Wanting Her Back

Chapter Five

MARIA

"What. The. f**k". I spit. " What's going on here?". A look of worry is etched on Juan's face, and his eyes are bright and moving between Carlos and me and he looks like a deer caught in headlights.

I turn to look at Carlos, his face a mask of fury and annoyance. "Carlos, what's happening? What's Juan doing here, and why did he call himself 'Capo Nito'?"

" Mi cariño", Carlos starts toward me, turning my face towards him, and running his hands through my wet hair. "Capo Nito is one of my men, and he'll be around whenever you need him. You can have him as your escort if you want. "

I scoff at this. " You expect me to make this traitor my escort? You must be joking. You and you and everyone in goddamn house. Besides, I can handle myself because I'm no longer the 'Mimi' you used to know. It's been over a year, and I've changed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need the room to myself because I obviously need privacy to get dressed and I don't want to see you ever again, Juan. "

With this, I slam the door in their faces as Carlos and Juan exit the room, and I lean against the door in mental and physical exhaustion and slip onto the cold tiles as I try to understand why and how Juan works for the Mafia. That's probably why he's always busy and has to cancel on me all the time and why he decided to meet up with me today. He was in on the plan all along; fully aware that I was going to be taken hostage by Carlos' men. I shake my head in disbelief and get up from the floor, heading to the closet and sorting through the clothes, looking to see if there's anything I can wear.

***

The house is silent, and there is no one in sight when I walk down the stairs and into the living area. I found a silk nightgown that left nothing to the imagination, so I slipped it on and wrapped a white shawl around my shoulders. I enter the kitchen and dining room, and I'm about to turn back to go up to my room since there's no one around, when Juan walks into the living room from outside and heads towards me.

"Chiquita. I know you're upset with me. Please try to understand that I didn't mean any harm -"

"I don't want to hear anything from you, Juan," I cut him off. "You and I have been friends for five years now, and you didn't think to tell me that you worked for the Mafia? And under Carlos, my ex-boyfriend. You didn't think I should know about it? You've been lying to me all this while, and I suddenly feel like a fool. Here I was, thinking you worked with... what did you call it? Doregos marketing and firms? I have nothing to say to you, and there's no excuse for such betrayal". I'm on the verge of tears, and my voice is shaking while my breathing becomes shallow.

Juan takes a step toward me, and I take two steps back, trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

"You need to believe me, Maria." As he says this, the front door slams as Carlos walks into the house, a dark look washing over his face as he walks briskly to where I'm standing and grabs my arm. "It's late, Capo Nito. You should leave now. "

I immediately look at the wall clock in the living area and see that it is 10 pm.

Juan gives a slight bow and hurriedly shuffles out of the house, shutting the door loudly behind him as Carlos and I watch him go. Making sure that Juan is out of sight, Carlos turns to me and lifts my chin with his hand, unexpectedly kissing me before I can react, then he says; "Dinner? There's Enchiladas. "

He knows I can not resist Enchiladas, so it's no use being stubborn. I nod once and let him take my tiny hand in his large hand and lead me to the kitchen where he dishes out corn tortillas rolled around a filling, containing meat, cheese, beans, and vegetables, topped with chili sauce.

I hum in approval at the sight of the food and close my eyes as I shove a forkful of corn tortillas in my mouth. He watches me as I eat, and I feel a buzzing in my stomach, his gaze resting heavily on me as my cheeks are warm from the attention.

"¿te gusta?" You like?_

I nod my head in reply as I continue to shove forkful after forkful of food in my mouth without looking up from my plate.

"Whoa, take it easy." He puts his palm forward and makes a weird gesture that I don’t understand.

My plate is empty in no time, and while I'm wiping my mouth and trying to get out the food stuck in my teeth, I notice that it was just me that ate and Carlos was just watching the whole time. Dropping the napkin on the table, I ask, " Why are you not eating?"

He scans me from my head to my waist, his eyes glistening with lust and desire and his face contorts into an expression I can not decipher. He gets up from where he's seated across from me, the chair making a loud scraping sound against the tiles, which causes me to jerk a bit. He gives me a lopsided grin as he marches towards me and uses his fingers to push a lock of hair behind my ears, bending down and putting his mouth close to my ear, making me feel his breath dancing along my skin, feel the phantom touch of his lips as he whispers, "Sólo tengo apetito por ti esta noche. Te ves hermosa esta noche, nena" _I only have an appetite for you tonight. You look beautiful tonight, baby_

His words cause my legs to weaken, and goosebumps form on my skin as his voice washes over me, bringing a euphoria unique to him. My heart pounds so intensely against my chest that its echo reverberates in my ears, the loose strings of my emotions yearning to entwine with his.

With a firm hand on my throat, he tilts my head back, lightly pinching each side of my jaw to gain better access to my mouth. I stand up from the chair and rise onto my toes, my hand gliding over one of his well-defined shoulders as my other hand finds its way into his hair, gripping it tightly to anchor him in place.

I'm so into the kiss that I don't hear the phone ring until he loosens his grip on me and gently lets go of my lips as he picks up his phone from the table and exits the kitchen, muttering a 'un momento' before leaving.

I go to sit on the chair while I think about the last few minutes and how I just willingly made out with the man who let me walk out a year ago and the man who kidnapped me about three hours ago and the man who dared to include my best friend in his shady activities and swore him to secrecy, my heart beating with a loud thud in my chest.

When my heartbeat regulates, I strain my ears to listen in on the phone call, which seems to be taking forever.

"Ella está conmigo ahora y me estoy ganando su confianza. Sólo necesito hacerla mía ahora".

She's with me now, and I'm gaining her trust. I just need to make her mine now.

I tune out the remaining part of the conversation, trying to decipher the two statements I've managed to hear.

At this moment, I wonder about the main reason I'm here.

Why did he bring me here all of a sudden?