“I’m staying because I choose to stay, Papa,” she said.
He frowned, glanced at the launch boat that would take them to St. Thomas, then turned back to her. “We’ve already tried to call Gianni. He’s not answering his phone. We’ll find him, though, and get the dagger your husband requires.”
Briefly, she wondered where her oldest brother had vanished to this time. Gianni hadn’t been around much in the last couple of years and when he did spend time with the family, he was even more secretive than usual.
“Wait a month before returning, Papa. Rico means what he says.”
“I will wait,” Nick answered with a hard look at Paulo, who was grumbling under his breath. “If you’re sure you want to do this.”
Want was a strong word, she thought. Oh, she wanted Rico, there was no denying that. But if she had any real choice, would she choose to stay with a man who could barely stand to look at her? Probably not. But the truth was, they were all out of options.
“I’m sure,” she said and hoped her voice sounded stronger than she felt at the moment.
“I still don’t like it,” Paulo muttered.
“Neither do I,” their father agreed, then stepped close enough to draw his daughter into the circle of his arms. He held her tightly for a long moment and Teresa snuggled in, taking the comfort he offered before he leaned back to look at her. “You are the one who decided to not be a part of the family business, Teresa. It is not right that you are the one to pay for your legacy.”
She forced a smile she didn’t feel. “It’s only a month, Papa. Then I’ll really be free. And so will my family. That’s all that matters.”
He huffed out an exasperated breath then snapped, “Take the bags to the boat.”
With a last look at his sister, Paulo scooped up their luggage and headed down the dock.
“You’re certain you’ll be safe here?”
“I will,” she lied. Of course, she wasn’t worried about Rico actually hurting her. Not physically, anyway. But every time he looked at her through eyes that spat fury, a new emotional wound opened up inside her.
Nodding, Nick looked up to the white hotel on the crest of the hill behind them, as if he could see straight into Rico’s eyes. When he turned back to his daughter, he sighed. “I should have listened to you, cara, about staying away from this man. I swear to you now, when this month is over, Rico King will be nothing but a bad memory. For all of us.”
He had never been a bad memory to Teresa, though. And she knew that after another month with him, most likely spent in his bed, she would never again be able to pry him out of her mind. But her father didn’t need to know that her heart was still uncertain when it came to the man who was now pulling their strings like a master puppeteer.
“It’ll be fine, Papa.”
Still frowning, he nodded. Then he kissed her forehead and stepped back. “One month, Teresa. We will come back for you in one month.”
She nodded too, though her heart was breaking. Her family was leaving and any minute now she would be alone with the one man who could shatter her heart and soul. “I’ll see you then.”
She watched them board the small craft and stood on the dock, gaze locked on the boat until it was no more than a smudge on the horizon. Then she turned and stared up at Rico’s castle—wondering what kind of dungeon he had in store for her.
Four
A half hour later, her family had left the island and Teresa was exactly where Rico wanted her. In the bedroom of the home he’d had built for himself on the island. Just beyond the hotel, there was a rise of land that overlooked the ocean on one side and the forest on another. Rico had known the moment he’d seen it that this was where he would build his house.
And though he had furnished it and staffed it and lived in it for almost a year now—it had felt empty to him until today. Now she was here and the palatial home felt...crowded.
He watched her walk around the room, stepping tentatively, as if she expected land mines to be lying beneath the gleaming bamboo floor. White linen curtains rippled and danced in the island breeze that wafted through the open windows. Birds in the trees beyond sang in harmonies that lent a peaceful air to this confrontation that was anything but peaceful.
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