Page 71 of Destined for the Devil
My head was spinning, my nose gushed blood, the metallic taste thick in my mouth, but I followed her immediately. Before I even reached my car, I was already on the phone giving out instructions.
Fifty men were working on trying to locate her. Every single point of departure from the city was checked. Every train station, bus terminal, and airport had someone there within ten minutes. No Uber wasordered under her name, and we had no leads, but I was going to find her,tonight.
I headed to LAX, hoping that she made the obvious choice, but the call came right before I arrived at the airport—she was on her way to San Diego, located by one of my junior guys.
My Angel.
I was impressed by her efforts and quick thinking—she knew I would follow her to the end of the earth and did her best to conceal her trail, but she was no match for me. No match for the love I had for her. As soon as she bought her ticket, I knew what flight she was on.
And there she was, stepping through the sliding doors of the arrivals hall like a vision from heaven. Still in her little white dress with tiny red flowers, just an over-the-shoulder purse with her, wearing her tan sandals with my blood on them.
Her chestnut-colored hair fell in delicate waves past her shoulders. Her tantalizing body wasmine.Her captivating and pure soul lit up my dark heart.
Her beauty was unparalleled, and I loved her…more than I loved life.
And Iknewshe loved me. I’d never been more sure of anything in my life than of the love we shared. I saw it in her eyes, felt it every second that we were together.
But now she looked at me like I was dirt beneath her feet. Rage radiated off her in waves, threatening to claw my heart out.
I wasted no time. With quick strides, I was beside her in a few seconds, grabbing her upper arm, but she ripped it out of my grasp immediately.
"You want to cause a scene here, Isla?” I growled in her ear. “Let's fucking do it, but you're not leaving me like this."
Gently, but firmly, I steered her away from the crowd and backed her up against a wall. Travelers moved behind me, oblivious to the tragedy unfolding between us.
"Leave me alone!" she hissed, her eyes blazing. "I don't want to see you! Don't you get it? Don't you understandwhy?!” I tried to catch her hand, but she swatted me away. “What the fuck do you think is going to happen, Roman? That I’ll just go home with you like none of this ever happened? That I’ll crawl back into bed with the man whokilled my parents?” Her words were like bullets flying through my chest. “Didn't you burn the guy who killed your sister? How is this any different?!"
This was completely different!
"Isla,please!” The desperation seeped through my voice again. “I swear to you—I never meant to hurt you. I'm so sorry for what happened. I didn't know your father had kids, I didn't know I was breaking apart a family! It was business, Isla. Strictly business, and the rules were clear. Do you think he didn't use the same tactics?" I posed the question, knowing exactly what kind of man her father was.
"What?!" she retorted, both angry and shocked. "What the fuck are you suggesting?! That my father killed people?! Like you?!” Her face contorted in disgust. “My father was an honest and hardworking man! He cared and loved his family, he was involved in his community, he built his company from the ground u—"
"No, he didn't," I interrupted strongly, and her face began to burn at the silence between us, her beautiful gray eyes looking up at me. I knew how her father came into ownership of Anders Concrete & Cement, but I was certain she had absolutely no fucking clue. "He had blood on his hands too. But he would never tell you that."
Isla breathed in and out, her next words sounding calm and composed. "Roman, don't try to mar my father's name and memory because you feel guilty for what you did. Fuck you!” She swatted at my chest, her tears bursting out of her eyes once more. “I can't believe I ever fell in love with you!”
"I'm not trying to dirty his name, Isla! I want you to understand thatI did what I did because that was the name of the game, baby. It doesn't define me; it doesn't defineus.You and me, we-we can’t be apart, baby! Wecan’t!”I implored her, my voice shaking. “This is just a hiccup, Angel. We will work through this, we will get past it, I know it. You’re mine forever, baby."
Fuck. Tears poured down my cheeks, and my knees buckled. I dropped to the floor in the middle of the airport, clinging to her waist like I was a drowning man. My gaze found hers, both of us crying. Broken.
She was the love of my life.
"You’re everything to me, and I refuse to let this end,” I whispered, my heart threatening to burst out of me. “I love you so much. You’re my oxygen. I can't live without you, Isla! I know you feel the same, don't lie to yourself! Our past is behind us; only right now and only our future matter. Can you really see your life without this? Us not being together?" My fingertips dug into her hips as I begged her on my knees, all my vision blurred.
Isla covered her face and sobbed. "Stop…," she pleaded weakly. "Please s-stop. This is t-too h-hard! Don't say any of t-that!" she gasped out, her words fighting with her sorrow. "Don't say any of that!"
This felt unreal—like we were trapped in a tragedy where everyone lives unhappily ever after. In the airport, on my knees, crying and holding the love of my life—I had no idea how to continue living.
I didn’t know how to love until she came into my life. And now, I didn’t know how to live without her.
“Hit me, Isla. Hurt me. Punch me—do anything you want to me, butdon’t leave me!I deserve all the pain, Isla, but not this! Not this heartbreak! Not a life without you!”
I pleaded. I implored. I begged.
With tears running down my face and my knees at her feet, my hands trembled as I held onto her hips, praying with all my heart that shewouldn’t break this.
Slowly, Isla crouched down in front of me, her beautiful face flushed and tear-streaked. She leaned in and locked her gaze with mine, and for the thousandth time, I remarked how much I loved the way she looked at me—with care and love, that attention I had become addicted to.
