The Cartel King: A Captive Mafia Romance

by Bella King

  My foot mashes the gas harder once I’m on the open road, tearing through the early morning as I light up my first cigarette of the day. I’d better find Marybeth by the time I finish this whole pack because if not, my stress levels are going to be too high to manage.

  I blackout when I get angry enough.

  And people get hurt.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Marybeth

  I wake up with an open mouth so dry that I’m surprised it isn’t riddled with cracks like the surrounding earth. The sun is barely up, but when you’re sleeping outside, your body wakes up faster in the morning. I can feel the energy of a new day in my bones.

  I can also feel the results of sleeping on the hard ground instead of in my bed at home. This wasn’t just a screwed up dream. This is my reality now.

  I roll over, expecting to bump into Rey’s dense body, but he’s not there. For a moment, I feel like I’m falling out of bed. It was so warm in here with him. Where did he go?

  I smack my lips, trying to get the saliva flowing in my mouth again as I sit up and look around for Rey. I have a habit of sleeping with my mouth open but doing it in the desert is just inviting trouble. My mouth is dusty, and I can feel the grit of sand between my teeth.

  Rey is already awake, leaning against the car while he cleans his rifle. He doesn’t look up at me as I crawl out of the sleeping bag.

  I find that my hands are completely free. He must’ve removed the tubing sometime this morning, I assume, because he can watch me while he’s awake. I wonder how long he’s been up.

  Rey’s hands work on the rifle, nimble and skilled, as I’ve already experienced. I enjoy watching him, seeing the concentration on his face as he examines his weapon, going over it carefully to make sure it’s in perfect condition for the day ahead.

  He finally looks over at me and flashes a crooked smile. It takes me a minute to realize that he’s smiling at my mostly naked body. I’m still only wearing a pair of panties.

  I hurry over to the pile of clothes I left on the ground last night, shaking the dust out of them and quickly putting them back on.

  As I’m pulling my shirt over my head, Rey appears in front of me, still holding his rifle close to his chest. “Did you sleep well?” he asks.

  I shrug. “Well enough, considering the circumstances. What about you?”

  “Oh, I slept great, but my cock was so stiff this morning that I had to leave you. You were really going to town with that ass.”

  His words hit me harder than a cup of coffee laced with meth. “I wasn’t doing anything with my ass, thank you very much. I was sleeping,” I snap.

  “You woke up twice just to scoot your butt into me. Don’t act like you don’t remember that. I was trying to keep my distance,” he claims.

  My face gets hot as I try to remember if any of this actually happened. Come to think of it, I was trying to find warmth while I was sleeping. It was possible that I tried to get closer to him, but only because he feels like a radiator with all those muscles.

  “I was cold,” I say, trying to save face.

  “So, you admit it.”

  “No,” I reply, folding my arms across my chest and turning my head away from him.

  He chuckles, stepping past me and rolling up the sleeping bag. He’s still shirtless, and his back spreads wide as he leans over, working the sleeping bag into a tight cylinder. I’m impressed by his physique, but I would never tell him. He would be too cocky, and besides, he’s probably already well aware of how good he looks.

  Rey turns his head to find me staring at him.

  “I need my water from the car,” I say, quickly covering up the fact that I was looking.

  “It’s unlocked,” he replies, turning back to the sleeping bag.

  I pull open the car door, leaning in and grabbing my bottle of water. I stay in the car for a moment, scanning the seat and flipping open the sun visor in search of the keys. As I suspected, Rey isn’t dumb enough to leave them in the car after my escape attempt, but it’s always worth a shot.

  The sun is already starting to get hot, and the water splashes against my throat with satisfying coldness from being in the car all night. There’s still a lot left, and I gulp it down quickly.

  I turn back around to find that Rey has already packed everything up and is heading back to the car. The remaining burnt firewood has been hidden in the sand, and there’s not a single trace that we were ever here last night.

  “There should be a river a few hours from here,” Devin says, opening the back door and tossing the rolled-up sleeping bag inside. “We need to find it.”

  “I’d look it up for you if you hadn’t thrown my phone out the window,” I reply.

  Rey laughs, pulling out a tri-folded map from the back seat. “Sorry,” he says, flipping open the map and laying it against the side of the car. “But we’re doing this the old-fashioned way. You know those phones track you, right?”

  “I don’t have anything to hide,” I reply.

  “Right, but I do, so we’re not using one. I don’t have a phone either. I have a map and a brain.” He taps the side of his head with a tattooed finger.

  “So wise,” I reply mockingly.

  Rey shakes his head at me and moves the map to the hood of the car, leaning over it as he runs a finger along the road that we’re on. His eyes narrow into slits as he studies the paper with a deeply somber expression.

  Yesterday, I would’ve sworn he wasn’t that attractive, but after what happened in the car, I’m starting to see the appeal in the worn, rugged look he wears so often.

  The sun is coming up quickly, and I can feel the heat starting to rise with it. Temperatures change quickly in the desert, and it’s going to be another scorcher of a day. I hope the car has enough gas to keep the AC turned all the way up. We’re going to need it.

  “Okay, so it should be about two hours before we get to the river,” Rey says, folding the map and tucking it under his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

  I nod, opening my door and jumping into the Mustang. The pristine white leather has already turned a light brown from the amount of dust I dragged into the car yesterday, and I feel a small pang of guilt over it. That vanishes when I remember how much money is in the back of the car. Rey is loaded.

  “We’re going to wash up by the river,” Rey explains. “Our clothes should dry quickly in the sun.”

  “Wait a minute,” I say as he turns the key in the ignition. “You’re not suggesting that I get completely naked in front of you, are you?”

  “You did last night.”

  “Not completely.”

  His broad shoulders bounce in a shrug. “You can always wait in the trunk until I’m done.”

  “Don’t even joke about it,” I warn. “I’m not going back in there.”

  “Then stop complaining about stupid shit. You’re going to be in the water. I won’t see a thing unless you want to show me.”

  “Which I won’t,” I snap.

  “Actually, you seem to enjoy showing off your body to me. It makes me wonder what kind of girl you were back home,” he says, glancing at me as we pull out onto the road.

  I frown. “Not the kind who shows herself off to men.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “Oh, so just me then.”

  I scoff, but I don’t have a clever comeback. He’s right, and I hate it.

  The road ahead is just as clear as yesterday. We haven’t passed anyone since the shootout with the enemy cartel. I wonder if anyone has even found the bodies yet. Rey left quite the mess out there.

  “So, do you like working at the drive-in?” Rey asks, turning the dial to the AC all the way up as the sun shines through the car window into our laps.

  I lower my face to the vent, letting cold air blast my face as I take down my messy braids to redo them. I laugh at his question. “Who actually enjoys working at a drive-in?”

  “I guess some people do,” he says with a shrug.

  “Well, I’m not one of the
m,” I reply.

  “So, why were you working there?”

  I separate the hair into two even parts over my shoulders and take one of them to start braiding. “I can’t pay my rent without a job. I’d like to get out of it, but I can’t just cancel my lease without warning. I’ll get fined for it.”

  “I would just skip town,” he says.

  “Of course, you would.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” he asks, and I can’t tell if he’s actually offended or if he’s just faking it for a reaction.

  “You’re a criminal, Rey. I’m not. I can’t just skip town.”

  Rey laughs. “That’s what you’re doing now, though.”

  I shrug. “But that wasn’t my intention.”

  “I know, but fuck them, right? I mean, you should live your life. Not be locked down somewhere you don’t want to be, running around in the sun all day long for pennies.”

  “What should I do instead? Join the cartel?” I ask.

  He laughs. “Maybe.”

  I shake my head. “Not everyone is as daring as you are. Some of us prefer to play it safe.”

  “And look where that got you,” he replies.

  “At least I’m not the one going to prison when this is all over,” I point out.

  “I’m not going to prison.”

  “Um, hello? You escaped from jail and kidnapped me. Not to mention the fact that you killed at least two people yesterday. You’re definitely going to prison,” I say, finishing up the first braid and moving to the next one.

  “Then, I will have failed my mission, he says, his voice firm and steady. “I’m not going to prison. I’ll go out shooting before that happens.”

  “Your mission?” I ask. I wasn’t aware of any mission, other than trying to have sex with me.

  “I have a client in Canada. He’s expecting me,” Rey explains.

  “Expecting you for what?”

  “Just to chat,” he replies.

  “Oh, come on. You’re always so secretive about everything,” I say, growing annoyed that he would tell me just enough to make me curious but not enough to satisfy that curiosity.

  “It pays to keep secrets. That’s why I’m still alive.”

  “Not from me.”

  “Especially from you.”

  “I don’t see how I’m such a threat to you. What are you going to do when you get to Canada? Kill me? Dump me on the border and hope that I find my way back home?” I ask, flicking my finished braids over my shoulders and leaning back into my seat.

  “Let’s talk about something else,” Rey says, looking as far away from me as he can without losing sight of the road ahead.

  “Like what?” I ask, still a bit irritated.

  “Like you,” he replies. “I was asking about your work, which you clearly don’t like. What about your family. How are they?”

  “You already asked me about them before.”

  “And you didn’t say much, other than something about your father being a pastor, which means there’s something interesting going on there.”

  I sigh, considering whether or not it’s a good idea to spill my personal information when he’s barely willing to tell me anything about himself. Still, I haven’t gotten to talk to anyone about what happened between my dad and me, and it’s not like I’m going to see much of Rey after all this is over.

  Rey glances at me. “You don’t have to talk about it if –”

  “My father was a good man to a lot of people,” I say, cutting him off. “But not to me. I guess my mother couldn’t stand him either because she left when I was young.”

  Rey falls silent.

  “My mother, funny enough, ran off with a criminal,” I continue.

  “I guess that runs in the family,” he replies with a chuckle.

  “I didn’t run off with you. You kidnapped me,” I clarify.

  “And by the sound of it, I was doing you a huge favor.”

  “Anyway,” I say loudly. “Me and my father don’t talk much anymore, aside from Christmas when I see him. It’s a church thing.”

  “You don’t sound all that excited about it.”

  “Because I’m not. He used to hit me, and he would stick me in the basement, in the dark, when he got angry. I was terrified of him, but everyone else thought he was a saint,” I say, shaking my head in disgust. I hate to recall the memories I have tucked deep in my mind, but they already resurfaced with my little trunk adventure yesterday.

  “Sounds like a real prick,” Rey says gruffly, not holding back with his language. “I’d like to meet him.”

  The creak of leather draws my eyes down to his hands. They’re gripping the wheel, wringing it so tightly that his veins are popping out, and his skin is ghostly white. He looks angrier about my father’s abuse than I am.

  “I don’t think you’d want to meet him,” I reply. “He’d judge you up, down, and sideways.”

  “Let him try,” Rey growls. “I’d blow his guts out through the back of his t-shirt without a moment’s hesitation.”

  “Wow. That’s um…” I clear my throat. “Pretty gruesome.”

  “I’ve done worse,” he grumbles.

  “That makes me wonder what you’re going to do to me,” I say, tapping a finger against my chin.

  His head snaps to the side, his eyes glowing with seriousness as his thick eyebrows come down over them in a deep frown. “I’m not going to do anything to you, Marybeth.”

  I blink in surprise. “Well, I seem to recall yesterday you threatening to –”

  “Forget what I said yesterday,” he barks. “I live for today.”

  “And what about tomorrow?” I challenge.

  He sighs. “I have no desire to hurt you. I don’t think you’re half bad for a do-good pastor’s daughter.”

  I laugh, rolling my head to the side and smiling at him. “I don’t think I’m all that good.”

  “Compared to me, you are.”

  “Remember what I let you do to me yesterday?” I ask, feeling a jolt of excitement upon bringing it up. Even talking about it makes me feel this crazy rush in my stomach. I’m not even sure if I regret it yet, but I know that I enjoyed it.

  “You’re still a virgin, ain’t you?” Rey asks, looking forward.

  I shrug. “Yeah, so what?”

  “So, you’re still a good young woman. You know, once you take that step to the sinning side, you can never come back.”

  “What if I don’t want to come back?” I ask, biting my lower lip at the thought of taking the leap with Rey. I’m crazy to think such a thing, but the feelings inside of me are far from reasonable. I’m afraid of myself at this point.

  Rey chuckles, reaching up and scratching the stubble on his thick jaw. “If you want to sin, I’ll show you the gates to hell.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rey

  I don’t believe that Marybeth knows the seriousness of what she’s saying. Tempting me is never a good idea, and dangling her virginity over my head like bait? That’s enough to make me lose control.

  I have to keep my cool out here, though, or else I’m going to get sidetracked and lose focus on the goal. I have something in my possession worth a whole lot more than a quickie with a young woman with questionable morals, and I’m not going to mess this up.

  My escape from prison was much more than a simple run for the border. My mission is much greater than that, but it’s not something I was to share with Marybeth. As much as I like her, she’s capable of ruining everything for me, and I don’t want to have to resort to brute force.

  I lick my lips at the thought of what I did to her yesterday. She’s the one who brought it up, so it’s not my fault if I get aroused at the thought of it again. The taste of her body was divine. It makes me wonder what she tastes like straight from the source.

  I’ve never been much a lady’s man. Typically, I make the woman do the work on me, using her and disposing of her just as quickly. They hate me for it, but I figured that was just the
way that I was. There’s no use trying to change something that can’t be changed.

  But Marybeth… She has me thinking differently. I want to look at her face to see the pleasure painted on her lips and in her innocent eyes as I give it to her. I want to be the source of her enjoyment, not the other way around. I’d almost be happy just giving and never receiving, but I know I can do both.

  I never thought that a young woman like her would have any effect on me, especially not to the point where I start behaving out of character. It’s not just the fact that I think I can corrupt her.

  That’s a given.

  I appreciate her just being here beside me, and that’s not something I can say about many people. In fact, I can’t think of a single one who I could say the same for.

  I glance over at Marybeth, my eyes running up her smooth legs and settling on the creases of her small shorts as they bunch up at the tops of her thighs. It would take so little effort to put my hand up them, to touch her again, and to feel her in such an intimate way.

  My eyes hurt as I tear them away from her. It’s painful to have to stare down this empty road for so many hours when I have a perfectly good view right beside me. She’s got the kind of face I’d like to have tucked in my wallet, and she has the type of hips I’d like tucked in my bed.

  It’s cold in Canada, even at this time of year, if you go up far enough. I wouldn’t mind having her warm my bed at night, holding me close and pressing her soft skin against mine. Maybe it’s a crazy fantasy, but once I’m over the border, I won’t ever be returning to Mexico or the United States. If I leave her, then it’s all over.

  I have all my cash in one place, boarding up in a box in the trunk of my Mustang. Marybeth may have seen it, but she doesn’t know what else I have. My escape from prison wasn’t just a happy accident. My actions were intentional, and I’m leaving for a reason.

  I have business up in Canada, and because of it, I’m sealing my fate in the United States.

  It’s complicated shit, stuff that I’d rather keep Marybeth out of. I know she’s a curious person, but there are some things that endanger not just me, but that put her in danger for her to know. I’m protecting her by keeping them a secret.