Chapter 29

The now very familiar susurration of the waves softly crashing on the sand and the strong sunrise lighting up the whole bedroom brought me back to reality. I reluctantly got up to brush my teeth and wash my face, but I quickly returned to bed for a moment, enjoying the reflection of the light on the curtains, the peaceful sound of the sea, the room coming alive with a rainbow of colors.

I heard a knock on the door and got a bit frazzled as I was only wearing my underwear and Alejandro's shirt. I was ecstatic when I saw Dolores walk in. I got up and ran to her, giving her a hug. Dolores hugged me back, tears in her eyes.

"I am so happy you are okay!" she sobbed.

"Stop it. You are going to make me cry," I said, tears obstructing my view. "How did you get here?"

"Don Alejandro told me what happened. He didn't want me to go back to the house even if security tripled! So I came here to keep you company," she said, smiling sweetly.

"I'm so glad!" I hugged her again.

"I brought you some clothing," said Dolores as she put a pile on the bed. I giggled like a teenager as I grabbed a light-pink, flowy cotton skirt and quickly slipped it on in the bathroom. I kept on Alejandro's shirt for now.

"Thank you, Dolores. I"ve missed you so much!" I hugged her again. When I lifted my head, I saw Alejandro standing in the doorway, smiling at us.

"She refused to stay at her home like I asked her to," he explained.

Alejandro looked great, more relaxed, as he was quickly regaining his strength from the bullet wound. If I didn't know any better, I would think nothing ever happened to him. He was wearing a pair of light jeans with a white short-sleeve shirt, his eyes teasing my senses, my body vibrating under his gaze. Why was it that every time he was in the room with me, it felt like we were the only people there?

"It is safe," added Dolores in an attempt to appease me.

"Yes. No one knows she comes here—or that we are here, for that matter."

"And I will be coming every day," she announced, turning to Alejandro. "You should be resting. You have to stay in bed as much as possible," she ordered.

I was glad to see that someone else would take charge of forcing this man to recognize that he got shot recently. It was starting to feel like forever ago.

"The doctor also said I need to move around," he protested, smiling.

"I will make sure you rest," she countered, dismissing his statement. "I am going to go make breakfast. Amelia, I will bring you more clothes, okay?"

"Thank you!"

Dolores left and closed the door behind her. Alejandro walked to the door and locked it. I took a deep breath.

"I see you are enjoying my shirt," he teased as he slowly walked toward the bed.

"I didn't exactly have anything else to wear," I retorted, not in the mood to play games.

"Fair. I should have thought of that."

"Do you need anything?"

"We do have a conversation pending," he answered.

"We do." I sighed.

"Sit with me." He sat on the edge of the bed, facing the window. I followed.

"I am sorry that you got caught in the middle of all of this."

"Me too."

I understood deep down that he might have felt like committing a crime was the only way to have a shot at avenging his brother. I didn't have any siblings, but my friends were like sisters to me, and if someone ever tried to hurt any of them, I knew there wasn't much I wouldn't do to protect them. So, in that sense, I understood. That didn't mean I wasn't still bothered by what he had done to me. It didn't mean I wasn't still hurt.

"That night," he continued, "I was a guest at your party, but I wasn't there to take you. As far as Richard knows, I am a prospective investor in his company, so he invited me to your birthday party."

"He doesn't know you kidnapped me?"

"No"—he paused—"because I didn't. He thinks you are with Mathias and his people—the man he robbed. He has no idea about my brother or that I have anything to do with this."

My eyes squinted, confused.

"I told you; I did not kidnap you. You weren't part of the plan. I was at your party to find the diamonds. Mathias had some of his men and mine break into your house, taking advantage of the distraction created by the celebration. My job was to be a guest and keep my eyes open in case Richard or you decided to go to his office."

I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that was threatening to choke me.

"I see. And I take it they didn't find the diamonds?"

"No, they broke open two safes in Richard's office, but no diamonds were found. Mathias got desperate and ordered his men to take you, to use you for ransom in exchange for the diamonds. I tried to stop them. Putting lives in danger wasn't what we had agreed on, nor was taking anyone hostage, but it was just me and two of my men against ten of his. They grabbed you and took you to that house. I rushed there to get you away from them, but I had to play it safe. I could not seem too eager to help you, or they wouldn't trust me. These men are dangerous, Amelia, and I just could not leave you with them. But at that point, I also couldn't simply bring you back to your house. It was too late. They had already contacted Richard; the news was out in California."

Alejandro got up and started pacing slowly, hands in his pockets.

"They could have raped you. Their idea of using you was to cut off a finger and send it to Richard. I couldn't let that happen. I had to let you suffer at their hands for a bit so that Mathias would think that, even if I took you with me, I would be willing to hurt you if it came to that. He needed to trust I wouldn't mess anything up for him. He eventually accepted that you be under my watch. That day you tried to escape from where they had you, I convinced him that I'd be able to keep you from escaping and I'd use you when needed to get the diamonds. Your attempted escape helped me convince him I would do a better job watching you than his people. But he still insisted on sending Juan and Karina to check on you, to make sure I was still holding you captive. I couldn"t give you special treatment in front of them."

I could not take my eyes off him, feeling like if I did, I would realize that this was just a dream. He looked sad and frustrated. This would explain some of Dolores's anxiety and comments when Juan was around the house.

"If it looked like I was treating you like a guest, or really anything more than a means to an end, Mathias could insist that he take you back in his custody. And I would kill him and every single one of his men before I would let that happen. There was no fucking way I would let anyone of them put single finger on you, fuck the consequences. But I had to gain his trust, so I had to pretend I would be willing to torture you if need be."

I felt my throat close up a bit, tears threatening to roll down my face. He had gone to great lengths to protect me.

"Since you were taken, Mathias has been negotiating the ransom with Richard. It took us a bit to realize that he was stalling us. He cried on live television for you, Amelia, but eventually, he told us to go fuck ourselves. Right after that, we got attacked in my house."

"How did they know where we were if they don't know you are involved in this?"

"Our best guess is that Juan or Karina told the cop. That cop you saw…he worked on the robbery case. It's now clear that he really works for Richard, and that's why we couldn't put a case against him for murder. Juan or Karina must have told him where you were. That might also explain why Juan attacked you before. Richard doesn't know my real name, so he might just think I am one of Mathias's men or that the hacienda is his property."

Alejandro put his hand on my shoulder.

"We think Richard sent the cop to kill you with the intent to frame Mathias for your murder. He'd pass this off as a failed rescue by Mexican law enforcement and would, of course, keep the diamonds."

I closed my eyes, trying to process it all.

"He's always liked to play the role of the amazing father who does what it takes for his poor, unfortunate stepdaughter," I said as I got off the bed. "He has to show the world that he tried to rescue me. But if I die, he gets to be the mourning father that everyone in California feels bad for and admires for doing his best to save me. And he gets to keep the diamonds. At this point, I serve him more dead than alive."

"Something like that."

My heart was broken as I felt my stepfather's treason in my core. I found a certain twisted comfort in getting confirmation that Richard had never felt an ounce of affection for me.

I sat back on the bed again and put my face in my hands to try to hide the tears. Alejandro sat next to me and wrapped his arms around me. I pushed him away, but he did not move, holding me and pulling me closer. As my head laid on his chest, I let the tears flow down.

"I can't imagine what it must have been like for you, growing up alone, with this poor excuse of a man, pretending. I'm sorry no parent was there to protect you, love you, care for you," he spoke in my ear, his voice deep.

I felt his every word, forcing me to look inward and taking comfort in his presence, his strength, his arms around me.

"I'm sorry about your brother."

"I know."

I got up and walked toward the window, wiping my tears, deciding that I would not shed one more for Richard.

"So, what now?" I asked, searching his eyes for answers.

"I don't know. It's pretty clear now to Mathias that using you is not the path to get those diamonds. And if Richard doesn't have them in his home, there is no way for us to get them. Mathias is a dangerous but loyal man, and he knows about what happened in my house. He is looking for Juan and Karina, who might have some information about the diamonds, but that's not very likely. The cop died, and the rest of the men either escaped or are dead as well. We have to come up with a plan."

Alejandro stayed silent for a few minutes, giving me some time to process. I was still confused, in shock and overwhelmed, but a soft fire was now growing inside of me. I was free of the guilt of having feelings for someone I thought was a criminal. Alejandro, just like me, was a victim of the circumstances. Another victim of my stepfather.

"But now," he said, slowly getting up and walking toward me, "now you know the truth. You know that I never meant for you to be involved in this. I had to play the game, but only to keep you safe."

"Yes," I said, looking out.

I felt relieved; I couldn't deny it. Relieved that Alejandro was a good man, caught in an impossible situation.

If what he said was true, he hadn't kidnapped me, and had saved my life at least twice. I wanted to hug him, kiss him, thank him, tell him I would rather die than let something happen to him, but I stopped myself. I didn't want his pity, and I didn't want to allow myself to feel all the emotions he raised in me.

There was something else. I knew where those diamonds were.

If I was right, that bag I had seen was the same one Alejandro was looking for. I knew the code to the safe that they clearly did not know about, and I had seen Richard put the diamonds in. The best part was that Richard had no idea that I knew the code, let alone that I saw him move the bag to that safe. He didn't even know I knew of that one, as he had only opened the other two in front of me knowingly, but only sharing the code for one.

I had to decide if I wanted to trust Alejandro with that information, and I had to do it fast. I wanted to help him, take the pain away, make Richard pay for what he had done, and allow Alejandro to move on, but that required me trusting him fully and putting my last card on the table.

"Do you think Richard will continue to try to kill me?"

"For as long as we try to use you for ransom, I think he might try. Amelia, look at me," he said, turning my chin so I could face him. "I swear on my life, I won"t let anyone harm you. I am going to get you out of this."

I knew in my heart, despite all my doubts, that he was telling the truth. He had saved my life before. For some reason, it was important to him that I be safe.