Page 63 of Till Death Do Us Part

If she was still awake…if I could find her…and tell her what?

Anna Moretti, Rocco’s mother, cringed in fear whenever Tommaso raised his voice. I’d never tried to tell her about the way her son treated me. I’d figured he’d learned his behavior by example.

Using a tissue, I wiped the evidence of our encounter away from between my legs. Next, I located my panties and nightgown. The sound of a shower came from the bathroom. My chest ached as I worried about Aléjandro’s arm. I could offer to help him again, but there was still the residual fear.

If he wasn’t going to lash out at me, would he decide to punish me in other ways?

I tried not to think of Rocco’s ability to be cruel. His punishments didn’t always leave visible bruises. Sometimes the emotional torture was worse.

Pulling my nightgown over my head, I went to the closet and retrieved the long plush robe I’d seen earlier. This yacht was stocked like a five-star hotel except there was no monogram or label on the robe. I ran my fingers through my tangled hair.

Running away would get me nowhere. Besides the obvious fact that there were only so many places I could go on a yacht, Aléjandro would eventually find me. And making a scene could only fester his anger.

The decanter on the counter called my name. I poured two fingers of tequila into one of the clean tumblers.

The sound of the shower behind the bathroom door disappeared.

It wouldn’t be long before the door would open.

With the tumbler in hand, I padded out onto our balcony. My bare feet met the coolness of the tile. The outside temperature had dropped, making me appreciate the warmth of the terrycloth robe. LED lights reflected blue upon the clear railing. Bringing the tumbler to my lips, I relished the burn as the alcohol made its way down my throat.

How long would it take to dim my senses?

At the opening of the bathroom door, I turned away, staring out at the dark ocean and up to the heavens. When I was a little girl, the nuns at my school taught me that all answers could be found in prayer. As an adult, I learned that wasn’t true. Solutions didn’t come from above, but from whoever had control of your world. Whether it was my father, Rocco, or later Dario, I knew in the depth of my soul and marrow of my bone that God was out of the equation. If he wasn’t, then he wasn’t a merciful being but a vindictive one—if he truly existed at all.

With my body flush against the railing, I waited for what was to come. I was trapped in a gilded cage. Yes, my surroundings were more luxurious than before, but that made me no less a captive by the vows we’d spoken.

The fresh scent of bodywash infiltrated the sea air before the warmth of Aléjandro’s body materialized behind me. My grasp of the tumbler tightened, threatening to crush the crystal as every muscle tensed.

I startled as his deep baritone voice cut through the stillness. His warm breath skirted across my neck. “Are you contemplating jumping?”

Jumping.

Death.

No.

My chin fell to my chest as new tears slid down my cheeks.

Aléjandro’s arms wrapped around my waist, tugging me against his hard chest.

I remained still, fighting the urge to pull away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bandage. “Did you get it wet?”

“No.” He craned his neck and softly kissed my cheek. “You didn’t answer. Are you considering a midnight swim?”

My mind couldn’t compute.

I spun in his grasp.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Sometimes women feel it’s their only option. You know—until death do us part.”

I shook my head. “I couldn’t do that to my mother. She lost my father, not her daughter too.” But she had lost me, lost me to the cartel.

Aléjandro took the tumbler from my grasp and stepped back. I scanned his bare chest. As I dared to look down, I found that he was wearing pajama pants. Lifting the tumbler to his lips, he drained the contents and set the empty glass on the table. Then, once again, he wrapped his solid arms around me, resting his hands on my lower back. His dark stare settled on mine. While I couldn’t read what he was thinking, I believed my emotions and thoughts were on full display.

He wiped a tear with his thumb. “That’s good to hear. Don’t jump.”

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