Page 7 of Savage Assassin

“This threat wouldn’t exist if she’d just marry–”

“Enough!” My father slams his palm down on the dining table, his jaw tightening. “I’ve made the decision, Lupé. Elena is going to Boston. I want her out of Diego’s reach and out of harm’s way. I’m not going to change my mind.”

The rest of dinner is a tense, quiet affair. I excuse myself as quickly as I can after the dessert course, my stomach so knotted with anxiety that I barely ate anything. I hurry upstairs, going straight to my room, thankfully not seeing José before I’m inside. I don’t think I can deal with his mood tonight, and despite how exhausted I am, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep.

When I do finally drift off, it’s far from peaceful. I dream of gunfire and flames licking at the walls of the house, of screams and Diego’s grinning face looming over mine.You’re going to be my bride, little one,he whispers in my ear, his hands plucking at the front of my clothes, tugging them down as they start to roam, his hot breath on my face–

I jerk awake to that same feeling. Someone’s hands are on me, warm breath against my cheek, and I freeze in place for a second in sheer terror before I realize that I’m awake and that it’s not a dream.

For one chilling second, I think that itisDiego, that he’s gotten into the house somehow, that it’s his hands and mouth on me, ready to force me into being his.

Somehow, that thought catalyzes into action, flooding me with adrenaline as I buck wildly underneath the person holding me, kicking and slapping as I open my mouth to scream.

The instant that I feel a hard hand over my mouth, I know that it’s not Diego. I hear a voice in my ear, murmuring quietly, and shock jolts through me.

“Lie still, little one,” José murmurs, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. “I thought I might take you to Diego and get a reward for everything I’ve lost trying to protect this fucking family. But if you please me, maybe I’ll think of something else–”

“Fuck you!” I scream from behind his palm, the shriek muffled as I try to drive a knee into his stomach. His other hand is busy pulling the blankets down, grabbing at my nightgown as he tries to wrestle me into submission, but I’m determined not to make it easy for him. I twist my head, biting at his hand, and he yelps as my teeth sink into the side of it, jolting backward a little as he tries to pin me in place.

This time, I don’t miss the opportunity to scream.

“Fuckingbitch!” José grabs me by the shoulders, wrestling me upwards out of the bed. “Fine. I’m taking you to fucking Diego. You can enjoy losing your virginity to him, you little–”

“Don’t fucking move.”

A male voice comes from the door, and José freezes, his hands digging into my arms as he swallows hard.

“Let go of her, and I won’t shoot you where you stand right now. You can try pleading your case toseñorSantiago, though I don’t think it’ll help you.”

There are already footsteps moving into my room, other guards striding in to grab José as he hesitates, pulling him away from me. I snatch the blankets back up, covering myself as they haul him cursing out of the room, almost at the point of hyperventilating as I sit there in stunned shock. It had all happened so fast that I still barely have time to process it all.

I press one hand to my chest, trying to catch my breath as the sounds of the guards dragging José downstairs drift up to me, trying not to burst into hysterical tears. I’m shaking all over, and I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear footsteps at the door, before I realize a second later that it’s my mother coming into the room.

“What happened?” she asks crisply, pulling her robe tighter around her as she walks to the edge of my bed. She reaches for the light, flicking it on as she scans me quickly. “What did that boy do?”

From the expression on her face, I can instantly tell that what’s going through her head isn’t sympathetic or anything to do with how to give me the comfort I desperately need at this moment. I know she’s still hoping that my father might change his mind and give me to Diego, and in the same vein, she’s worried that José might have damaged my value for that in some way.

“He didn’t get far, if you’re worried about whether or not I can still be sold off for my virginity,” I tell her crossly, wrapping my arms around myself as I try to calm the chattering of my teeth. “He just got his hands on me, that’s all. Nothing serious.”

“Consider yourself very fortunate, then.” Her jaw tightens as she looks down at me. “If you’d do what the family needs, Elena, you wouldn’t be in these positions. You’d already be at Diego’s, preparing to be his wife, and José would never have gotten his hands on you.”

“You’re blamingmefor this?” I stare at her. “I wassleeping–”

“I can’t believe I have two such ungrateful daughters.” My mother’s hands flutter in front of her, her lips pressed thinly together. “Your duty was always to marry to help this family, as was Isabella’s. But neither of you is willing to do what needs to be done. So now you’re going to abandon us–”

“What will happen to him?” I interrupt her, forcing the words out past the lump in my throat. “José. What will happen?”

“He’ll be killed, most likely,” my mother says crisply. “For touching one of the Santiago girls. As he should be. But that doesn’t change the fact that if you’d done as you were told–”

“No one told me to marry Diego.” The words sound strangled as they come out. “He asked for me, andPapasaid no. So what am I supposed to do? Go there myself and offer to marry him?”

“You should have told your father that you wanted to do your duty.” She glares down her nose at me. “But it doesn’t matter now. The best we can do is hope that nothing is said about this, regardless of what happened, and that your father has a change of heart before this man comes and takes you back to Boston.” She sniffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’d make the arrangements with Diego myself, if I didn’t think your father would kill me for it.”

“You wouldn’t,” I whisper, staring at her in shock. “You wouldn’t do that–”

“Oh, stop acting like you’re being sent to a firing squad. A woman’s job in this world, in families like ours, is to marry and have children. That’s all there is to it.”

Someone shouts my mother’s name from downstairs, and I see her mouth form a thin line again. “Go back to sleep, Elena. Consider yourself lucky that someone got up here before it was too late.”

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