“Fuck!” she snarled, reaching behind her to touch the spot on her back. Her hand came away covered in blood. She really hoped the bullet hadn’t taken out her only good kidney. Even if it didn’t, the blood loss for someone like her could be catastrophic.
She had to get out before the man who shot her got inside the bathroom. She’d picked this place because it had a window in the washroom with a fire escape. She was going to have to get out of the bathtub though, since the window was over the toilet. She took a deep breath, eyed the bathroom door, which was still in one piece and flung herself out of the tub. As she was kneeling on the toilet reaching for the latch, she realized there were no more sounds hitting the door. Had they given up on coming after her?
That didn’t make sense. The front door was thicker than the bathroom door and they’d had no problem breaking through that one. She stopped, her hands hovering against the window, and listened. At first there was nothing, and then she heard muffled thumping sounds. A man shouted, but it was cut off. What were they doing out there, killing each other?
Raina wasn’t going to wait around to find out. Whatever was happening it couldn’t be good. And she needed medical attention right away.
She turned back to the window. A scream leapt from her and she fell off the toilet as bullets crashed through the window. A man had come up the fire escape to cover the window and she’d come face to face with him. She huddled on the floor as small as she could get and covered her arms with her head.
She knew she was a dead woman when she finally heard the sound she’d been expecting. The bathroom door crashed open, smashing against the bathtub. She tensed, waiting for that awful hot tearing sensation to rip through her again as she was shot full of holes. Instead, she heard two muffled shots and a shout from the balcony.
When the seconds ticked by and she was still alive she chanced a peek through her arms. Mateo Gutierrez was standing over top of her; tall, scowling, eyes and gun trained on the window.
“Mateo!” she gasped.
“Raina,” he acknowledged grimly and looked down at her. He reached for her, dragging her off the floor.
She groaned in pain but was forced to follow as he pulled her out of the bathroom and into the main room. She gaped at the two dead men decorating her place. They hadn’t stood a chance. Probably thought they were going to kill a helpless woman. They would have no idea that she had an entire cartel at her back and, apparently, at her disposal.
“Jacket, shoes, purse. Hurry up,” he barked at her.
Raina didn’t pause. Her only chance of survival was with this man. She dragged a leather coat on, flinching in pain as it stuck to her back. She bent over to tie up her running shoes, but as she straightened, dizziness engulfed her. Mateo caught her before she hit the floor, grabbing the part of her back that had been shot. She cried out, clutching his arm to shove him away.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“Shot,” she muttered.
He turned her around and lifted her jacket and shirt. He muttered something she suspected was a nasty swear word in Spanish.
“Is it bad?” she asked, peeking at him over her shoulder.
“No,” he growled, and then picked her up in his arms.
This was the second time he’d done this. The first time he’d been kidnapping her from her university campus. This time? She didn’t know. He was definitely saving her life, but she suspected there was more to him being here. The timing was too convenient.
“Mateo?” she whispered as he glanced into the hallway before striding out her door.
“Si, Raina?” He took the stairs two at a time, careful to hold her tight against his chest so he wouldn’t jar her wound.
“Thanks for coming for me.” She had to say the words in case she didn’t get another chance.
He paused for a moment on the second-floor landing and looked down at her, his dark eyes hot with anger, possession and longing. “I will follow you into hell, chica.”
“Let’s hope not,” she sighed right before passing out.
Chapter Two
“Fucking stupid,” Mateo muttered darkly.
Raina gritted her teeth and sat as still as she could while he worked to patch her up. She’d woken up in a room she didn’t recognize. It was filled with empty cages and smelled like antiseptic. Mateo explained to her that he brought her to an animal hospital that was closed for the night. He couldn’t risk taking her to a regular hospital, not with the Italian Cosa Nostra hot on their heels.
“My people are looking for ways to get us out of the country. Airspace is being carefully monitored, as are trains and buses. The family you chose to cross have their fingers in everything.” His voice was devoid of emotion, but she could feel the accusation and anger swirling around him.
“I didn’t choose to cross anyone.” She flinched as he pressed an alcohol-soaked gauze pad to the wound on her back. She was sitting on a metal exam table, leaning forward with her back to Mateo. He’d pushed her shirt up. “I was ordered to work on documents for Antonio Savino. Not my fault the asshole didn’t want any loose ends.”
His hand dropped to squeeze her hip. “Watch your fucking language, Raina.”
She twisted around to look at him with a laugh. “You watch yours, gangster.”
Mateo’s sharp gaze softened. He reached up and pushed Raina’s pink glasses up her nose. “I forgot to say happy birthday,” he said softly.
Raina’s smile faded as her heart fluttered at his unexpected touch. “I was sort of passed out. It’s not a big deal.”
“Yes, it is,” he said seriously, then got back to work.
It felt good to be near Mateo again. It was as though the years faded and they were back in Sotza’s garden together in Venezuela, Raina trying to read a book while Mateo stalked and bullied her. Tried to get her to go back inside where he deemed it was safer.
Two years ago, Sotza had ordered Mateo to kidnap Raina and bring her to Venezuela to meet her birth mother, Elvira. As much as Raina had resented being taken against her will, she didn't actually hate her time there. In fact, she loved a lot of it. Venezuela was beautiful. Sotza's mansion was high up in the mountains; practically a natural fortress. She definitely wanted to go back someday.
But not today. Not tomorrow, and not anytime soon. She was enjoying life too much. As nice as it was to see Mateo again, she wasn’t ready to go back to that life permanently.
Raina suspected that Mateo wanted permanent. He was older than her, he was looking to settle. He was far more serious. And when he looked at her... he stole her breath. He made her heart pound. He terrified her. The things that he wanted from her were not things that she was willing to give him yet. She didn't want a home, a family and babies. She didn’t want the mafia.
Maybe one day, but not today.
Yes, Italy might have been a mistake. It would have been a fatal mistake if Mateo hadn't stepped in. But that didn't mean the rest of her time on the run had been a mistake; she'd had so many new experiences and made wonderful memories. She'd visited the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, gone dancing in Edinburgh, met a hacker in Jakarta and learned some awesome new digital printing techniques that would keep her up to date with her forging business. She wasn't willing to give that up. Not yet.