Page 19 of His to Bedevil

“That was foolish,mi pequita,” I state coolly. Standing to my feet, I pull her up with me. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for today.”

Facilely sweeping her off her feet, I take her back inside and over to the bed. Before laying her down once again, I ask her if she needs to use the restroom. With wide eyes, she just shakes her head no. I’m sure she’s wondering if I’ll retaliate for trying to stab me with my own fork, but I’ve practiced diligently my equanimity my entire life. Learned at an early age from my father that to have patience is to have control. And I would never tell her this, but it just endorsed her permanent residence here. I would’ve been disappointed if she didn’t try at least once to fight me or try to escape. It would make me question if the woman I think I know her to be was a facade.

“Very well.” I lay her back down in bed and tuck her in, removing some of the extra pillows so she can lay down into a reposing position. “You still need to rest.”

“I’m not tired,” she insists, even though her eyelids are getting heavier by the second.

“Rest. I’ll be back later.” I clench my fists at my sides, stopping myself from reaching out to stroke her auburn hair and kiss her goodbye. This sudden urge for intimacy and companionship was not even a fleeting thought inside my head until she appeared out of nowhere to wreak havoc on the solitary life I have built for myself. It’s hard enough having people in my life I care about and need to keep safe, but to willingly add one more will only make my life that much harder. Yet I’m willing to put in the work. Something in my gut tells me it’ll be worth it. That I have found the diamond in the rough.

Turning on my heel, I walk out of the room and send in Diego to keep an eye on her. “She is to stay in bed. If she claims she needs to use the restroom, let her know she needs to wait for me. If you have to use physical force with her, so be it, but do not harm a single hair on her head.” Diego nods and steps into the room, closing the door behind him. Diego is one of my most trusted men other than Berto.

Heading outside, I hop on the ATV and ride toward the back building to meet up with Berto, Marcus, and the rest of the tech guys. “So, what do you have?” I ask as soon as I walk into the room.

Marcus looks up from his laptop, grinning. “I think I found out who Irma works for. Or with, I should say.”

“Go on.” I nod.

“He’s well known in quite a few hacker groups. He goes by Matches,” he tells me, and starts typing away again on the keyboard. “It was not easy to crack most of his security barricades, but I got through enough to start a trail.”

“Put a bounty on him and send word out to your hacker friends,” I tell him.

“Already done, sir. No hits yet though. Of course, I’ll tell you as soon as I get any.”

“Good. And I want him alive.” I look at Berto. “As soon as we get a location on him, I want you to put together a team and get him immediately.”

He nods, and I quickly make my way out of there. I’m anxious to get back to my beautiful Irma. Now that I have a name, it may give her some incentive so I can cajole some information out of her.

“Alejo.” Berto falls in step beside me. “We need to go over that deal before you hole yourself up in your room again.”

Sighing because I know he’s right, I head to the main house and into the office rather than up to my bedroom. Sitting behind my desk, I get to work. Something I have been putting off since I brought Irma into my house.

Berto is going over every detail of the Russian deal, and I’m finding myself drifting off to thoughts of the beautiful redhead waiting in my bed. I’ve never wanted a woman so badly in my entire life. Never wanted one in the way that I want her. I know I could easily go and find myself a beautiful redhead with green eyes, one that did not try to commit larceny. One that wouldn’t try to kill me and who wouldn’t want to escape the first chance she got. But I don’t want just any other woman. I want Irma. I want her naked and willing. I want to see the fire I see in her eyes burnfor me. I want her screaming my name like she screamed at me when I locked her away. I want her as desperate for me as she was for the mango I fed her. How she didn’t want to miss a single drop.

“Alejo, I feel that your mind is somewhere else.” Berto breaks me from my daze.

Trying to ignore my sudden erection by shifting in my seat, I decide that I’ve had enough. “I need you to take the reins on this for now, Berto. I have some questions for a certain someone I am eager to pluck the answers from.”

Berto sighs and rubs his forehead. “You have a duty, Alejo.”

“And so do you,” I snap.

“She didn’t even get anything to her boss or her partner or whoever this guy is. So why is it so important to find him right now? He has nothing. Marcus sent out a bounty on him to all the top hackers out there. He’ll eventually be ratted out, and then we can deal with him. But for now, we have more pressing matters.”

Rising to my feet, I stretch to my full height. “Handle the Russian deal. I will see you in the morning. I do not want to be disturbed unless it is an emergency.”

It’s time to make my little songbird sing.

Irma

After Alejandro left, his guy who I think is named Diego steps inside the room to stand guard. I’m tempted to see if I can take him. I almost did back when he and that other guy caught me, but in my weak state, it would be foolish. He would also be more prepared for me this time.

I wasn’t planning on trying anything on Alejandro today, but when I saw the fork just sitting there, it was like a beacon. He was just testing me though. He’s the type of man that never lets his guard down, and I was a fool for thinking he would. A man in his position can’t. I’m going to have to become more astute if I want to ever escape the predicament I’ve gotten myself into. I need to regain my strength and do some reconnoitering first. Learn my surroundings and bide my time.

I wanted to chummy up to Diego, maybe even flirt some, but I was too torpid and quickly drifted off to sleep. Alejo, as Berto calls him, was right. My energy depleted so fast I wonder if I really had any to begin with. Just eating a small meal knocked me on my ass.

I’m in a deep sleep when I feel the bed dip behind me. Forgetting where I am, I reach for the pocketknife I sleep with under my pillow but come up empty. It’s a quick reminder of where I am and how I got here. The room is dark, telling me it’s now nighttime, but I don’t know what time it actually is.

When I feel an arm snake around my torso and a warm body conjoin with mine, my eyes widen in panic. He’s going to rape me, isn’t he? Of course he is. It was the biggest fear of mine when they first took me, but the most any man here has touched me was when that asshole backhanded me and Alejo killed him on the spot. And when Alejo washed me in the tub, I was very naked and very vulnerable, and yet he didn’t touch me in an inappropriate way even once.

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