Page 67 of His to Bedevil

I put the phone back down. “Thank you, Mamá.”

“Now, are you ready to tell me why she is not allowed to leave your room unless she is accompanied by one of us?” My mother doesn’t sound angry or even suspicious. Only curious. It’s obvious she took a liking to Irma almost instantly.

“I guess it’s time you know.” So, I divulge the truth to her. How I really met Irma, how I held her prisoner for weeks, how I fell for her, how I manipulated her with her friend to marry me, and how yesterday that friend was killed trying to escape. I’m not afraid that my mother will be angry with me. She knows who I am and what I am capable of. Although, locking up a woman is not something she approves of. What I’m afraid of is that she might not like Irma so much anymore. She might think of her as an enemy, and that I cannot have.

“Okay,mijo.” She shakes her head in disapproval. “You need to tell her about her friend.”

My eyebrows lift in surprise. That’s the first thing she has to say? “I will, but not today.”

“Mijo.” She leans forward and locks eyes with me. “The sooner you get this out of the way, the sooner you both can move on.”

“She’ll hate me,” I murmur. “It was her ex-lover after all.”

“Are you sure about that,mijo?”

“She seems to care an awful lot about his life.”

“But did you ask her if he was her lover? Did she tell you that he was?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Maybe he was once her lover, but it’s you who she looks at like one now. She watches you when you aren’t aware of it. Her eyes continue to search for you. If she was involved with this other man, it ended a long time ago, because she only has eyes for you now.”

I know my mother means well, but everything she’s saying can’t be true. Irma might not hate me, but she is not falling for me. “If I tell her, all the progress I’ve gained with her will be destroyed.”

“The longer you wait,mijo, the more damage it will cause. Damage that may not be able to be undone.”

She’s right. If I want to steal Irma’s heart, I need to get this over with now, so we can begin to move forward. “Okay, Mamá. You’re right.”

Heading up to my bedroom, I’m feeling torpid. Between the usual stresses of work, the new dilemma with the Russians, and now the burden of telling Irma the truth about Matches, I’m drained and feeling overextended. Something only Irma can cure, but after what I’m about to tell her, she’s going to look at me with loathing.

I enter our bedroom and find Irma curled up in a chair sitting in the sunlight with a book in her lap. Her head snaps up when she hears me come in, and she gives me a warm smile. A smile I’ve dreamed about receiving from her when I enter a room, and one I might not see again for a long time.

“Hey,” she says, and closes her book. “How’s your day going?”

I walk over to her and sit down in a chair adjacent to hers. “It’s going all right. How about yours, my love?” I reach over and tuck some of her hair behind her ear. She has it down and has made it look straight and sleek. So silky to the touch.

She shrugs. “Relaxing, I guess.” She sighs. “I was wondering…” She hesitates, and I know exactly what she’s about to ask me. “Could I possibly see Matches? He was really worried about me when I saw him. I need to assure him that I’m all right.”

“No,” I snap. The word tumbling out before I can stop it.

“Why not?” she snaps back. The smile is replaced by thinned lips, and her amicable demeanor traded for an insolent one.

“Because I said so.”

“That’s not fair, Alejo. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me, and you only gave me five fucking minutes with him. I only want another five. Just so I can reassure him that I’m fine.”

“You can’t.” The more she fights for him, the angrier I get. Past the point of reason. I hate the desperation in her voice.

She jumps to her feet, her fists clenched at her sides. “You asshole!” she bellows. “You keep me locked up in your tower day after day, and I’ve only asked for one thing in return!”

I jump to my feet. “You can’t see him, because he’s dead!” I yell, and all the color drains from her face.

“What do you mean… he’s dead? You—you promised. You gave me your word.” She sounds betrayed more than anything, and I can’t stand it. I’ll be nothing but loyal and faithful to her, but I know this looks bad on my part. It was my responsibility to make sure my end of the deal was upheld, and I failed. The stubbornness in me will not allow myself to admit it to her though.

“And I kept it. I said I would not kill him.”

Something in her snaps, and her eyes grow wild as she comes at me, claws out. “You bastard! You fucking bastard!” She starts swinging, and I dodge every hit she throws at me, only fueling her anger more. “I hate you! I fucking hate you! I’ll never forgive you!”

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