Page 20 of Until Retribution Burns (Beauty in Lies 3)

9

Rafael

The streets of Chicago passed by in the window of the car, Isa's gaze intense on the city that had once been her home. Not even long ago, this place had been all she knew.

I watched from the corner of my eye asmi reinafaded before my eyes, her spark lost to the familiar prison that had kept her confined within the expectations of others. If I thought that her family would ruin what we'd built together, that they might tarnish her journey to accepting herself, I would remove them from her life like the weeds they were.

She may never forgive me for such a thing, but I would always do what was best for our life together. Her family would never accept the woman she'd become, not if they ever discovered the truth, and my Isa wasn't someone who could keep a secret like that without it weighing on her heavily.

"My parents’ house isn't in this direction," Isa said, finally turning her gaze away from the window as we skirted around the center of the city and headed for my home in the outskirts.

"No," I agreed. "It is not. We'll get settled at the house tonight and then go see your family tomorrow." The sun was already starting to set, and exhaustion was written into the lines of Isa's face.

"I want to see my family. They're worried about me," she protested, glaring at me intently. She was too oblivious to the tiredness that plagued her, far too used to it for my comfort.

I'd push her. I'd break her and destroy her.

But I'd also worship her and make sure she was taken care of, even when she fought me. "Tomorrow," I repeated.

"Rafe…” she started, trailing off as she tried to find the words to argue with me. Given that she was always so quick to respond, it proved my point that she was far too tired to deal with her family at that moment. If she thought they would just accept her new husband and his place in her life, considering all that had needed to happen in order for me to infiltrate her life, she would have a very rude awakening coming.

The battle she’d had with me would seem like a walk in the park compared to trying to convince her family we were the average happy couple and that I was worthy of her. Whereas Isa might have seen the appeal in lying to her family long-term to appease them, I wouldn’t tolerate such a thing beyond the initial conversation before Isa could come home.

I would never be worthy of her, and I would drag her down to the pits of depravity to rule at my side. I already had.

I raised a brow at her, waiting for her to continue with a smirk on my face. I loved nothing more than when Isa challenged me, even if I was already on edge, given my father’s bullshit and the prediction thatmi reinawould wither under her parents’ pressure to be the perfect daughter they’d raised in a cage of expectations.

When she didn’t continue, disappointment flooded me. Already she’d started to retreat into the more complacent girl who had existed before me. I’d snap her back to my rebellious wife if it was the last thing I did.

“Joaquin is to stay with you at all times while we’re offEl Infierno,” I explained, studying her face for a reaction.

Her mouth twitched with the need to give me a scathing retort, ignoring the man in question’s chuckle from the front passenger seat. “And that’s different from when we’re on the island in what way exactly?” she asked finally, crossing her arms over her chest.

I ignored it, even though pride surged in my chest that she still dared to defy me even after learning the truth of who and what I was. She’d watched me beat a man, pound barbed wire into his body until it threatened to tear open his gut, and she still looked at me as if I was the love of her life.

If that didn’t make her fucking perfect for me, then I didn’t know what would.

“You always answer your cell phone,” I said.

“So you said,” she agreed, her nostrils flaring at the repeated order that she hated.

“You go nowhere without my approval. That includes spending time with your family. If I don’t like what they have to say to you, then you will no longer see them. If your sister starts shit, then I will remove her from the equation,” I said, watching as her mouth dropped open in surprise. “I will not tolerate anyone making you feel like you’re less because you dare to live the life you were born for rather than the one they chose for you.”

“Because I was clearly born to be your murdering little demon,” she snarked.

Joaquin chuckled in the front seat, finally turning back to look at Isa pointedly. “You didn’t exactly hesitate,mi reina. I believe you are far more prone to murder than you would like to think about yourself.”

“Oh do shut up,” she said, flipping him off as he spun back to the front. “Any other rules, your highness?” she spat to me, glancing out the window as we rounded the corner at the end of the road and pulled up to the gate.

The couple who took care of the house in my absence had likely made sure everything was set up earlier in the day, and the security I kept on the property at all times was well in place. One of the men nodded from the booth by the gate, pressing the button to let us through when Santiago pulled the SUV up.

As he continued up the driveway, I turned to watch Isa’s expression as one of my secondary homes came into view. Much larger than Isa and I would need to accommodate all of my men and security that had to come along with us, the stone building was vastly different from the open and airy feel of the main house onEl Infierno. The Tudor-style house wasn’t my personal taste, but given how quickly I’d needed to purchase something that suited my needs and expectations when we’d first come to Chicago for Bellandi’s war, I couldn’t complain.

The line of SUVs parked in the rounded driveway behind us as Isa gaped at the size of the house in shock. Shoving her door open and stepping down from the vehicle, she ambled up the front steps before I moved to follow.

She looked so tiny next to the vastness of the house, I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around her back and touch my lips to her cheek. “Do you like it?” If she didn’t, I’d sell it and buy a new one to her specifications.

“It’s stunning, but isn’t it a bit much?”

“All the men have to stay here as well since they aren’t much good to me off property,” I answered, taking her hand and guiding her inside for a tour of the house and emergency bunker that would culminate in a much-needed shower and meal.

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