Page 60 of Taming Liberty

When we land, we stand up and stretch our limbs for a minute, silently putting off the departure.

I turn to Lib and place my hands lightly on her shoulders. It’ll only be a few days, but I already miss her.

“There should be a driver here waiting to take you to a man named Daniel. Sawyer assures me he’s harmless, but I’ll call you every night to check in anyway.” I pause a moment. I don’t want to threaten her, but I feel the need to at least state the obvious. “Please don’t cause any trouble, Lib. I’m breaking a thousand rules just by bringing you here. If it doesn’t go well, I’ll never be able to take you off the island again.”

She puts her hand on mine and gives me a strained smile. “I’m already aware of the implied threats. You can trust me, I promise.”

I clasp her face, running my thumb along her jaw before bending down to plant my lips to hers. She kisses me back like she’s going to miss me too, and I may be a fool, but I believe it.

I pull away before I can get too caught up in her and start saying things I can’t take back. “We should go.” I motion behind me and take her hand. We walk to the plane’s exit and descend the staircase.

Two vehicles are parked waiting for us, one silver SUV, which would be my ride, and one blue Hyundai that looks like it crashed into a pole on the way here. I frown at the vehicle, wondering who the hell Daniel’s driver is. When we step onto the tarmac, I squeeze Lib’s hand to offer reassurance. I could use some for myself.

My steps falter when I see who gets out of the Hyundai.

“Angel!”

My brother, Luis, stretches his hands out at his sides as he comes toward me. A dark-haired woman in a tight black dress and tall red heels steps out of the passenger seat and excitedly waves.

“¡Hola, mi hermano!” Luis exclaims, throwing his arms around me. I’m too caught off guard to remember to hug him back, but he pulls away just as fast, holding onto my shoulders while he looks over me.

“Has subido de peso.” He laughs and teasingly slaps me on the shoulder. “¿En serio, cómo has estado? Te he extrañado, mi hermano.”

“I…” I clear my throat as I try to recover, my anxiety up a million notches with Lib standing so close to my little brother. “He estado bien. ¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?”I’ve been well. What are you doing here?

Luis spreads his arms out while looking at Lib. “Bienvenida a España.” He drops his hands and leans forward to kiss both of Lib’s cheeks. I tense uncomfortably but am reminded she spent time in Spain when she isn’t startled by Luis.

“Buenos noches,” she replies with a smile. “Mi nombre es Liberty. Soy amiga de Angel.” She gestures between me and her as she explains to Luis who she is.

He squints at her, a little rudely, then his eyes brighten, and he points at her with his thumb up like his hand is a gun. “Americana?”

She nods.

“Oh, fabulous,” Luis chirps in a thick Spanish accent. He looks over his shoulder and beckons the woman with a flex of his fingers.

She scurries over in short steps, her heels clicking as she walks.

Luis throws his arm around the woman and hugs her to him. “This is mygorgeousfiancée, Simone.” He looks at her and winks.

Fiancée. My little brother, a small boy when I left for university, has a fiancée. Fuck, I’ve been gone a long time.

“He loves to say that.” She giggles, hugging him back.

“Simone is French and loves opportunities to practice her English, so this is perfect,” Luis rubs his hands together with glee.

“Pleasure to meet you, Simone.” I step forward and kiss both her cheeks, then I turn to Luis. “What are you doing here?” I ask again.

He waves me off. “I called the agency and canceled your car. Ridiculous waste of money.” His attention moves to Lib. “Please, tell us more about you. We weren’t expecting Angel to bring a date.”

A date to my mother’s death.

Jesus Christ…

“Maybe they would like to talk in the car? They’ve had a long journey and want to relax, yes?” Simone smiles at Lib.

Lib looks at me, but Luis answers for her.

“Yes, of course.” He gestures to the hunk of metal. “Please, ladies first.”

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