Page 130 of Drawn Together

“I just gave you a stronger sedative; I needed you to be rested…”

“And you needed to be able to bring me here by force.”

She turned to open the door, and finding it locked, she glared at me with her beautiful eyes. She was angry, but more than anything, I could tell that she was terrified over everything that had happened, how everything had gone to hell.

“Open the fucking door, Sebastian.”

“I will. I just need you to understand why I’ve brought you here.”

“I’m not going to get on that plane.”

I sighed and turned to fully face her. “It won’t be for long…”

“I’m not getting on that plane,” she repeated with enviable resolve.

“It’s waiting to take you to Miami. It’s the only place you’ll be safe, at least until we know how we’re going to proceed…”

“I’m not getting on that plane!” she screamed as she pulled at the door handle. She started crying, and I felt repulsed with myself.

“Marfil, listen to me!” I shouted, realizing she was starting to have a panic attack. I gripped both her hands in mine, forcing her to meet my gaze. “It’s only for a little while. I’ll get you out of there.”

“Why should I believe you? You’ve been lying to me since the day I met you.”

“You have to believe me because I’m in love with you. Ilove you. Do you hear me?” I said, holding on to the back of her neck and pulling her toward me until my forehead rested against hers. Her breathing hitched, and my heart sped up in response. “If there were anyplace safer for you right now, I would take this car and drive away with you. But there isn’t, and I’m not going to let them kill you, do you understand?”

Marfil blinked several times, trying to clear her eyes. Seeing the fat tears on her cheeks pained me deep in my soul.

“You’re lying again…” she whispered, shaking her head.

“Why would I lie to you when I could be killed for feeling the way I do about you?”

She looked up to meet my gaze, and I felt something deep in my stomach.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Because I hoped it would go away. Because I was trying my best not to fall in love with you, Marfil. But the more I resisted, the harder I fell.”

She closed her eyes, and I wished I could run away with her, hide her, and tell her the whole truth. But I didn’t do any of that. I simply waited.

She took a deep breath and looked up at me. “I’m not going to say it back to you, Sebastian. You won’t hear those words come out of my mouth… Never again.”

That sentence was like a dagger to the heart, but I expected nothing less. I knew Marfil Cortés well enough to understand that she would never forgive me for what I was about to do.

“You’re as beautiful and cold as ivory… but I will always be ebony.”

“It doesn’t matter what we are. You will always be the man who left me in the hands of a criminal.”

Without my realizing it, she’d reached behind me to push the button that unlocked the doors and opened hers. She jumped out and took off running. I managed to catch herseveral yards away. As fast as she might be, I would always have longer legs.

“Let me go!” she screamed, thrashing in my arms.

“Don’t make this even harder, Marfil!”

She tried to bite my arm, and I held her tighter so that she couldn’t reach me. “I’m not going!” she sobbed.

“You have no choice…” I said quietly in her ear. She gradually seemed to accept the inevitability of the situation and stopped moving. When I saw that she had stopped resisting, I released her and turned her around to face me. “I’ll figure out a way to fix everything. Just give me some time.”

Marfil was breathing hard, and it pained me to see her eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t help but pull her toward me and embrace her. She resisted at first, but then she slipped her arms under my jacket and hugged me back.