Page 136 of Santiago's Conquest (Four Dark Horsemen 1)

Even though the cops asked me questions, they concluded thieves had killed them and closed the case quickly.

Santiago vowed to never let me go… but will he really make me stay if I beg him not to? The answer is probably yes, he will, because he is a monster, and it scares me too.

Can love flourish in my heart when my husband is my captor? How genuine are such emotions, and how much of it is just my psyche trying to protect me from dying in despair and instead urges me to fall in love with Santiago?

I might have created a bubble around my life, but sooner or later a needle will burst it, and then what will happen?

A bumping sound startles me, and my eyes fly to the terrace door several feet away.

I huff in exasperation when Leo bumps his muzzle against it again, his jaw slightly open as he sits on the grass.

Santiago’s personal pet or “companion,” as he likes to call him, has become the bane of my existence.

As it turns out, Leo stays mostly in a private zoo owned by Santiago’s friend where they take care of animals who have suffered from the cruelty of their previous owners and can no longer live in the wild. However, since Santiago found him as a cub, the lion has a super attachment to him, so he spends around a week here every month or else he gives the zookeepers hell. They run together in the morning over the property, then he lounges all day under the sun or sits by Santiago’s feet when he works or reads. Not to mention he loves all the expensive meat his owner brings him. I feel like an intruder in such moments and stay home, since the lion still gives me the stink eye.

Santiago has dragged me outside several times, holding my hand out and letting Leo smell it while I trembled in his arms, afraid to have a chomped limb any minute, but the lion just sniffed it. I usually rushed back inside anyway, so that was it.

He usually stayed home more frequently when the lion was here, but something major happened at the company last week, so he mostly spends his days in the office now while I sketch. Lenora is still in New York preparing for the wedding, and Jimena… well, Jimena has so much going on in life right now she doesn't have time for anything else.

“Stop bothering me, Leo.” He keeps staring though, and I exhale, getting up and placing my cup on the table. “I’m not giving you steaks.” He cocks his head to the side, his predator eyes still trained on me, because I swear he’s just like his owner—doesn't like to hear no and expects me to dance to his tune. “I don't trust you.” I wiggle my finger, pressing it onto the glass just above his nose, and he opens his jaw wider, snapping his teeth, so I jump back, frowning. “Exactly that.”

I love animals, I really do, but trusting a wild one who probably doesn't like me much wouldn't be smart, right?

Although, I do agree he is magnificent, and the way he loves Santiago is endearing. I don't doubt the lion would die if it meant saving him.

A man who has such loyalty not only from his friends but an animal too cannot be a monster.

My mouth widens in a smile, warmth filling my heart, and I tap on the glass one more time, winking at Leo. “He’ll be home soon. You and I just don't have a serious relationship yet, lion.” His whiskers wiggle slightly. “You have to earn my trust.” And somehow, I think it works both ways.

Spinning around, I’m about to go back to finish my sketch, when a knock on the door halts my movements.

Usually, no one enters this property. Santiago has several security guards by the gates for this reason. However, the yard opening from the terrace where the lion roams is fenced so he won’t accidently kill one of the guards should they need something.

I open the door and smile at Marvin, the youngest guard who was hired a month ago, and ask, “Everything all right?”

He smiles, although his eyes stay a bit wary, which I find strange. Shouldn't these guys be all stone-cold? But then again, maybe the lion unsettles him, fence or not. “I’m sorry for bothering you, but Jenkins hit his hand with a hammer, and we need to put some ice on it. Our fridge doesn’t have any.”

“Oh my God. Is he okay? He should go to the hospital though!” I already rush toward the fridge, grab a nearby bowl, and start to put some ice in it, while he absently replies from behind me.

“Yeah, he’s all right.”

I’m in the middle of opening up a second row of ice cubes when I catch his reflection in a small piece of shiny metal in the back of the fridge and still, the air sticking in my lungs when his knife glistens in the sunlight.

“Never open the door to anyone you don’t know well.’’

God, how could I have been so stupid? Santiago refused to tell me why he really married me, but I know the man who ruined his life is still out there trying to get him.

Looks like he finally found the way.

Resuming collecting ice, I continue to blab while franticly thinking what do next. Because if he is here, it means they’ve done something to the security, and running to the main gate wouldn't be in my best interest. “Hopefully he didn't break any bones.” I open the third row, even though my bowl is already full, and catch in the reflection when he lunges toward me. I dip slightly, moving to the side, and he misses me, which allows me time to close the door on him with his hand inside, and his cry of pain vibrates off the walls.

I run around him, but his other hand catches me, as he mutters, “Fucking bitch.” I throw all the ice at him, hitting the bowl over his arm and slip from his hold, running toward the terrace door just as another man pops inside from the main door. Marvin screams, “Get her!” The man jumps on me, his hand grabbing my elbows, but I push my other arm back and punch him in the nose as my knee hits his groin, making him bend in half.

Since there are more men running behind him, I quickly take my phone and, without thinking, slide the terrace door open, flying outside and running with all my might while trying to call Santiago, only to discover the line is not working.

How is that possible? Did they block the phones too? Who are these people?

Before I can dwell on it, another one grabs me around the waist and pulls us to the ground where I end up on my back. “Get off me!” I scream, trying to wiggle free, and hit him somehow, but this one ends up being smarter than the previous two and dodges my hits, trapping my knees and hands, and he smiles as if he caught the prey.

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