Page 2 of Alejandro's Prey

“Permission to take a helicopter.”

Reyes didn’t look up. “Denied.”

Alejandro was pissed by the immediate denial of his request but unsurprised. There were multiple helicopters for a reason – so the family wouldn’t become stranded in the valley in case of emergency. He gritted his teeth. He considered this an emergency and so would the doctor if he laid so much as one single finger on Gina.

Reyes set his papers aside, leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “Have a seat,” he commanded. An order, not a request. Alejandro didn’t want to waste a single second in the collection of his woman. Reyes grunted in annoyance, apparently sensing the hesitation in his second-in-command. “You aren’t leaving this mountain until she gets back. Sit the fuck down. Now.”

Alejandro dropped his heavy frame into one of the chairs, ignoring the slight creak as it adjusted to his weight. Reyes nodded in satisfaction. “Tall bastard, hurts my neck looking up at you all the time.” He chuckled, showing there were no hard feelings. One never knew with Reyes, he was an unpredictable dictator. He eyed the other man. “So, you finally decided to make a move on the woman you claimed a year ago only to discover my wife’s doctor has scooped her out from under you.”

Alejandro made an unintelligible snarling sound.

Reyes lifted his arms in commiseration. “Hey,mi amigo,she was always yours for the taking. I’m on your side. I’m just saying, wait for the other damn helicopter to come back before you leave the mountain. Got it?”

“What if he fucking touches her while they’re in La Paz?” he snarled.

Reyes smiled grimly. “Then you have my permission to remove whatever part of him touches your property. Good enough?”

Alejandro pulled his lips back into a feral smile, showing a frightening number of teeth and nodded. He stood slowly. “Permission to take an extended vacation with the nanny.”

Reyes waved him away. “You’re no good to me like this. Permission granted. Come back with your head on straight and your girl under your jurisdiction.” Alejandro turned to leave the room. Before he touched the door, Reyes spoke again, “As you will be distracted this weekend, I’ll send a unit for backup. You make a decent target and I’d rather not go to war over your hide.”

Alejandro jerked his chin over a shoulder and opened his mouth to respond. Reyes cut him off. “Non-negotiable,amigo. I know how much you love a good bloodbath, but this is the time for flowers and whatever else women want. You concentrate on the girl, I’ll watch your back.”

Alejandro grunted in response, jerked the door open and left without another word.

* * *

“I had so much fun!” Gina exclaimed, pulling her headset off and grinning at Miguel who was doing the same on the other side of her. “It was so refreshing getting out of the valley for a few hours.”

He nodded and smiled back, his eyes warm and his expression kind. “I agree. I had a wonderful time, Gina. Hopefully we can do it again soon.”

She averted her face feeling slightly guilty, knowing he felt more for her than she did for him. In a way, she’d used him and his feelings for her to get out of the damn mountains for the day. But she’d needed to get out from under a certain dictator’s thumb. And she wasn’t talking about the boss, Reyes. She meant his oppressive second-in-command. The man that stalked her every step, watching and waiting as though readying himself to pounce… but then nothing. The tension was driving her crazy.

And his insane rules! What was wrong with the man?

Alejandro made it his business to get inherbusiness everywhere she went, tossing out arbitrary rules that made no sense to her. She couldn’t eat or spend time alone with anyone except the immediate family unless he was present. If one of his men so much as spoke to her, even to ask about her day, he’d be lucky if scrubbing toilets for a month was his only punishment. She wasn’t allowed to communicate with the outside world unless Alejandro approved her phone calls and emails. He even opened and read her incoming and outgoing mail, and not discreetly!

When she balked at his many edicts he simply added more rules and enforced them either physically, by locking her in her bedroom or by cutting off her communication to the outside world altogether. And though she’d wanted to throw a temper tantrum worthy of her dear cousin, Casey, she was terrified of the big man and his psychotic boss. So she’d quietly acquiesced, occasionally finding ways to break the rules with Casey’s help. Thankfully Alejandro never seemed to find out about her small rebellions.

“Me too,” she said enthusiastically. “But I don’t know when we’ll get the helicopter again. I think Casey had to pull some strings with Reyes to get us this trip. I’m surprised he even said yes.”

Miguel got out of the helicopter first and reached a hand in to help her out. She never got a chance to take it. He was wrenched away from the opening with such force that she was left stunned. She rushed to the door when she heard flesh hitting flesh and saw Miguel on the ground with a bloody face, Alejandro standing over top of him. Gina shrieked and scrambled from the helicopter.

Alejandro turned dark, coldly furious eyes on her, stopping her in her tracks. She glanced helplessly toward Miguel. She wanted to rush to his aid, but she didn’t want to get anywhere near the terrifying mob enforcer.

“What did I tell you about being alone with anyone except family, Gina,” Alejandro snapped at her as though she were one of his soldiers.

She swallowed and dropped her eyes to the ground. “Y-you told me not to,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Except he’s practically family!”

“This scum is not family,” Alejandro snarled and kicked Miguel in the side.

Setting her terror of the big man’s fury aside, Gina hurled herself toward the men, intent on putting herself between them. She was hoping Alejandro wouldn’t actually harm her since he hadn’t physically done so yet. He grabbed her arm in an iron grip before she could fling herself on top of the doctor. She cried out as he brought her around to face him.

Alejandro stood much taller than her, around 6’4”, which would have made her almost a foot shorter if she hadn’t been wearing three-inch heels. He was nearly twice as wide as her with broad, muscular shoulders and huge biceps. She knew exactly how conditioned and honed to perfection his body was, having seen him work out many times with his men. She shivered at the look in his eyes. Cold, terrifying and utterly without mercy. Had she really just courted the attention of such a man by going out with another? Was she insane?

“Get back on the helicopter, Gina,” he said in a chillingly quiet voice as though giving an everyday command instead of telling her to do something she knew she shouldn’t.

The breath caught in her throat and she watched him through wary grey eyes. She understood that if she got on the helicopter he would get on with her and then he would take her somewhere where they would be alone.Finally, alone. The invisible sand had run out. Whatever timeline he’d given her when she’d first moved to the valley was over; he was done waiting.

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