Page 87 of Game of Revenge

“I am not giving up on this, you hear me? I am not giving up on us. I am NOT losing you. I know you feel the same way.”

His words shattered my heart into a million little pieces, tears escaping and rolling down my face as Alejandro kissed the trails away. My heart exploded, wanting to tell him those words. But as he started pushing me down on him more aggressively, penetrating me deeper, I rode him until he drove me to madness.

I woke up to Alejandro facing me on the bed and carefully removing my hair from my face. After the night we spent together and the stark contrast with what was to come, I wanted to tell him so many things, but nothing really felt right.

“I am going to have to leave today,” Alejandro said. “And I will be back when it’s time to go.”

My throat started closing again as I restrained my tears.

“Are you sure it’s safe for you?”

“Yes, I won’t be alone. In any event, I want to be there. I don’t trust Richard. I want you to be safe.”

“What do we do after that?”

“Well, you will have my phone. You let me know when you have the diamonds, and we will meet for you to give them to me. Mathias insists on meeting with us as well.”

“So…I will see you again?”

“I am not letting you do this by yourself, Amelia. And as far as Richard is concerned, I am Rick Hernández, a man with a lot of money to invest, so he won’t mind seeing me around as I feign interest in his company. He already invited me to a private event at your house soon.”

“I can’t believe he is organizing parties while I am technically kidnapped.”

“Oh, he played his cards right. He said you wouldn’t want him to act any differently and cancel, and he needed to continue living and be strong—for you, of course. Fucker.”

I shook my head in disdain. I would feel no regret taking those diamonds away from Richard.

“Once you hand me the diamonds, all of this will end, and you can go back to living the life I took you away from,” said Alejandro, jaw tightened, his voice deeper than usual. “If that’s what you really want.” His eyes darkened, searching mine.

“I didn’t do this to get away from you,” I explained in an impulse to let him know. “This is just the only way Mathias will give you the video you need against Richard. We both know our…situation could not continue as it was forever.”

“You should have let me handle it. I could have found a different way.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” he said, frustrated as he got up. “But this arrangement puts you in danger, and I would have preferred to avoid that at all costs, even if that meant…It doesn’t matter anymore.”

I got off the bed and went to my room as Alejandro went to the bathroom. I desperately wanted him to finish his thought, as I could tell he had taken my decision quite personally. I wanted to explain, but that would mean admitting to him that I loved him, putting myself at risk of getting hurt. I didn’t know if he was, or would ever be, ready for that.

Chapter 43

Alejandro

I didn’t want to leave her. But I had just a few hours to finalize the plan. Yesterday, when Richard had agreed on where to meet him for the exchange, my guys and I, as well as Mathias and his team, had gone to scope out the grounds, see where we would come in from and decide where we would position shooters to make sure we were covered. We didn’t trust Richard when he vowed for a peaceful exchange. That wasn’t his style.

I met the men I had hired, and we spent hours planning in a hotel room. I then headed to Mathias’s shop. It was an unassuming location, one story, a bit dingy, with jewelry cabinets and disinterested workers. The place had always been mostly empty every time I had gone.

Mathias was sitting behind his dark-oak desk, smoking what I imagined was his twentieth cigarette of the day. He wasn't a man that gave the impression of being a criminal. He dressed in business-casual clothing and had a warm smile.

Richard had a similar look to him. Many took him for a kind man, but I knew better. I knew the darkness that laid behind his eyes. I saw the deep lines across his forehead that so many took for worry lines. I saw the fire in his eyes when he wanted something.

Thankfully, Mathias and I had grown to find common ground in our mutual hatred for Richard. Mathias also realized that, although I wasn't part of his world, I had all the experience needed to manage it and all the funds required to exert power when needed. And he respected that.

“How did it go?”

“Good, all set on my end. The teams are coordinating to make sure we are covered on the grounds tomorrow.”

“Great. Are you coming?”