Read Freedom's Price for Free Online Page B

wedding, I found out Santiago had approached my lover, Enrique. Santiago had offered him a very large sum of money to marry me. I didn’t know this when he proposed. I thought—” Marisala raised her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I was foolish, but I found out in time and there was no wedding.”
    Her lover. Enrique. Liam hated the man, deeply, perversely, not just because he had clearly hurt Marisala, but because he had touched her, loved her. And because she had loved
him
enough to want to marry him.
    He forced himself to stop thinking about Enrique Morales, the bastard. He forced himself to banish the pictures that had sprung instantly to mind—pictures of Marisala, dark eyes heavy-lidded with passion, wrapped in another man’s arms….
    He had to clear his throat before he could speak. “Mara, why don’t we go back inside and talk?”
    “Because I have absolutely no desire to talk to you, that’s why not. Because it’s going to get dark soon, and I have to find a place to stay tonight.”
    Liam felt a flash of frustration that was surely amplified by thoughts of Enrique, thoughts that wouldn’t be good and go away. He took a deep breath and worked to keep his voice even. “Okay, I know you’re mad. You have a right to be mad. I should have told you. I’m sorry. But just because I made a mistake doesn’t mean you’re not going to stay with me until we find an—”
    She picked up her suitcase and started down the sidewalk. “I have nothing more to say to you. I’m twenty-two years old, I don’t need a guardian. I don’t need you. ‘We’ are not going to find
anything
together. Leave me alone.”
    Liam knew he had to stay calm. Sooner or later Marisala’s hot temper would cool, and she would once again see reason. He followed her. “Look, I’ve got a pizza in the car and I’m parked in front of a hydrant. Let’s just—”
    “No. It’s obvious your loyalties lie with Santiago.”
    They were creating a scene, right there, as he chased her down the sidewalk. Some of the people passing by were giving them a wide berth, others were lingering, watching their exchange with great interest. Liam blocked Marisala’s path, feeling his own temper rising dangerously high despite his best intentions. “Forgive me for wanting to help an old friend.”
    Lightning blazed from her stormy eyes. “Oh, so what am I? A plate of refried beans? How could you side with him like this?”
    He threw up his hands in exasperation. “I was unaware that a new war had started in San Salustiano with you and Santiago on opposite sides!”
    Marisala turned away from him to smile sweetly at a young man walking past them on the sidewalk. “Excuse me. I need a place to stay tonight. I was wondering if you could be so kind as to let me stay with y—”
    Liam grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the man. “Marisala! Dammit!”
    The man hesitated, glancing warily from Marisala to Liam before walking swiftly on.
    “
That’s
what you have to learn to stop doing!” His voice was dangerously close to a shout. “That’s the kind of behavior that drives Santiago crazy!”
    “So
I
have to change,” she countered hotly. “But when his behavior drives
me
crazy, that’s okay, right?
He
doesn’t have to change?”
    She sat down suddenly on the front steps of one of the buildings that lined the street. Liam could see the fatigue in her shoulders and back. And he could see that although she tried to hide it, she was more than angry. She was hurt.
    “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I thought I’d be glad when the war ended. But now that it has, I don’t fit in. I want to help make things better in San Salustiano, but I’m not a politician. I wasn’t even any good at organizing the students, the way Enrique was.”
    Enrique again. Liam didn’t want to hear that name ever again. Yet at the same time he wanted to know everything about the man.
    Marisala shook her head. “And even if I had been good at politics,