Page 33 of Velvet Deception

He reached out to rub my arm, and the coarse touch of his fingertips on my skin was such a contrast that it felt even better. Rough, but in a tender, comforting caress.

“Easy, Sofia. No need to lock down from fear again.”

I stared into his chocolatey eyes, believing him. There was no need to let the fear of my trauma lock me down again. Not with him here and his touch grounding me.

I rolled to my side to face him, and he did the same. Settling in, he rubbed my arm again.

“Since the moment I learned that I was pregnant with Ramon, I have been terrified of losing him.”

“As a miscarriage or pregnancy concern?”

I shook my head. “No. I’ve always been afraid of someone taking him from me.” I licked my dry lips. “Not just someone, but the Cartel.”

I waited for him to react to my mention of the Cartel.

“Because…” He furrowed his brow. “Because they have always been in operation around here and oppose the law enforcement?” It sounded like he was trying out the words, aware of the Cartel and police in general, but unsure about his opinions of them.

“Yes. And also because Ramon belongs to them.”

He raised his brows. “How?”

“Six years ago, the Cartel kidnapped me from work. I was employed at the same hospital I found you behind. One of their leaders had been injured, and they wanted private nurses to tend to him at their compound. So, I was taken against my will and forced to work there for an old drunk asshole, some leader named Sebastian who was wounded. And I was raped.” I lowered my gaze for a moment, but I regained the determination to keep talking when he secured his hand around mine, threading our fingers together. “One of them raped me, and that was how Ramon was conceived. I managed to escape with another girl.”

I paused, frowning. “We escaped the compound together, but she was shot in the jungle as we ran. When I learned that I was pregnant, from a blood test at that clinic, I was terrified. I was avirgin before I was raped. That old drunk asshole was the father, and I knew that if they learned I was carrying a son of the Cartel, they would demand that I bring him back. I’ve lived in fear every day of his life that someone from the Cartel would find him and take him just because, by blood, he’s ‘one of them’ and should be with them.”

“Sofia…” He let out a long breath and scooted closer to hug me, already reading me so well and understanding me this well to know I needed comfort. “My angel.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as I burrowed against him, desperate for all the warmth I could take from his hard, hot body.

“I can’t bear to lose him. I cannot bear the thought of losing my son to them.” I reared back from him just enough so I could peer into his dark eyes. “Ramon is all I have. He is all I have to live for in this world.”

Frowning down at me, he seemed reluctant to accept that. “I don’t like that defeatist mentality.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t like it. It’s the truth.”

“Sofia, you?—”

“No. You can’t understand. He is my baby. My son. The goodness from the worst time of my life. I have tried to hide him from the Cartel and stay off their radar because I would rather be dead than lose my son.”

14

DIEGO

“Not on my watch.”

She blinked up at me. The need to argue was evident in her eyes, but she wouldn’t convince me. Not on this. No matter what she wanted to say.

To hear her say she’d rather be dead, especially so soon after I’d killed those two drugged-up trespassers to keep her and Ramon alive, enraged me. My anger didn’t escalate and rageather. I was furious that she could have ever been forced to think that, to harbor such a dark and fatalist thought. To ever, for a single second, think that she had no worth or value as anything other than being Ramon’s mother.

“Not on my fucking watch,” I repeated, growling it as I rolled over her, pressing her back to the bed. She didn’t balk, staring up at me. I saw the heat in her eyes. It wasn’t one of lust right now, but indignation. Irritation.

“That won’t happen.”

She huffed, pushing at my chest weakly. “How wouldyouknow? You’ve been here for a little over a week and you think you have the authority to guess how my life will pan out?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been here. I’m here now. And I’ll be damned if you’ll continue thinking like that. Like that’s the only ending that can happen.”

“Diego…” She shook her head and lowered her gaze.

I tipped her chin right back up. “No, Sofia. No one is taking Ramon while I am here. No one will hurt you.”

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