hope you don’t hate me because my heart can’t take it, kid. She picked out a vintage-style tweed mini skirt, pairing it with black stockings and a fitted beige sweater. She laced up her combat boots and stood tall, twirling slowly for Hadina to get a good look.

“This okay?”

“Dios ayúdame.You look like a school teacher, all sweet and innocent, and it’s making me insane that I can’t take time to pull your little devil out and make you scream.”

Heat pooled between her thighs and Peyton cursed herself for picking a long-sleeved sweater when Hadina had decided to make her feel all hot and bothered. Still, she would never get bored of being the object of Hadina’s lust and desire.

“Keep your dirty thoughts in those pants until we get home,” Peyton said with a smirk, “and then you can do whatever you want to me.”

Hadina grabbed her by the waist, pulling them until they were pressed against each other, and pressed her lips lightly against Peyton’s. “Oh, those are dangerous words,tentadora. I’m going to hold you to that.”

Peyton playedDJ for the hour-long drive to the ranch where Hadina housed Itza. She belted out the songs with the confidence of someone with a far better voice than she, but Hadina simply laughed and—much to her surprise—even joined in occasionally.

The second they hit the dirt road down onto the sprawling estate, Peyton let out a gasp. Green fields spread from either side of them, flowers blooming along the edges of the wooden fencing. The closer they got to the house, the fields opened up into large areas obviously used for horse riding, with jumping equipment still set out.

“This place is…beautiful doesn’t seem descriptive enough.”

Hadina smiled and glanced quickly at Peyton before training her eyes back on the road. “It is. When I first bought it, it was nothing like this. I had intended for it to be a home away from home for me, but Itza needed it more. The whole place has been designed for her, what she likes, her schooling, her hobbies. Iwanted it to be the best home it could be for her, especially since Darío couldn’t stay with her.”

It pained Peyton to know that this little girl had missed growing up without parents, but she knew Hadina had done everything she could to make Itza’s life happy and comfortable.

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