Falling with Grace - Page 140

“Um…” I sucked my upper lip between my teeth and pulled it free, then switched to my inner cheek as I sat back in my seat, crossing my arms across my belly. “They were great parents. They didn’t deserve a pain in the ass of a daughter like me, but they did the best they knew how.”

“I don’t know a single teenager who wasn’t difficult at some point.”

“You know many teens?”

Elias sighed and nodded to Javier. “Let’s go.”

“Oh.Um…okay.”

He stood, and I followed him with my eyes as he reached out for me with his hand.

I slid my chair back, draped my small hand in his large one, and glanced around. “Where are we going?”

Did something happen?

“Mamá needs some things from the market.”

I frowned. “But…won’t that be busy?” He led me out of the restaurant, leaving the leftovers on the table, the delicate cake on the surface, crying out to be eaten. “What about my cake?”

Elias chuckled. “They’ll pack it up for you.”

He opened my door and helped me inside the car, then rushed to the opposite side and took his seat behind the steering wheel.

“You didn’t answer me. Won’t it be too dangerous going there?”

“You’re so concerned with danger.”

I hid my frown. “Look what I’ve been through.”

He lowered his head with a subtle nod. “Do you think I’d take you somewhere that would endanger you?”

My hands fiddled with the rosary in my pocket. “No.”

Yes.

I don’t know.

How could I put all my faith in him when, a few weeks ago, he threatened to torture me, share me with his men, and drown me if he didn’t get his answers?

Yes, things had morphed into something more complicated than I could have ever predicted, but that didn’t mean we had a strong branch of trust. It was more like a delicate threat strung through space and time.

The more he treated me as though I weren’t an asset, the thicker the thread grew.

And that scared the shit out of me.

30

Grace

“If you like it, get it, Grace.”

I looked up at him with the fresh mango weighing down my hand. “Really?”

He wrinkled his brows. “It’s fruit.” He dipped into his pocket and handed the weathered woman the coins.

“Thank you.” Despite my full belly, I brought it to my lips and sunk my teeth into the skin. I yanked it away from my mouth. “Oh my gosh.” My lips puckered, my eyes shutting. “It’s so bitter.” A sticky film coated my teeth, and I swiped it with my tongue. “Yuck.”

Elias laughed as he took the fruit and gave it back to the woman. She laughed with him as she ran a long, sharp knife along the fruit in precise slices, discarded the large seed inside, and then cubed the inner flesh.