Page 88 of Wrecked By You
“No.” I folded my arms. If he wanted to get past me, I couldn’t stop him, and he knew it. But I wanted to test the waters, to see how far I could push him.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“And you won’t.” I hazarded a guess that hurting me went way above his pay grade. If hurting me was on the agenda, Mateo would be the one to dole out such punishment, not this paid muscle.
He sighed again. “Please, stand aside.”
“You can leave when Mateo arrives. So, like I said”—I jerked my head backward—“he can go get him while you and I wait here.”
His gaze moved behind me, and he jutted his chin. The door closed, and heavy footsteps moved away, growing faint within seconds. The guard returned his gaze to the floor, almost as if Mateo had ordered him not to look at me. Knowing Mateo, he probably had given him such an order.
It wasn’t long before two sets of footsteps sounded in the hallway, getting closer and closer. I stayed where I was, my back to the door, eyes on the guard. The door opened.
“José, you can go.”
Mateo. Finally.
I spun around, giving my husband—Ihatedthinking of him in those terms—a belligerent stare. José strode across the room and disappeared into the hallway, closing the door behind him, leaving just me and Mateo. I’d bet one of them had remained outside, though.
“Eloise. I’ve missed you.” Mateo strolled past me and plucked a slice of toast off the tray. He bit into it, then pointed it at me. “You’ve caused a lot of trouble.”
“Where’s Chloe?” I demanded.
He took another bite, chewing slowly. “Such a slice of good luck that brought you back to me.”
I fisted my hands by my sides. “I won’t ask again, Mateo. Where. Is. My. Daughter?”
“Ourdaughter,” he corrected. “Our daughter who you have kept from me for more than seven fucking months.”
“You know why I took her. She isn’t safe here.”
“She is safe,” he bellowed. “It’s out there that she isn’t safe.”
“If she is so safe in here, behind these walls, then tell me why those men got close enough to touch her, to pick her up, to smell her hair.” Nausea rolled in my stomach as the memories flooded back. “You did that to her, Mateo. You put her in danger, and as long as she’s here withyou, she’ll always be in danger.”
His eyes darkened, and he took a step toward me. “I see your time away has loosened your tongue, Eloise. I’ll have to do something about that.”
Threats. Empty threats. For all Mateo’s faults, he’d never laid a hand on me. No, he had far more effective ways of exerting control over me. Psychological pain was his jam, and he’d spread it thickly, knowing that being apart from my daughter was torturous.
“I want to see Chloe.”
“You will. When you’ve earned it.”
What the hell does that mean?
“Earned it how?”
He tapped his finger on his bottom lip, and his gaze traveled over my entire body. Head to foot and back again. My stomach rolled in revulsion, a new type of nausea sloshing around. I couldn’t. I’d left him. I didn’t love him anymore, if I ever had. I loved Johannes.
“No.”
He arched a brow. “No? So you’re telling me you don’t want to see Chloe?”
“Of course I want to see her. She needs me.”
“But your desire to see her isn’t enough for you to agree to make love to your husband?”
“Mateo.” Somehow, I kept my voice calm. “I left you to keep Chloe safe, but I also left you because I don’t love you anymore. I married you too young, before I’d lived. Before I knew what I wanted.”