Page 24 of Alejandro's Prey

It took a moment for Gina to catch her breath. He gave her that time. “Thank you,” she said sincerely, knowing it couldn’t have been an easy decision. “Will Alejandro be there?”

“Of course.”

Of course.

* * *

“No,” Alejandro said coldly. “Get back in the jeep, turn around and wait for me at home.”

Gina stared up at her formidable husband in dismay. He was wearing his military-style fatigues and his face looked as though it was carved from stone, there was no softness for his wife. She hadn’t anticipated this barrier to see the prisoner once she had permission from his boss. Of course, the prisoner and prison fell under Alejandro’s jurisdiction, so he could stop her from having this visit if he wanted.

“Please, Alejandro,” she begged him. “I need to see him.”

“No,” Alejandro said coldly, steel threading his voice, “you don’t. I’ve been back for two days and you haven’t come to see me.”

“That isn’t fair!” she cried. “I thought you were avoiding me. I didn’t want to push myself on you if you didn’t want to see me. I was trying to be…”

“What?” he demanded, pushing himself against her and backing her into a concrete wall.

She clutched the muffin tin against her chest and lifted her chin. “I was trying to be understanding. It can’t be easy hunting down the only sibling your wife has with the sole purpose of… of exterminating him. You must feel awful.”

His dark eyes pinned her. “I feel nothing,” he snapped.

“Fine,” she snapped back, stiffening her spine. “Then you won’t mind if I see the prisoner, bring him a last meal. Say my goodbye to him before you murder him. My only brother.”

His face finally softened. “Gina…”

“Please, Alejandro,” she jumped at the slight weakening. “I just need to… to see him, ask him why he did it.”

“I know why he did it,cariña. I’ve been interrogating him for days,” Alejandro growled in frustration. “He felt it was his only chance at survival. He sacrificed your entire family for himself. Everyone except you. And chances are they would’ve come after you too except Sosa got to you faster than they could’ve anticipated. Beck was supposed to die too, but he escaped the assassination squad and laid low, hiding out in Mexico, building his own resources until he could find the sister who disappeared.”

Tears threatened to ruin her moment, so she stood up straighter and lifted her chin. “Please, Alejandro,” she choked out. “Please don’t deny me the chance to see his face.”

Alejandro studied her for a moment and then jerked his chin toward the interior door. “I’ll give you five minutes, Gina. No more,” he told her, placing a hand at her back and escorting her through. “And I’m coming in with you.”

She hadn’t expected anything else. She waited, trying to calm her erratic breathing while he punched a code into a door. The door slid open, revealing a sterile room filled with metal and concrete. Inside the room was a small table with two chairs and a bench for sleeping. A man a few years older than Gina was laying on the bench. He sat up easily.

She released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and looked him over. No visible signs of torture. Beck stood, staring at Gina with disbelief and dawning happiness. She didn’t know why he would be pleased under these circumstances. He had to know he wasn’t going to be alive for much longer. His blond hair was cut short and his stormy grey eyes were bloodshot. He looked older than his thirty years. Perhaps the stress spent running and hiding for more than a decade. Even his decision to go after Alejandro and kidnap Gina couldn’t have been easy. He had to have known it was a foolish plan, likely to end in his own death. Reyes was not a man to suffer fools.

“Angelina,” he said, his deep voice pleased.

“Beck,” she said, short and clipped.

He stepped forward, reaching out as if to hug her. Alejandro stepped in between them, giving her brother such a look of loathing that the younger man stepped quickly back, raising his hands. “You don’t touch her or we end this meeting and I end you shortly thereafter. Understand?”

“Yes,” Beck said quickly.

“Sit.” Alejandro pointed at the table.

Beck obeyed. He’d either learned that crossing Alejandro wasn’t healthy or he understood the precariousness of his position. Alejandro pulled the other chair out and set it a good two feet away from the table before giving Gina the go ahead to sit. Then he stood behind her with his arms crossed, ready to strike the moment Beck said or did anything he didn’t approve of. Gina placed the muffin tin on the table and folded her hands in her lap.

“You’re very lovely, Gina,” Beck said, his voice light and his eyes shining. “I always knew you’d grow up this way. I’m so glad you came to see me.”

She frowned and struggled for several moments with conflicting emotions rushing through her. First and foremost was the need to wipe the look of adoration from his face. “You murdered our parents,” she said accusingly, cutting straight to the point. “If not directly, you were entirely responsible. You could have warned them.”

His face grew more serious though he continued to look at her with such love that she was beginning to think he might be unbalanced. “I had to do it, Gina. You were vulnerable. The cartel could get to you. They showed me how easy it would be by giving me pictures of you on your way to school. By telling them how to get to mom and dad, I was able to save you.”

Gina had to smother a gag. He was pleading with her, trying to get her to understand his actions. She shook her head. “Nothing justifies what you did. I would rather have died than betray my family. You should’ve done something.”

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