Falling with Grace - Page 166

“I’m fine.”

“Tell me, Grace. Your honesty…remember?”

My chest clenched, the tightness in my belly gnashing. “I wanted it gone.”

“Your tattoo?”

I nodded.

He sighed. “Why didn’t you say something? We can have it removed.”

His spicy scent embraced me, flooding my senses and calming the demons inside my head.

“I don’t want it. I’m not his.”

“And whose are you?”

I frowned and cocked my head to the side. “Yours.”

His jaw ticked as I nibbled my bottom lip. “Do you want to be mine?”

I braved his fixed stare, his eyes darkening as storm clouds gathered within them. “Yes.”

“Then you’re mine.” He kissed my forehead. “Not that you had a choice.”

He cared for me.

Rosa said as much.

I nestled my cheek against his expansive chest, my pulsating heartbeat drowning out his steady rhythm. “I overheard your conversation.”

His arms cinched tighter around me, then relaxed.

Idrew back. “It was an accident. I promise.” I shook my head. “You told me to come to your office, and, well, I went to knock on the door…”

He peered down at me. “What did you hear?” Elias’ tone, soft and gentle like bubbles in a bath, cocooned me in a sense of ease.

“Miguel threatened you.”

He chortled. “He could only hope that was a threat.”

“Are you going to give me up to him?”

His fingers traced a seductive path down my shoulders. A firm hand cradled the nape of my neck, drawing me closer with an irresistible pull. His breath escaped in a tortured sigh. “I can’t.”

“But they’ll die if you don’t.”

“And you will if I do.” He stepped away from me, his heat vanishing as though I’d stepped into a walk-in freezer. “Do you think he’ll keep you alive after what you’ve done?”

I took a marked step towards him, then retreated as his fiery gaze settled on me.

“You’re staying in the safety of these walls.”

My stomach churned as Rachel’s innocent face flashed in my mind’s eye. “What about them?” I jerked my hand out to the side. “Don’t they deserve safety?”

He gave a decisive shake of his head. “You can’t ride that fence. It’s a crossroads. Either you continue to keep quiet and they die, or tell me where they are right now, and maybe, just maybe, they stand a fighting chance.”

I gripped my belly and turned away from him—tears continuing their burning trail down my cheeks, my teeth biting into my lip. “You can’t promise me they’ll live.”