Page 19 of Fighting for Ella

“Miguel?”

“Thought you got rid of me, honey?” he drawled.

A shudder rippled through her slim body. “I'm so glad you're here.”

In his career as a SEAL, he’d rescued plenty of victims. Every single one of them had the same thread of relief and gratefulness, along with a little awe and disbelief in their tone that Ella just had in hers.

“Tell me the truth, Ella. All of it. Now,” he added as he pressed on a pressure point on her wrist that he knew would indicate he wasn’t messing around. The last thing he wanted was to hurt an innocent woman, but right now, he didn't know for sure that she was innocent.

She whimpered in his hold but didn't try to pull her arm away even though he knew he was causing her pain.

“I want to know everything, Ella. Why you stole the drug, why you're here in Raul’s house, and why I brought you a revealing dress he expects you to wear for dinner. I want to know how involved you are. Are you the mole? Did you sell the Reactivator? Were you the one responsible for what happened to Scarlett, Lucy, and Cassie?”

Just like he’d seen a lot of victims, he’d also seen a lot of evil men and women. He knew that they didn't always appear evil until you looked closer. Just because Ella looked all sweet and innocent with her long blonde locks, wide green eyes, and the kind of smile that made you feel like you were being bathed in warm sunlight, didn't mean that she was either sweet or innocent.

So far, her behavior said she was selfish and reckless, determined to get what she wanted without caring about who she hurt in the process. And since one of those people who had gotten hurt was the woman he was sure would one day soon become his sister-in-law, this was personal to him.

Spinning Ella around, he shoved her up against the wall. Using one hand, he pinned both her wrists above her head and caged her in with his body. Towering over her, he didn't try to look less menacing, allowing his height and size to further intimidate his captive little blonde, because he needed to know the truth once and for all.

Leaning in close, he let his lips hover millimeters above hers. Despite everything he knew and all the uncertainties betweenthem, he’d love nothing more than to crush his mouth to hers and kiss her like he’d wanted to ever since he first laid eyes on her. Instead, he whispered a threat he wasn’t sure he’d be able to follow through on. “Don’t lie to me, Ella. Trust me, you won't like the consequences if you do.”

CHAPTER SIX

February 6th

6:17 P.M.

Right now,Ella didn't even care that the pressure point thing Miguel had done to her arm still had arrows of pain shooting up and down her forearm, or that he was holding her pinned against the wall, or that she was going to have bruises come morning.

Relief.

That was all she felt.

Miguel was there.

She was safe.

There was no way to properly explain the sense of security that seemed to seep down into her until it reached her very soul, but that’s how she felt. With Miguel there, it didn't seem to matter that she was still trapped inside the home of a dangerous criminal, she believed that everything was going to be okay.

“Start talking, Ella,” Miguel commanded, increasing the pressure around her wrists until she winced and chewed on her bottom lip to hold in a moan of pain.

She had to make a choice.

Keep her secrets until she knew for sure the bomb was no longer an issue or trust that she was in way over her head and that she needed Miguel.

Considering everything she’d risked so far, it was an easy decision to make.

Trust Miguel.

He was there, he was trained, and she knew he had the skills to keep them both alive. Besides, she was exhausted from carrying around the heavy weight of the lives of her family resting squarely on her shoulders.

“I’ll tell you everything,” she agreed, more than ready to share her burden.

“I’ll know if you lie,” Miguel warned, only it was unnecessary, she had no intention of not telling the whole truth.

When he stepped away from her and indicated that she should take a seat on the bed, Ella immediately missed the proximity. She’d hidden the pillows in the bed and drawn the curtains as soon as being locked in there, then grabbed the only weapon she could find and hidden in case she needed to defend herself from an attack. Which she thought she did when the door to her room opened. Once she knew it was Miguel she’d relaxed, allowed herself to feel safe, to know she wasn’t going to have to kill to protect herself because Miguel would take care of her.

“Start from the beginning,” he ordered as he stood between her and the door with his arms crossed over his broad chest. She wasn’t really sure if he was standing there to stop her from making a run for it, or in case one of Raul’s guards came into her room. Either way, she wasn’t complaining because he was a layer of protection for her regardless of his motivations.

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