Page 24 of Sacrifice

Once he's done throwing everything in the pan, he starts flipping the food with the spatula. I'm fascinated with the way he moves, and by the time he has the food on the plates, I'm starving. Now if the food tastes great too, I'll be impressed.

He brings the food over to the table and stands in front of me, scooping some of the omelets with his fork. He takes a bite and watches me. The eggs are fluffy and cheesy with onions and peppers in them. I've never had an omelet taste this good.

"This is so yummy," I gush, and he laughs. Taking my eyes off my food for the first time, I look at him and he looks pleased. It causes me to blush.

"I'm happy to hear you are enjoying the food I made for you." He goes back to eating his food, so I do the same. Once I'm done with the seasoned hash browns, I sit back and sigh.

"I'm stuffed."

Vincent takes our plates and washes them. As he dries his hands, I sip my coffee. He takes a couple of pills out of their bottles and hands them to me.

"Take them,mi reina. I don't want you fainting on me."

I don't fight him, even though I'm not sure the meds will help. But, I'm not in the mood to argue. It seems like there's a fragile truce between us.

Mossimo comes in, wearing all black, and Espresso walks over to him. "Ah, you cutie patootie. You want to be picked up, don't ya?"

Cutie patootie? This man is known to be one of the most ruthless killers and he’s calling my cat by a pet name? Vincent doubles over laughing and I stare open-mouthed as Espresso stretches up his front paws to be held. Mossimo smiles, bends down, and takes my baby in his arms. He starts singing and I'm in shock. The man is almost seven feet tall, muscles for days, and tattoos starting on his forehead going down. Who would have thought that this tough man who looks like the killer he is would be soft for a cat?

"Mi reina,we need to talk." Vincent holds my hand and Mossimo snorts.

Before Vincent can say anything, his phone rings and he excuses himself when he looks at the screen.

"He's such a sweet boy, isn't he, Mossimo?" I stand up and get closer to him. Espresso meows and paws gently at Mossimo's beard. The whole moment seems surreal.

"I've always wanted a cat like him. He's definitely a sweet little boy, Aribella."

Vincent returns a moment later, looking angry, but he comes over and kisses my forehead. "Now,mi reina, we need to be distraction-free."

He pulls me into his arms and holds me. "Let's go to my office."

Mossimo looks between us and turns away.

"Wait." I walk over to him and kiss Espresso on the head. 'We'll play later," I whisper to him and he bumps his head into me.

Vincent takes us to the office and, as I sit down on the couch, he locks the door. My body trembles with nerves and worry. "What's going on Vincent?" No matter how nice he's being, I'm still a little scared.

Standing a good foot away from me, he puts his hands behind his back. I dislike how my heart rate has skyrocketed as he stands there in silence.

"Your brother sacrificed you to me as payment." As if I didn't already know that. My gut drops at his words, though, and I look down at my knees.

"Yes." It's the only word I can say. The truth of the matter is that I'm nothing more than a transaction. I knew my moment of easiness and happiness wouldn't last. "I'm property. A trade for a debt," the words come out in a harsh whisper.

"Carlos didn't leave the casino with his life."

"What?" My head whips up and I try to focus around black spots trying to appear in my vision.

Vincent hasn't moved from his spot, but he looks at me with regret. "The minute he traded you for himself, I shot him. He's dead, Aribella."

My mouth opens twice as sweat breaks out along my neck. The pressure is growing to a fever pitch. No. Not now. I demand myself. I cannot be fainting.

"How... how could you kill him?"

Vincent comes over and sits down next to me, and I flinch away from him. "Mi reina,he was going to die one way oranother." He grabs my hands and I yelp, yanking them away from him.

"Don't..." I blink and he grabs my hands again. My shock is too severe to find the words I need.Seriously, what can I say?If I don't behave, he'll take Espresso away. But how can I behave? He truly did kill someone that I loved.

"The families in this world demanded his entire bloodline to be wiped out. In a way, he did you a favor by giving you to me."

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