Rushed(123)

I planted my left foot on the floor, then slid it underneath his right ankle, locking it up with my right leg and keeping him in place. He tried to extend his leg, and my ankle groaned deeply, but everything held in place. I pivoted on my hips and reached under his free leg, praying that he hadn't anticipated what I was doing.

The move is called the 'electric chair,' and it works by pitching your opponent over your body, as well as stretching out the groin of your opponent. If the guy isn't flexible, it can hurt like hell.

He was catapulted over me harder than I'd expected, his face smacking hard into the pavement, and I couldn't help but grin as he grunted in surprise and pain.

He was also scrambling, but I was able to get him into a choke hold, cinching in tightly, hoping to use his own shoulder to choke him unconscious. Eduardo struggled, reaching with his free hand and trying to claw at my face, his fingernail catching on my cheek and ripping a furrow underneath my right eye. Still, his strength started to weaken, and soon, he slapped at my back, giving up. I squeezed tighter, not stopping until the slaps stopped and Eduardo sagged, unconscious, to the concrete.

Letting go, I pushed away, exhausted. The fight had gone on for a long time, at least ten minutes, and I'd used more energy than I'd thought possible. Not trusting my ankle, I pushed away, staying on my left knee while I brought my right leg up, staring at him. His father was so shocked that he still hadn't moved. He’d been so confident in his son's victory over me.

"It's over," I gasped, rolling Eduardo onto his back and looking up at his father. "It's over."

Guillermo stepped forward on shaky legs, his eyes wide as he slowly shook his head back and forth.

He reached for his waist, where a pistol sat, but before he could get there, a loud click echoed through the hangar. All eyes turned as Luisa stood, a huge forty-five in her hand, pointed at her father. “It’s over. Don’t dishonor all of us by going back on your word."

His men didn't know what to do with themselves. Pointing guns at me or my father, that they could understand, but at Luisa? They weren't sure what to do. Finally, one of them brought his gun to bear at Luisa, but her pistol never wavered.

"Wait," I said, holding up my hand. Nobody paid attention to me, so I struggled to my feet and hobbled my way over in between Luisa and her father. "Wait!"

Luisa looked at me carefully and lowered her gun. “He was going to shoot you!”

“And what are you going to do, shoot him? You don’t want that blood on your hands.”

This was probably going to make matters worse, but I was desperate, and besides, it’s what I wanted anyway. Stepping forward, I dropped to my knees and took Luisa's hand. "Luisa Mendosa, would you marry me?"

All movement in the garage stopped again, Luisa looking at me, a smile spreading on her face as I forgot about the entire world other than her looking down at me. “You've gotten me into car accidents, gotten my ass kicked, and had guns pointed at me. But at the same time, I can't go on another day without you, and now you're going to give me a baby. I love you and I need you . . . be my wife."

"Well?" a raspy voice from behind me asked in decently clear English.

I glanced back and saw that Eduardo had woken up and was rubbing at his neck even as he got to his feet.

"Yes, of course I will,” Luisa said, looking down and starting to cry. "I'll marry you, Tomasso Bertoli."

I got to my feet and pulled her in for an embrace when Guillermo interrupted us.

“On one condition,” he said, finally finding his voice.

Luisa looked at her father, her eyes hardening. I turned my head as well, curious as to what the man could possibly say. "You have little room to demand anything, Father."

"Then one request—I give you away at a proper wedding."

I looked at Luisa, who looked to me. "What do you say?"

"How fast can we find a church around here?” I asked. "I promised Daniel and Adriana we'd be back for their wedding—I'm already missing the bachelor party."





Chapter 22





Luisa





Stepping off the jet back in Seattle, I felt like I was actually coming home. Carlo, Tomasso and I agreed to keep the marriage and the baby our little secret until we landed.

Margaret, Adriana and Daniel greeted us on the tarmac, Adriana catching me in a hug before I even had a chance to get out a greeting. "It's so good to see you again!" she said, grinning happily. “That means you’re coming to the wedding, right?"

"Something like that," I agreed, smiling. "It's good to see you again. I hope this time, I’m able to actually get to know you after your honeymoon. And I’m very excited to see your wedding."

"After the honeymoon? What do you mean?" Adriana asked, confused.

I wasn't sure how to answer, so I turned my head back to the jet. “Little help?"

Tomasso popped his head out from the plane, dressed once again in his suit, looking debonair for a man with a bandage on his right cheek, and he made his way painfully down the steps. “With what?” he asked, reaching the ground.

"What's this about after the honeymoon?" Adriana asked, confused. "I mean, I'm glad if Luisa is hanging around for a while, but I thought you were kind of stuck with short-term business trips."