by René, Dani
We make our way up to a fabric beach cabana, and when the curtains open, I gasp when I see the man inside waiting for us. Guillermo, my father’s best friend. He looks like he’s having the time of his life while my father is locked up in a dungeon.
“Tío?” My voice cracks on the word as disloyalty hits me in the gut.
“Sofía?” He pushes off the lounger, coming toward us, but Victor only tightens his hold on me. “What are you doing with her?” Guillermo questions the man beside me. He looks genuinely shocked at me being with Victor.
“She’s payment for your friend’s thieving ways.” My body shakes with fear at the coldness in Victor’s tone. I’ve heard him angry before, but this is something else. “You lied to her, you made her believe the bullshit that you fed Hector.”
I’m so confused, I have no idea what they’re talking about. Guillermo pales at Victor’s words as the men regard each other.
“What the hell is going on here?” I bite out, pulling away from Victor, to look at the man I grew up calling uncle. The man who was my father’s confidante. The man who promised to always be there for me.
“I-I—”
“Not so easy to admit how you fucked up when your head is on the chopping block. Is it Guillermo?” That’s when I see Javier appear behind tío with a pistol aimed at his head. He takes a step back before realizing he’s surrounded by Victor’s men.
“Please, Cordero,” he pleads. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Tell her the fucking truth,” Victor hisses, violence drenching his tone, dripping off every word. “If you don’t, I’ll slice you open slowly while you confess.”
“Tío, what is he talking about?” I ask again, my chest tightening with fear, and my heart rate slowly skyrockets. As if Victor can feel my pain, he slides his hand in mine, his fingers lacing with my own, which seems to calm me somewhat.
Guillermo’s gaze doesn’t miss the link between us and realization dawns on him. He glances at me before sneering, “You fuck this man?” He points at Victor, his finger shaking. “He’s the villain. How can you tarnish your reputation with the filth of our country?”
Victor’s fingers tighten around mine in an attempt to calm himself, and I offer his hand a squeeze as I step forward, pushing into Guillermo’s face. “Are you going to tell me what he is talking about?”
“He’s a liar.”
“Am I?” Victor challenges. “Shall I bring out the proof?”
Guillermo’s eyes widen in shock, and he steps back once more, only to be butted by the barrel of Javier’s gun. He glances over his shoulder, the fear apparent in his expression.
“I-I b-betrayed your father.” His admission tears a hole through my chest, and my heart is in my throat. Anger surges, my blood boiling as I step even closer, my free hand coming up to make violent contact with the old man’s face.
“You bastard!” My screech is loud, echoing around us, but I don’t care about the people who stop to stare at me. “You fucking bastard!” I’m about to rage when Victor’s arms wrap around my waist, and he lifts me off my feet. I’m small compared to the man who’s captured me, and he walks me down the beach as if I weigh nothing. I’m still screaming when we reach a darker, more secluded area.
“Juguete.” The word is a warning on Victor’s lips. “If you don’t calm the fuck down, I’m going to pin you to a tree and fuck the anger out of you.” The threat makes me still, my mouth still open in shock.
He leans in, his thumbs swiping at my cheeks, it’s then that I realize I’m crying.
28
Victor
Her tears make me hard; yet, they hurt my chest. When I see her crying with sadness, I want to mend her, to heal her pain, but when I watch her emotion trickle from her eyes in pleasure, I want to bestow more on her beautiful body.
I’m still fighting with myself, a war rages inside me at the emotions this girl has brought out of me. Is this love? Shaking my head, I focus on her. She wraps her arms around my middle, her small body shaking against mine as she hiccups.
“What did he do? Why has he hurt my father like this? They were friends, loyal to the end.” I can understand her confusion. I have always prided myself on my loyalty. Her watery gaze meets mine, and I want to wash away her fears, her troubles, and her pain. Even if I’m the one who caused them all.
“The basic needs of the human race are at times more overpowering than the emotional vows we make.” I tell her. “Men aren’t always genuine, no matter how much you offer them, and no matter how long they’re tame, there is always a wildness inside a male heart.”
“Like yours?” she whispers. Her eyes are wide, shining with the pain that’s so clearly etched in her broken heart. My mouth opens, but I can’t find the words to answer her.
Am I like them?
Am I as fucking weak as the men I’ve killed?
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she tells me. “I mean, you have a darkness inside you, Victor. It shines at times and it scares me.”
“Then why are you here, in my arms?” I challenge. I know what I want her to say, but I fear it too. If she utters those words, the three words that I am slowly trying to admit to myself, I’m not sure I can ever walk away from her. That was my plan: to leave her, to allow her to live her life. To be a normal girl, to fall in love and find happiness with a man who isn’t me.
“If you asked me that two weeks ago, I would’ve told you because you’re keeping me captive,” she replies confidently. Sofía tips her chin back, looking up at me as we stand in the dimly lit area of the private beach. I could take her right now, nobody would know. I could run away with her and never return, leaving everything that’s been left to me to lie in ruins. And I find myself not caring at all.
I know Javier would be there. He’d care for the legacy my father left behind. He would make sure that the men worked, and my home was seen to, but it’s not who I am. I don’t run away into the sunset for love, and I certainly don’t promise a forever.
“I’m asking you now,” I tell her. “Why are you here, in my arms?”
She stares at me, her eyes locking on mine, boring into the depths of my darkened soul. She sees my heart. I’ve locked it away for so long, I didn’t know it still existed, but it does, and I know that Sofía is the only one who will be able to keep it safe.
“Because I’ve fallen in love with you.” And there it is, the truth: brutal, blatant, and dangerous; yet, it warms every part of me. It holds me in its promise, and I don’t know what to do with it.
“I’m not a man you can love.”
“You may believe that, but it’s all a lie you’ve conditioned yourself to repeat time and again. If you say it enough, you’ll begin to believe it’s true.”
“I’m dangerous.”
“You’re affectionate.”
“I’m violent.”
“You’re passionate.”
We throw these affirmations back and forth, but I see her resolve shining in her gaze. She’s not giving up. I thought she would run. I didn’t think she’d stand here, looking into my eyes, and tell me those words.
“What am I to do with you?”
A smile turns her lips upward at the corners, making her smile light up her face. Even in the darkness, she is a light that shows me the way. Javier was right, he knew it before I did. I never wanted to tell her that I felt something for her. I fought it. All this time, I hated myself for craving her as much as I do.
But I can no longer hide it.
“You can tell me the truth. I want to hear it from your lips to my ears. Nobody else is around, none of your men will hear it. Only me.” Her plea is clear. She needs this as much as I do. I can’t believe I’m laying claim to her because once I utter these words, I’ll have to give her a ring. She will be the queen who sits by my side.
I have a choice to make. Do I send her away? Or do I admit my emotions?
“I’m in love with you, too, juguete,” I tell her.
“Victor,�
�� Javi calls to me, breaking the spell, and I step back from Sofía. Her lips are still parted, the soft breaths from her mouth tempt me to move closer, but I need to talk to Javier.
“Don’t move.” She nods at my command, and I turn to my best friend. “What’s wrong?”
“Rodrigo is in town.” The name sends ice through my veins. He’s going to be a dead man soon, and it will be by my hand.
“Set up a meeting,” I tell him. “Plan’s changed.”
“What?” His brows shoot up, he glances over my shoulder, taking in the beautiful woman who loves me even at my worst. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I affirm, “She’s mine, Javi. You were right, I should’ve listened to you when you said it weeks ago.” His eyes betray him; he’s shocked at my change of heart. “Are you going to fight me on this? Because if you are, I’d rather know now.” He knows if he does, he’ll not walk out of this alive. The only time a man leaves my employ is when he’s six feet under, and it doesn’t matter if he’s my best friend or not. That’s the way of life for us. He understands it. We’ve learned from a young age that we cannot allow anyone to walk away unscathed. The vow we take is for life.
“I told you before, Victor,” he says, laying a hand on my shoulder. “I am here through anything you need. I will never betray you. Loyalty is in my blood.”
“As it is in mine.”
He nods. “Then I’ll get the meeting set up.” Silence hangs between us for a long moment. “I’m happy for you Victor,” he says. “You need to find love again after Gaia.” At the mention of her name, I feel the tension twisting in my gut. I don’t believe that Sofía would do what she did, but the fear is there.
I don’t want to have to hurt Sofía in any way, not long term anyway, but if I ever found her with another man, I’ll not only cut his dick from his body and watch him bleed out, I’ll do the same to her, slicing her open until she begs for a merciful killing.
“Go now, I need to talk to her,” I tell Javi, who offers me a knowing wink. He turns on his heel and leaves me to my queen. Although, she doesn’t wear my ring yet, it’s only a matter of time before she does, and when that happens, the tides will turn in the Cordero household.
“Sorry about that,” I tell her when I turn around.
“I heard you mention Rodrigo.”
I nod. No need to lie to her, nothing I say will send her running, at least I fucking hope so. “I’m meeting with him. He’s on the island, and I need to sort some things out with him. For starters, I need to know why he wants you.”
“What? Me? He said that?” Her panic is palpable. She looks like a deer caught in headlights at the thought of seeing him again, which only confirms my suspicions. Something is wrong, very fucking wrong.
“What are you not telling me, juguete?”
Her eyes—that hold so many secrets—meet mine. I can tell she’s hiding the truth, and that’s only going to make matters worse for her. If she can’t trust me by now, then I’m not sure she’ll ever trust me.
“Sofía, if I don’t know the whole story, I’m never going to be able to help you,” I tell her, hoping she’ll see the honesty in my gaze. Never have I met a more stubborn woman. Yet, I’ve never met a woman I want more.
29
Sofía
The truth sits on my tongue, threatening to steal my life like a poison if I hold onto it. But if I told him what I had done, he would never forgive me. Perhaps he would kill me right here on the beach. He’d enjoy watching my blood spill.
But also, there’s another way this could go—I would tell him, and he’d take me and show Rodrigo just how powerful he truly is. I’m not sure which I want more; if he kills me, at least I’ll be free. The thought of never having to worry for another day fills my stomach with warmth, but the idea of never looking at Victor again chills my heart.
“Sofía,” he says my name in warning. All those fantasies of living happily ever after with Victor fly out the window, and I know honesty is the only way I can get through this.
“When I first came to your house,” I start, the confession burns me from the inside out, and I know there’s no longer a choice to keep it to myself. He will learn when he goes to Rodrigo. “I didn’t know what I was doing. My naivety kept me silent in admitting the truth to you. I was being blackmailed by him, and I had no choice, but—”
“Shut up,” he grinds through clenched teeth. Anger morphs to fury, then to rage, as I watch his gaze darken before my very eyes. It’s as if someone is flicking through an animation as it twists and turns page by page.
“Victor, he told me if I got him intel on your security, he would be able to free my father from your dungeon. I believed it because I was afraid. Until I learned who you really are, and then, I knew he was the liar and not you.”
“You broke my trust?” he finally speaks, the words spat with venom as he leans into my face. The sneer that curls his lip has disgust written in his expression. My body shakes as he grips my hair, his hand fisting in the strands, as he drags me across the sand until we reach a boulder that hides us from view.
“No! Victor, listen to me!”
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up!” His voice booms around me.
If he killed me right here, nobody would miss me. No one would know. He shoves me into the sand, my body falling to the coolness beneath me. I deserve this, I did break his trust. Even though I was a payment he took, he didn’t hurt me more than I deserved.
“You fucking took from me, you made me love you and now you’re telling me it was all a lie?” His voice booms around me, as if circling me. I’m captured once more, this time, not by the man I’ve come to love, but by the Devil I still hate.
His body vibrates, his hands fist at his sides.
“Tell me, juguete,” he bites out, his teeth clenched so hard I’m certain he’ll crack them. I await the violence, but it doesn’t come. “Did you fuck with me just to make me love you, then you planned on bringing him into my home to kill me?”
“No! No, Victor,” I call out to him, needing him to listen to reason. “I was afraid at first. All I could think about was my father and that you had him locked away.” I crawl toward him, my hands and knees scraping along the sand. “I wanted to save my papá but then I fell in love with you while I was with you.”
“Love? You don’t know what love is,” he grits angrily, as he leans forward to tug me to my feet by my hair. I cry out as my scalp pricks, and my eyes turn watery from the sting of pain. “You fucking lying bitch.”
“I’m not lying, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t do it, I—” My words are broken by the gun he pulls on me, the safety unlocked, and he shoves it into my mouth. We’ve done this before, when he did, I wet myself in his office. But now, I no longer fear death because I knew this would come.
“You fucking lied to me.” His accusation breaks my heart more than it already is. “He wanted you as payment and now I know why. He wanted you out of my house so he could attack.”
I try to shake my head as I look deep into his dark eyes. I want him to see I love him, for him to look into my heart, but he can’t, not under the guise of fury that’s holding him hostage. He forces the barrel into my mouth, until it hits the back of my throat. I swallow around the metal, the harsh taste coating my tongue.
My eyes are wide, pleading with him silently to think about what he’s doing. If he can just clear the angry fog that’s clouding his judgment, he’ll see. I don’t fight, I don’t flail, I’m ready for this.
“Victor,” Rodrigo’s voice comes from behind him, “Javi here said you wanted to meet, so I thought I’d bring the party to you.” The coldness in his tone doesn’t belie the satisfaction in his expression as he takes in my situation. “Ah, you can pull the trigger. I was going to do it when she returned to me.”
The truth clicks inside Victor’s mind as he looks at me again. He doesn’t move, he doesn’t pull the trigger as suggested by his enemy, he sees me. A tear trickles down my cheek, free, lonely, and in ne
ed of his tender touch.
I think he’s about to do something stupid like pull a gun on Rodrigo, but he doesn’t. Instead, Victor lowers the gun and drops me to my knees. He turns slowly, his weapon still in hand, and I’m shaking as fear strangles me at the way Rodrigo is looking at me.
“She’s of no use to me,” he tells Victor.
“I thought she was your pet,” the man I thought loved me sneers. “You can have her back; I’ve already taken what I need.”
“Victor, no please?” I beg from the ground, my hand reaching for his leg, but he doesn’t even look down at me. He always told me he enjoyed seeing me on my knees, but right at this moment, I feel the cold aloofness he is expressing by not even acknowledging me.
“Ah, lucky man.” Rodrigo chuckles as he shoves his hands into his pockets. “I always thought she would give it up easier, but she seems to have held out for you. What did it cost you? A few pills? Some coke?” The taunt and gibe he throws my way cause me to flinch.
“I’m not a whore,” I bite out, but my only response is a laugh—dark and foreboding.
“I beg to differ.” Rodrigo grins down at me. “You look rather lovely on the floor, on your knees.” He turns to Victor. “Tell me, Cordero, are there any women left in Colombia you haven’t fucked?”
“This meeting isn’t about my male prowess. I want you out of my territory. I will buy yours, and you will walk away unscathed.” The challenge is there—leave or be killed.
“I will consider it.”
“This isn’t up for debate. I rule Colombia, every fucking acre of it.” Victor takes a step forward as he says this, and the men that flank Rodrigo lift their weapons.
“No! Don’t hurt him,” I cry out, not thinking about what this means for me. But I can’t watch Victor die. I’ll die in his place, I’ll offer myself to them, but I can’t see the man who’s stolen not only my body, but my heart, fall down in death.
The dark, manic eyes of the man I used to trust fall to me. The corner of his mouth twists into an evil grin. “I want the girl.”
