Her heart dropped. He hadn’t hesitated even a second. She didn’t think she could trust him, but he seemed to be telling the truth. He took immense pleasure in the denial. Which meant she had willingly…
Sabrina shook her head. “I’m done with you. I’m going to tell my husband you called me again, and we’ll figure out what to do about you and those photos.”
Mateo looked over her shoulder. “Why don’t you tell him now?”
Dread forged a path down Sabrina’s back. She turned to see Renaldo making his way toward them. He wasn’t smiling and the look he sent her made her want to wither away.
“Mateo. Sabrina.” He spoke calmly enough, but his face was dark, and his eyes were black and stormy.
How did he know she was here? How did he know Mateo’s name? “Renny, I can explain.”
He didn’t give her a chance. He just slammed his fist into Mateo’s face. Sabrina gasped as Mateo slid to the floor, dazed. Smeared blood covered his upper lip, and his nose looked painfully twisted.
Renaldo pulled him to his feet.
“Renny—”
The second punch landed in Mateo’s gut, forcing him to double over as air was forced from his lungs in a painful huff. Renaldo caught him by the throat and forced him upright, pushing him into the wall. His head bounced against the brick.
Renaldo got up close, intimidating, towering over him. “Stay away from my wife,” he said in deadly calm Portuguese so Mateo couldn’t misunderstand. “For your own sake, don’t ever let me catch you near her again. Or I will personally break every bone in your body.”
He shoved Mateo to the floor with a look of cold disdain. Then he took Sabrina’s hand and pulled her toward the exit.
She looked back at Mateo, who was on his knees with one hand covering his broken nose. Their gazes connected, and his was filled with anger and malice.
The message was clear. He wasn’t done with them yet.
Chapter Sixteen
“I can explain.”
Renaldo didn’t respond. His face was set as rigid as stone as they rode the short distance home in the taxi that he had waiting outside the market.
“Say something.” Still he didn’t speak.
They entered the penthouse and he tossed a blue envelope onto the table in the entryway. He remained silent all the way up to the master suite. She followed close behind. Fear of the unknown filling her.
“Renny?”
“What is there to say?” He practically tore his tie off and tossed it to the chair near the bed. “I cannot trust you.”
“That’s not true.”
He paced away from her and laughed, the sound pained and unnatural. He ran his hand over the back of his head and kept moving, as if he couldn’t stay still.
Suddenly he stopped, and he looked at her. Before she had a chance to read the expression on his face, he arced away and swung his fist into the wall. The sheetrock popped and gave way. A large hole appeared.
Sabrina inhaled sharply and started to tremble, but she couldn’t move. She was rooted to the spot.
“What were you doing with him?” he asked, talking to the wall.
“Not what you think. You have to trust me.”
“Trust,” he muttered. “What good does trust do when nothing changes? You want me to trust you?” He turned to face her, stabbing his finger in the air. “You were supposed to be at home, but instead I find you in a corner with him.” His coal black eyes condemned her.
“I was trying to negotiate the original photos from him. He threatened to share our…my…what I did, with reporters. I couldn’t risk it. I had to talk to him.”
“Without me and without my knowledge?”
“I know. I wasn’t thinking. But before you came I realized what a mistake I’d made. I was going to tell you everything.”
“Save it.” His hand sliced through the air. “I cannot believe you are still communicating with him.”
“I’m not.” She rushed through an explanation about the phone call and the conversation at the market, but the look of doubt never left his face. “How did you even know where I was?”
His eyes narrowed. “How do you think?”
Her stomach bottomed out. “You’re still having me followed?” She hadn’t noticed anyone keeping an eye on her, but then, she wouldn’t. He only hired the best.
“Luckily, I am,” he bit out. “You couldn’t even wait one more day, could you? The probation period is over tomorrow, but you couldn’t wait.”
“No, I was trying to fix this mess. He threatened to go public with the photos. I was protecting you. Protecting us. Honey, you have to believe me. I did not want to meet with Mateo for any reason except to get those photos. You and I have been moving forward. Don’t let this take us back.”
“I also thought we were moving forward, but I was wrong.”
“No, no.” She didn’t know what she felt at the moment. Anger, disbelief? Her life was falling apart for a second time.
“I told you I would not be blindsided by you again.”
“So what do you plan to do? Keep tabs on me forever?”
“What choice do I have? You’ve proven you can’t be trusted.”
“You don’t mean that. We’ve grown closer.” Sabrina took a quivering breath, trying to be strong. “I can’t live under a microscope, treated like a child. I refuse to do it.”
“You refuse? You’re my goddamn wife, and as long as you are my wife, I will know where you are at all times. And if I ask, you will tell me.”
Sabrina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What does this mean for us? That you’ll never trust me? That you’ll never really forgive me?” She wanted him to deny it, to tell her no, she was mistaken, but he remained silent. “I was trying to repair the horrible mess I’d made of our marriage. I know I should have told you. I realized it too late, but I was going to tell you. I only talked to him.”
“We both know in the past you’ve done much more than talk.” The cold anger was back in his eyes. She’d never wanted to see it again, but her foolish decision had brought it back. “I had him investigated and found out he has a criminal record. I left the report downstairs. You’re welcome to read it. Drugs, theft, simple battery—you name it, he’s done it. He’s a career criminal, Sabrina. Did you know? Did it even matter or was that part of the attraction because he’s the same sort of man from that life you’re familiar with? Is he more your type than I am?”
He was crushing her with his cruel words. “Stop it.”
“Is this one of your scams—part of some big plan to fool me and make me think everything is fine, that you love me and want a life together?”
“How could you say that? Don’t say things you’ll regret later.”
“How do I know this whole marriage wasn’t one big scam?”
The day had taken such an ugly turn. From hungry kisses to angry words. From desire-filled eyes to harsh accusations. “I know how it looked. I was foolish to go to see Mateo on my own. I admit it. But this is not a scam. My love is not a scam. It’s real.”
“Is it?” He walked over to her. “Or is this one of the hustles you’ve told me your family pulls? Am I a fool for thinking you’re nothing like your family, or a fool for not seeing that you are? And if you are, who are you like the most? You gave me so many examples to choose from, which I chose to ignore. Perhaps the aunt who’s a functioning addict and sleeps with married men, then pretends to get pregnant—even though she can’t have children—so she can extort money from them? Or maybe one of your other family members, like the cousin who writes bad checks? Or maybe it’s Jewel—”
“Don’t you dare talk about Jewel. She’s been clean for over a year.” Her protective instincts kicked in immediately for her cousin. “You’re so self-righteous except when it suits your purposes. It’s all well and good to pretend to the world that we’re still together so you can close a deal. Or there’s the convenience of hiring someone else to do your dirty work for you. You never di
d explain to me how a despachante was able to get my work visa pushed through so quickly.”
“There is no comparison between what I do to expedite business and the things your family does. You have a cousin in jail for selling drugs and an uncle in for fraud. The list is so long I cannot begin to repeat it. It’s in your blood. You’re no different than any of those morally corrupt—”
Her hand landed with a loud crack across his face. Color suffused the skin of his hard jaw where she hit him as tears of hurt sprang to her eyes. She wouldn’t apologize. He deserved it. She’d confided in him and shared stories that she’d never told another person. Had he thought he was better than her all along?
She’d cut off ties with her family years ago, except for Jewel, so she could break the cycle of drugs and illegal activity. Before she met Renaldo, she’d had a string of what could only be called affairs, not relationships, because she’d never wanted to get close to anyone for fear they’d find out about her family. He’d been the only man she’d ever shared those intimate details with, even shared her concerns about whether or not she was better than the life she’d left behind. She’d lowered her guard and allowed him to see past the tough, independent image to the vulnerability underneath.
All the years she’d suffered, all those stories she’d shared with him, and he threw them back in her face? How dare he.
“You arrogant, hypocritical bastard.” How had they gotten to the point where all they wanted to do was hurt each other? “You said none of that mattered.” She angrily swiped a tear that slipped from her eye. “I made a mistake, and I should have told you right away what I was going to do tonight, but I was only meeting him to convince him to get rid of the photos. I don’t want anything else to do with him, but I can’t convince you of that because you’re so damn perfect and never make mistakes. And everyone else in your life has to be perfect, too. That’s how you maintain control, isn’t it?”
“You’re the one who should be quiet before you say something you will regret.”
Maybe, but she couldn’t stop now. He couldn’t say those things to her without hearing the truth. “Everyone has to obey you and fall in line with your requests so that you don’t cut them off or have them followed or buy off their attorney!” She was yelling now. “Well, you won’t control me. I never meant to hurt you, and I wish—I wish—with all my heart that I could take back what I did, but I can’t. At some point you have to believe me. Otherwise when does it end?”
Sabrina pressed her hands to her chest. “I’m your wife, Renny, and I love you, but I can’t live with you under the conditions you require. I love you. Do you hear me? Do you have any idea how hard it is to say those words and not hear you say them back?”
“If you can’t live here under my conditions, then there’s no point in you staying. Get out.” His voice was cold and perfectly controlled.
“No. I—”
“I said get out. Don’t make me put you out again.”
Pain ripped through her, and she turned her face away so he couldn’t see how much he’d hurt her. She’d experienced pain before, but nothing like this. Like she was being torn apart from the inside out. It was worse than the first time he’d told her to go because she’d gotten her hopes up and believed they could live happily together again. “Fine. I know what I want, but you have to want it, too. I’ll leave in the morning.”
She had to get out of there. With tears blurring her vision, Sabrina ran from the room.
The door slammed, and Renaldo stood in the room alone.
His hand throbbed and was beginning to swell after suffering through the abuse of connecting with Mateo’s face and the bedroom wall.
He didn’t have time for this. Any of it. There was too much going on, cluttering his brain. He had to finish working on the plans for Estação Central. And he’d gotten a call from his man keeping an eye on Sabrina in the middle of the meeting with Paulo. On the way to the market he’d read the report in the back of the taxi and wondered if she’d been conning him all along. How in the world had she gotten herself mixed up with someone like Mateo Sousa?
Her empty words of love meant nothing to him. He couldn’t believe he’d fallen for her deception again. He’d gotten comfortable with their lovemaking, her laughter, and the way they teased each other. But if she’d thought he’d beg her to stay, she was mistaken. The minute she walked out the door he could pick up the phone and have another woman in her place in a heartbeat.
He pulled his phone from his pocket. He’d call Beatrisa and tell her to call one of her friends. It was time he started dating again. During the separation from Sabrina, he’d slept alone, night after night, wondering if she’d been with Mateo. Wondering if there had been others. He should have slept with someone else. Maybe doing so would have purged her from his system.
His hand started to shake.
Damn it.
He didn’t need her.
He paused with his finger poised over the speed dial button for his sister’s number. Already he could see the yawning, empty void his life was going to be when Sabrina left. He’d miss her. Her sweetness when she was trying to please him. Her strength when she gave him a hard time. The feel of her body, the scent of her skin. The touch of her hand. He’d have to give it up. All of it.
Renaldo closed his eyes. He couldn’t go there again, suffering through the torment of living without her. He wouldn’t let her go. He couldn’t.
He tossed the phone to the floor and barged into the other bedroom. Sabrina stood with a pile of clothes in her arms. A suitcase on the bed was already half-full.
Time stood still; it could have been seconds, it could have been minutes. It could have been hours, for all he knew. His strong, beautiful wife looked back at him with such vulnerability, such hurt in her red-rimmed eyes.
“Tell me what happened that night.”
It pained him to say those words, but he could no longer hide from it. She’d asked him before to let her explain, but he hadn’t been ready. Now he thought he was, hoped he was. Because if he could listen to her explanation, maybe he could get past the pain and say the words of love she longed to hear, but he’d only been strong enough to admit to himself.
Sabrina dropped the clothes into the suitcase. She blinked rapidly and brushed away a tear that fell onto her cheek. “It happened the night you flew to Argentina,” she began. “We fought earlier that day. You were still angry at me for showing up late to your friend’s birthday party the night before. You kept going on and on about the importance of relationships and how they were more important than money. I knew that, but I guess I didn’t understand it fully because I didn’t have those types of relationships. I didn’t have close friends and family. I didn’t go to birthday parties. My work had been my life, and the only family I had was Jewel. You were so mad at me, but I felt that what I was doing was helping us build our future together. I didn’t get it.”
She sniffed and lifted her gaze to his. “You were still mad when you left. Jewel and I had already planned to go out that night. She wanted to go dancing and thought it might be a good way to get me out of my funk. We had a good time together, like we always do. Men hit on us, and Jewel flirted with them, but I ignored them.” Her gaze lowered for a moment, and he knew she was about to say the part he dreaded hearing. “Mateo was one of those men. He sat down at our table and offered to buy us drinks, but we declined, not wanting to encourage him.
“He stayed and we all talked for a while. I remember I ordered a second drink and went to the bathroom. When I came back, my drink was on the table. Mateo and Jewel sat there talking. A few minutes later, Jewel was on the dance floor.” Sabrina placed her hand to her forehead, frowning. “I don’t remember much afterward. I know I had the drink, and the next morning when I woke up, I was in our bed. Beside me was a note from Mateo, thanking me for the night before.”
Renaldo closed his eyes. His entire body felt like one tight, clenched muscle. He’d asked what happened, but he didn’t like
hearing about it. “And you don’t remember anything between the time of your second drink and the next morning?”
“Nothing.”
It was quite possible Mateo had slipped something into her drink while he and Jewel were alone. All it would take was for Jewel to get distracted and he could slip in the drugs. Based on his arrest record, it wasn’t outside the realm of belief that he’d do something so heinous.
“And then?”
“I didn’t want to believe what the note suggested. Then I received the first envelope with the photos.”
“When I came back into town you wouldn’t let me touch you.” She’d avoided him and been distant. He’d thought she was still upset about their argument.
“Because I was waiting for test results. I wanted to be sure that I was clean. I didn’t know what happened that night, but I knew I didn’t want to jeopardize your health because of my carelessness.”
“Why didn’t you come to me and tell me any of this?”
“I couldn’t. I’d done something so awful, and if I told you, I’d lose you. But I lost you anyway, didn’t I?” Her eyes filled with sadness. “You don’t love me anymore.”
She thought he didn’t love her. How absurd. She was his greatest weakness. He loved her too much. So much he wanted to drop to his knees and beg her to stay. The same way his father had begged his mother.
She stepped closer, clutching her hands to her chest. “I don’t know why I brought him here that night. Part of me believes that I was drugged, but I don’t have any proof. I shouldn’t have kept it from you, I know that. But I was so afraid. Haven’t we been happy the past couple of weeks? I know in time we can get past this. Just tell me how to fix it. You’re the love of my life. Don’t make me leave, Renny. Please. Please don’t make me leave again.”
He saw past the anger and hurt to the earnest expression on her face. The pleading in her eyes and the soft tremor of her voice cut through him and forced him to recognize the truthfulness of her words. He didn’t have to beg her not to leave. She was begging to stay.
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