Prologue
It was a bad idea. He should not have let her come with him. He wanted to tell her to go back to the truck, but Isabella was never one to take orders from others, much less him. Still, he felt responsible for her. In spite of everything she'd done, she and the life growing inside her deserved to be protected. And he admired her determination to try to make amends. Even if a bit too late.
He glanced back and saw her looking up the dark structure before them, a mixture of dread and curiosity playing on her face. He needed to move closer to the compound, but he didn't want to take Isabella with him. When he motioned for her to stay put, she rolled her eyes before nodding. Relieved that she would be following instructions for once, Miguel inched towards the gate. It was closed, but he was able to see through the grills. What he saw curdled his blood. Before he knew it, he was jumping over the waist-high fence and rushing towards the immobile form of his youngest sibling.
“Angelo! Angelo! Wake up, goddammit!” Miguel grunted as he turned his brother over.
The large red splotch on the upper left side of Angelo's chest caused his breath to hitch. There was also blood on the back of Angelo’s shirt, proof that the bullet had gone through. He tapped Angelo’s cheeks, urging his brother to open his eyes. After a few seconds, Angelo stirred, eyes fluttering open.
“Migz, where’s Louie? We have to go after her,” Angelo said, panic seeping through his weak voice.
“You’ve been shot, Angelo. What happened? Who shot you?” Miguel pressed his palm against the wound on Angelo’s chest. Blood was still oozing from the wound.
“It was Anselmo, one of the hired hands at the Hacienda. It was an accident. The gun went off while we were grappling for it," Angelo said, grimacing as he tried to push Miguel away. "Migz, we have to go after Louie. She went back inside to find Gabriel."
“No, Angel. You have to stay here. Where’s Martin?”
“I think he's also inside the house looking for Gabriel. We have to go, Migz!"
"I said no! I'll stay here with you all night if I have to. Just so I can stop you from moving an inch of your stubborn ass."
“I’ll stay with him,” a female voice broke into their conversation. Miguel sighed and shook his head in exasperation.
“Isabella, I told you to stay put. You can’t be here. Go back to the truck where you’ll be safe. Things have gotten out of hand and this is no place for you,” Miguel said.
Isabella shook her head, the hard glint in her eye telling Miguel she was not taking no for an answer.
“Look, I’m already here, so there’s nothing more to discuss. I’ll stay here with Angelo until the police arrive,” Isabella took off her scarf and folded it in four. Carefully lifting Miguel’s hand from Angelo’s chest, she quickly replaced it with the makeshift bandage, her own palm pressing down on the wound.
“Go, look for Louisa and Gabriel. We’ll be okay here,” she said.
Angelo squirmed in protest, but Isabella pushed him back down. “You’re in no condition to help. You’ll just be a liability in there, so stay still, okay? Don’t worry I won’t smother you if you fall asleep.”
Angelo snorted while Miguel disguised his chuckle behind a muted cough. “I’m not going to fall asleep,” Angelo replied, returning Isabella's glare.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay here?” Miguel said, turning to Isabella before he could stop himself. Why was he more worried about her than his bleeding brother?
“We’re going to be fine. Now go! Ahora mismo, Miguel!” Isabella said, waving him away with an impatient hand.
Miguel took a deep breath and rose to his feet, ready to spring into action.
“Miguel, wait!”
It was Isabella. He turned to look at her, afraid that something had happened to Angelo.
“What?” he asked, frowning at the woman.
“Be careful, okay?” Isabella said before quickly averting her eyes.
Miguel nodded and half-jogged, half-walked towards the house, his heart swelling with something he dared not identify.
He slipped through the front door, his head swiveling from left to right, cautiously assessing the place for any impending danger. The dark foyer opened up to a wooden staircase that he assumed led to the bedrooms. He was debating between going upstairs and investigating the rooms below when a loud thud coming from above settled it for him. Taking the stairs two steps at a time, Miguel rushed down the long hallway just in time to see a burly man preparing to lunge at a sprawled Louisa. Gabriel, he saw, was busy grappling with Arthur and wasn’t aware of Louisa’s predicament.
Miguel sprinted towards the man and pummeled the man’s back, sending him to his knees. But the man was tough and was back on his feet in no time, forcing Miguel into an unwanted fistfight for the next couple of minutes. He was busy dodging his opponent’s flailing fists when from the corner of his eye he saw two women rising to their feet.
That momentary distraction was all his rival needed to deliver a solid right hook to his chin. Stars exploded in his head, but he shook it off and lunged at his opponent with all his might, sending him crashing into the wall. The man’s eyes fluttered wildly as he slowly slid down to the floor, knocked out at last.
Breathless, Miguel braced his arms against the wall to collect himself when Arthur swept past him. He chanced a glance at Gabriel who was slowly getting to his feet, rubbing furiously at his bruised jaw.
“Miguel…he’s after Louisa!” Gabriel growled.
And Isabella! he almost said.
Ignoring the throbbing in his head, Miguel dashed out the door in pursuit of Louisa’s deranged ex-suitor. He saw the crazed man grab Louisa’s hand and pull her back, effectively extricating her from Isabella’s grasp. Miguel seized a handful of Arthur’s shirt and yanked at the bigger man back with all his remaining strength. He was wrestling Arthur to the ground when a sound froze his insides. Shoving Arthur away, Miguel scrambled to get to the source of the unnerving scream, hoping he would get to her in time.
But he was too late.
When he reached the stairs, Isabella was already stretched out on the marble floor of the foyer below, dark liquid pooling behind her head.
Before he could realize what he was doing, Miguel was cradling Isabella's unmoving form on his lap, tears spilling down his cheeks as he kept on pleading with her to open her eyes.
pls update this