billion book
Chapter 62
“Good. He is different. I’ve never seen him that affected by something. All he wanted was to get you out of there. We wouldn’t normally negotiate in a situation like that,” he added and looked at me with seriousness in his eyes.
I nodded, the gravity sinking in even deeper as he confirmed what I already suspected, that Azriel normally wouldn’t have negotiated with kidnappers. If Azriel had just seen me as ‘property’ maybe I wouldn’t have been deemed worthy enough to have made it out of there. He could’ve replaced me easily. I’d been thinking a lot about that.
“He did not stop until he got you out of there. He barely ate or slept and was hell on wheels until he got you back. Azriel has a short fuse. He needs to work on that. I hope…I hope he does. For you. Try to be patient. You should know he’ll kill for you. I wouldn’t normally say this to anybody but given the situation I think I can tell you this and maybe it’ll give you some insight into who my brother is. He’s killing for you right now, Claire, I’m sure of it. If this were my father instead of Azriel, he would’ve sent someone to do it for him. But my brother? Azriel will do it himself.”
I shook my head, “I know it was probably a direct hit to his pride to have his so-called fiancée —“
Dario cut me off, “Uh uh, Nope. This was more about you than about pride. I’m telling you, you’re not so-called. He’s all in.”
One of the guys who’d been in Mexico with us was at the car door, trying to get Dario’s attention. “One sec,” he said, and got out and spoke to the guy. Then he rolled his eyes, then motioned for me to get out, an amused look on his face, “The calvary has come,” he said. I didn’t know what he meant.
“My sisters and Uncle’s wife. They’re here. Before we go in, Azriel doesn’t want you discussing things with them. They know a little, that you and Azriel had a fight, that you messed up his face, that you took off, and that you were kidnapped, but they don’t know other details. Okay? He also doesn’t want you to attempt to contact anyone by phone or to leave the safety of the house until he’s home and he’s had a chance to prep you. Alright?”
My eyes widened. Sisters, rules, craziness. I wished I could just go up and hide out in the bedroom and watch some brainless TV and decompress.
“Come, you’ll be fine. They just want to dote on you.”
The four women were in the family room but spilled out into to the hallway to greet me. There was Rosita, Tessa, and two others. One looked a lot like Tessa but about 6-7 months pregnant and the other looked around their age, too and she had long dark hair and was model tall and very beautiful. They were all very attractive. The pregnant one pulled me into an embrace, “I’m Luciana. They call me Luc, I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Nice to meet you.”
The dark-haired one leaned over and air kissed both of my cheeks, “I’m Lisa, I guess I’ll be your mother-in-law soon?” They all cackled like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.
“Monster in law more like!” said Tessa, then she approached me warily. She’d stepped out of the embrace of one of the guys that’d been in Mexico with us. Clearly he was her husband. I eyed her apologetically and was about to speak. She shh’d me and pulled me into a hug and whispered, “Forget about it. Glad you’re okay.”
“Let the poor girl in!” Dario told them, “Give her some space!”
“Get outta here, you!” Luciana shoved at him, “Go home. We’ve got this.”
“Nope, got orders to stay here until Azriel is back. James, you can head out.”
James was Tessa’s husband, I guessed. He was the guy who’d signaled us at the car and he was in Mexico. Dressed in a dark suit, he was a tall, dark, good looking guy. He kissed Tessa on the lips briefly and whispered something in her ear and she nodded. Then he left.
The girls bodily pulled me into the kitchen where Rosita was putting a plate of sandwiches on the table. She put the plate down and then took me into her arms like I was her long lost child, “Look at you, Chiquita! Are you okay? We’re so glad you’re safe!”
I gave her a little smile, “I’m okay.”
Luciana sat down on a chair and picked up a sandwich, “So you were kidnapped and taken to Mexico? That must’ve been awful!”
“Shhh,” Lisa said, “Leave it.”
“Yes, leave it,” Tessa added, “She’s been through enough in the past few days. Let the girl relax.
Dario reached over and took a sandwich and then got a drink out of the fridge,
“Drink, Claire?”
“Thanks, just water,” I answered.
They all started to babble about things like food, about the size of Luc’s stomach, about the weather, about the last episode of the Bachelorette on TV. It was noisy, it was hectic, it was nice. It reminded me of my sisters and Lily. I let out a long breath. I wondered how they were. I wondered about my Dad, too. Had Azriel followed him to the mall and then had someone hold him back? Had Azriel found me before my Dad got there? I still wanted to hear that explanation from my father about all of this. I’d talk to Azriel about contacting my Dad when he was back.