Page 13 of Beautiful Dangerous

When I married Javier Delgado I was sealing my own fate, but I didn’t care, because I’d loved him…

Twelve Years Earlier…

I can’t keep the smile off my face, even though I’m surrounded by some of the most dangerous men and women in Mexico and beyond. Our wedding guests are no normal guests, and that’s why we know the DEA, FBI, and other assorted law enforcement agencies from both the US and Mexico are watching from afar, just waiting for their chance. But while a lot of these people here today are dangerous, they’re also very clever, always one step ahead of the authorities, those that aren’t already in their pockets. Javier himself has at least two police officers, several politicians, and many other influential, powerful people on his payroll, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are more. It’s necessary. This world is teaching me that rules are there to be broken. It’s teaching me how far some people will go for more power. More money. The chance to become infamous…

The man I’ve just married is a man many fear. A dangerous man, in charge of a dangerous business. One of the most notorious drug cartels in Mexico. Javier’s power puts him in charge of large parts of the border between the US and Mexico, he has far-reaching contacts in both countries, with plans to expand into Europe already underway, his ambition sees no bounds. Javier is the third generation of Delgado men to front this cartel, taking over from his father eight years ago, becoming one of the youngest men ever to take charge of such an important and far reaching organization which owns not only hotels both sides of the border, but also clubs, restaurants, and casinos, all of them providing a necessary front that hides a drugs business worth millions. I know it all now, the darkness that surrounds this seemingly fairytale world I’m living in. It’s so far from that. I have protection with me wherever I go – two of Javier’s best Sicario’s. He needs to know where I am, if he’s not with me, so I go nowhere alone. But this is how I’ve chosen to live my life now. The kind of life I could never, ever have predicted I would be living.

“Is everything okay, mi amor?”

I look up, and I smile, he’s so beautiful. A beautiful man with a dark soul, and I know that mine may have to become darker, too, if I’m to survive whatever lies ahead. Am I scared? Of the choice that I’ve made? A little, yes, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But there’s no going back, no changing my mind, there’s a ring on my finger now. And that changes the game all over again. Forever.

“Everything’s fine.”

He holds out a hand. “Can I dance with my wife now, please?”

I take his hand, his fingers curling around mine. “Yes, you can.”

He leads me out onto the dancefloor and pulls me into his arms as the music plays and the sun starts to set and right now everything feels perfect. And I close my eyes and let this moment linger, I want to remember it.

“I love you so much, Olivia,” he murmurs into my neck as his lips brush my skin, his body warm against mine.

“I love you, too,” I whisper, and when he looks at me I feel a wave of happiness flood me, pushing back the fear; the apprehension, those feelings are pointless now.

“Together we’re going to change the world.” He looks at me, and he smiles, and then he laughs because he knows that was a big statement he’s just made. “You make me feel like we could do that,” he says quietly, his hand on the base of my spine pushing me closer against him. “You make me feel like everything and anything is possible.”

Maybe it is, I still don’t think I have any idea how powerful this man really is, not yet.

“I will always keep you safe, Olivia. Do you hear me? There will never be a day when you feel threatened or scared, and that’s a promise I intend to keep.”

And I believe him.

“You made the right choice,” he whispers, his mouth almost touching mine. “To know everything. I never wanted a woman who would choose to be ignorant, I wanted someone who was strong, someone smart and beautiful and willing to learn. I got that, and so much more. I’m a very lucky man.”

I look up into his eyes and I smile at him. My husband. My whole fucking world. One I can never escape from now…

~~~

“Olivia?”

Lucca’s voice startles me, and I quickly try to refocus. “I’m sorry, I must’ve drifted off for a second.”

“You should try to get more rest.”

I look at him, smiling slightly. “And you should try taking your own advice.”

He drops his head and scoffs. “I’ve never needed a lot of sleep.”

“And what makes you think I do?”

He slowly raises his head, his eyes meeting mine, and once again I can’t quite believe how blue his are. The most beautiful, ice-cold color, almost jarring against his tanned skin and dark-brown hair. It’s like a tiny drop of Scandinavian blood somehow found its way inside of him, and the result was those eyes.

“We should leave soon. For the meeting.”

He’s changing the subject, and for the briefest of moments I thought I saw something there in those beautiful eyes that I can’t explain. A look of… I don’t know. He shifted his gaze too quickly.

“We’ll leave when I’m ready. I’m coming to them, they can wait.”

Lucca takes a sip of his coffee and looks out at the ocean, but I’m watchinghim. When I first met him he was distant, almost indifferent toward me, because he thought I would be bad for Javier. That I’d distract him, I was so far away from the women Javier usually became involved with. Whores and hangers-on were fine, apparently, because they didn’t take up so much of his time. I took up too much, in the beginning. It took a while for Lucca to trust me, but it happened. Eventually.

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