by Cora Kenborn
Fuuuuuck.
Val’s eyes flashed pitched black. Not a speck of gold flickered in a dead sea of dark rage. “She. Snuck. Out. Of. Bed. Before. You. Could. What?” He bit out each word, his nostrils flaring.
“Stop her,” I finished.
“What happened between you and Adriana?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. You left here warning me that trusting her was a mistake. You swore she had an agenda. Now, you’re defending her like…” His voice trailed off, his eyes narrowing.
“Like what?”
“Like I would Eden.”
I laughed. “Right.”
“Did you fuck my sister?” His voice lowered to a thin rumble, and there it was.
The snap threat.
Lunging forward, he fisted my shirt. “I asked you a question.”
I calmly lifted my drink and took a sip, staring him right in the eye. “Are you done?”
“I asked you to do one thing. Keep your dick away from her.”
The way he spoke like we were some drunken bar fuck in a dirty bathroom stall pissed me off. “It’s not like that.”
“Then tell me, Harcourt.” He smirked, an unbidden mocking in his eyes. “What’s it like?”
It was like getting hit in the head with a brick. It was a frustrating back-and-forth with a woman I was never supposed to want. It was a dead calm stirred up in a tornado of smart mouth and brazen wit. It was fear of falling and the rush of the plunge.
“I love her, all right?” I shouted, shoving him away from me.
Val blinked. Then he blinked again. Then again. “What did you just say?”
I pressed my fingers against my forehead, rubbing against the headache brewing behind my eyes. Exhaling hard, I dropped my hand and held his gaze. “I said I’m in love with Adriana.”
“It’s been a week.”
“About the length of time you knew Eden, I believe.”
All the tendons in Val’s neck pulled tight with tension, but he kept his lips pressed tightly together, tamping down his anger. It was because I was right, and he knew it.
At least I didn’t have to kidnap Adriana to get her in my bed.
Gritting his teeth, he turned toward the bar again, filling his glass until it nearly overflowed. “Does she feel the same way about you?”
“I think so.” I didn’t elaborate. Val didn’t need to know about Adriana’s rules or what that kiss meant. I didn’t give a damn if he stomped around threatening to cut off every protruding part of my body. This conversation was over.
But there was still one thing left I needed to say.
One thing I couldn’t leave hanging over my head if I wanted to remain a permanent part of Adriana’s life. She promised it would die with her, but secrets had a way of coming out one way or another, and if I wanted to open a door to the future, I had to close the one to the past.
“Look, Val, I need to tell you something.”
Val’s face tightened, and draining the glass, he slammed it on the table. “I’m not in the mood for any more confessions, Harcourt.”
“This one you need to hear. It has to do with Adriana, and why I agreed so quickly to bring her here.” Clearing my throat, I spoke slowly, making sure he heard every word. “When I took proof of Adriana’s identity to Eden, it wasn’t to drive her to you. It was to drive you apart.”
Snap.
Val’s glass shattered against the wall moments before he swung.
After tucking her sleeping daughter into her car seat, Leighton leaned against the door, her lips flattening into a smug smirk.
I folded my arms across my chest. “What?”
“That’s a nice shiner you got there.”
“Yep.”
“I see you told Val.”
“Told Val what?”
“That you’re in love with his sister.”
My eyes snapped back to find Leighton grinning like she’d just won the lottery. “Jesus, what’s with everyone in this house?” I dragged my finger in a horizontal line above my eyebrows. “Do I have this shit stamped across my forehead?”
Leighton laughed, batting my hand away from my face. “A sister knows these things.”
“Great.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know.”
I didn’t, and that was the thing that bothered me the most. I’d cleared the air with Val, my face taking the brunt of his wrath. Once we took Ignacio Vergara down, and whatever progeny he may or may not have, I was free to do anything I wanted to do.
The thing was, I had no idea what Adriana wanted.
I guess my silence spoke for me because Leighton wrapped an arm around my waist. “She acts tough, but she needs a hero,” she said, leaning her head against my arm. “I don’t know anyone who fills those shoes better than my big brother.”
I snorted. “Don’t let your husband hear you say that.”
She laughed, knocking her bony hip against me. “You’re a protector, Brody. You always have been. It’s what made you such a good prosecutor. You take on everyone else’s problems as your own, but when you can’t defeat them, they consume you.” She looked up at me, the corners of her mouth turning down as sadness filled her eyes. “It’s why you have so many demons.”
Out of nowhere Adriana’s words came rushing back.
“You don’t want me, Brody. What you want is redemption. You have a damaged hero complex, and you think saving me will absolve you of your sins.”
But she was wrong. I wanted it all, and I was starting to believe that despite everything, I could have it. Saving Adriana wouldn’t absolve me of my sins but repenting for them would.
I placed both hands on my sister’s shoulders, her doe eyes still looking up at me. “I never asked for your forgiveness.”
“You’re the only one blaming you for what happened,” she said, holding onto my wrists. “The only one you have to forgive is yourself.”
“I’m not sure how to do that.”
She gave me a bright smile and glanced up while nodding over my shoulder. “I think you already have.” It was instinct that had me turning around to see Adriana pressed against the second story window. Leighton moved her hand on top of mine and squeezed my fingers until I turned back around. “Six months ago, you wouldn’t have let her close enough to risk another demon. Salvation comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s in the shape of your biggest regret.”
My chest tightened as I processed her words. I asked for forgiveness, and she gave me clarity. A clean slate.
Wrapping my arms around my baby sister, I kissed the top of her head and rested my cheek against her blonde hair. “How’d you get to be so smart?”
She chuckled, sinking into the hug. “I had a pretty good teacher.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Adriana
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned away from the window, unable to watch any more of the sibling love fest between Brody and his sister. Not that I wasn’t happy for him. I was glad to see him get the closure he needed to stop punishing himself for other peoples’ sins, but I couldn’t help the torrent of conflict running through me.
I grew up with a brother—at least the man I thought was my brother. We were close as kids. It wasn’t until Esteban died and Manuel became drunk with power that the divide between us grew so wide I could no longer reach him.
But now I had a real brother. One I’d lose by my own doing no matter what I did.
Chills scattered down my arms as sweat beaded across my forehead. The fever was back. My body felt like it had been hit by a truck. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could pretend like nothing was wrong.
“I’ll put you back on top and make sure you live to see it.”
“Shut up!” I yelled, pressing my hands over my ears.
“Interesting. Usually women wait until I speak before telling me to shut up.”
I glanced up to where Val leaned against the door to
my room, hands in his pockets, wearing an amused smirk. “Oh, that, I…uh, it…” Pressing the back of my hand against my forehead, I closed my eyes, forcing Ignacio’s voice out of my head while silently praying for the room to stop spinning. “I’m glad you’re here. I have a confession to make.”
And hope to hell Brody didn’t get to you first.
“So do I.”
My revelation died on my tongue, and I stared at him at a complete loss for words.
Seeing he achieved his desired shock value, he pushed away from the door and sauntered into my room. I watched every step, following every shift of his eyes as they scanned everything from the walls to furniture.
“This used to be our mother’s room,” he said finally.
“I know.”
He raised a curious eyebrow, waiting for me to explain, but I didn’t. It was too late, and I was too tired to explain the memories I shouldn’t have.
I shrugged. “Just a feeling, I guess.”
“I put you in here on purpose,” he admitted, running his finger along a thin layer of dust resting on top of the dresser. “I suppose as a test to see how you’d react.”
“Seems to be a lot of tests lately,” I huffed. When he didn’t respond, I braced my shoulder against the tall bed post and cocked my chin. “Did Brody fail one of your tests?”
“Actually, Brody passed.”
Remembering the blood dripping from his nose as he stormed out of the sitting room earlier, I narrowed my eyes. “Your reward system is pretty sadistic.”
Val let out a hearty laugh. “Brody proved his loyalty tonight by telling me something our father would have beheaded him for.”
“But not you?”
“I may be Alejandro Carrera’s son, but I’m not him, Adriana. When the situation calls for it, I can be just as cruel, but unlike him, I have limitations as well as standards. I expect a certain code of conduct from my men, and in turn, I exemplify it. If I’m shown loyalty, I reward it. If I’m betrayed, I show no mercy.”
“What does this have to do with Brody?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he took slow, calculated steps designed to taunt and torture until finally, his eyes flickered right in front of me. “He confessed to using your true identity in an attempt to keep Eden away from me.”
My heart fell to my feet. “He told you that? And he’s still breathing?”
Pursing his lips, he gave me an unenthusiastic shrug. “I’ve had a long time to process it. I’ve just been waiting for him to grow the balls to face me.”
I palmed my forehead, my vision going in and out of focus. “Dios mío, ¿qué demonios está pasando?” My God, what the hell is happening? “You knew? All this time, you knew?”
He had the nerve to look offended. “Why do you seem so surprised? I’m the boss of the most powerful cartel in the world. I own almost all of Mexico’s officials and most of the politicians in the southeastern United States. Plus, anyone with half a brain knew the minute I left Houston I had half a dozen men watching every move Eden and Brody made.”
“But you did nothing,” I argued, still not comprehending his logic. “You even made him a top lieutenant. Why?”
Val’s calm veneer vanished. “Trust me, if he’d touched her, that would’ve been his last breath.” Once the dark cloud passed, he uncoiled. “But Eden came back to me, and besides, how could I blame him? I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing. Love does crazy things to a man, Adriana,” he said, tapping his temple. “Makes him loco en la cabeza.”
Unbelievable.
I sank onto the bed, my body feeling like a sack of lead weights. If the whole thing weren’t so tragic, it would’ve been comical. The one thing that forced Brody into this mess, Val knew about all along.
The bed dipped as Val sat beside me and clasped his hands in his lap. “Plus, how could I kill him when he confessed to being in love with my sister?”
My head snapped to the side. “He said those words?”
“Oh, he said a lot more than just those words. But judging by your reaction, they’re words you haven’t heard yet, so I’ll keep them to myself. They’re not mine to tell.”
He’s in love with me. He loves me.
“Adriana, we need to talk about Cristiano Vergara.”
I winced, the words like a sharp knife stabbing into my already severed heart. I had no idea what all he knew, but I had a feeling it edged dangerously close to the truth.
“I know, but not now, okay?” I couldn’t sit still. I paced. I wrung my hands, and eventually I ended up right back where I started—by the window where Brody and Leighton were saying their goodbyes. Even from a distance, their embrace looked so genuine, so filled with love and trust that I blurted out, “Do you think we would’ve been like them? You know, if things had been different.”
Val joined me by the window, watching the siblings before answering. “I’d like to think so. When everything happened to Leighton, I saw a different side to him. He risked everything for her—his career, his reputation, his life. Over the years, I’ve thought a lot about the day you were taken. What I could’ve done. Maybe if I hadn’t run like a little bitch, I could’ve saved you and our mother.”
My heart lodged in my throat at the image of a six-year-old Val, running for his life while being chased by his mother’s screams. “Or you would’ve died right along with her.”
Val didn’t answer. He just stared out the window as horrific memories played across his face. Memories I was spared, while they became a burden he carried alone.
I’d come to a crossroads. I could forge ahead and dig a trail of tears or follow the worn coward’s path. It was because of that burden and the fragile bond we’d established that I chose the coward’s path, once again proving I was irredeemably selfish.
“I was in Santiago’s nursery today.”
And sadistic.
Val chuckled. “I heard.”
Biting my lip, I pressed my palm against the glass. “Are you sure he’s safe in there?”
He tilted his chin, his dark eyebrows bunching together. “What do you mean?”
“When I walked by, the door was ajar, and he was all alone. You have staff and sicarios coming in and out of this house all day. Don’t you think there should be some security measures in place in case—”
“Santi is fine.” The bite in his tone wasn’t anger; it was conviction. His confidence wouldn’t entertain the thought of anything less. “The staff is thoroughly vetted, and my men know if they step foot past the first floor, they’ll be shot.”
It was that unyielding confidence, and my suspicion that he knew the truth anyway that made my decision. Rounding my lips, I blew out a nervous breath and closed my eyes. “Val, I need to tell you—”
“Hey, Danger, I’ve been looking for you. I…” Eden’s voice trailed off as she hovered in the doorway, her bright smile fading.
Val held up a hand, his steady eyes locked with mine. “Un momento, Cereza. Adriana and I are talking.”
The room crackled with tension, and I forced a weak smile. “It’s fine, go. It’s nothing that can’t wait an hour.”
The pounding in my head was relentless. A dull ache so intense it blurred my vision even in complete darkness. I had no idea what time it was. Just the thought of staring at the bright light of my phone was enough to send the room spinning.
My teeth chattered as a trickle of sweat rolled down the back of my neck. I choked on the violent contrast of sensation, causing my body to spasm with a rough, rattling cough. Lifting a shaking hand to my chest, I clawed at my contracting lungs, my compressed throat, and my aching heart.
I froze, the last thought woven in so seamlessly, yet laced with so much truth.
Val said Brody confessed he was in love with me.
I didn’t deserve that word, but just for tonight, as selfish as it was, I needed to pretend I did. I needed the gentle calm before the storm. The peace before the reckoning.
I’d leave this world
the same way I entered it. As a soulless pawn.
Peeling back the blanket, I padded barefoot along the cold marble, goose bumps rippling across my bare limbs. My heart lurched into my throat as I stood outside the closed door, the silence behind it making me second guess myself.
Don’t turn back.
Twisting the doorknob, I stepped inside the darkened room before I could change my mind. My fingers curled by my side as an almost imperceptible exhale flitted across my ear.
“I was wondering how long it would take you.”
I smiled, even though I knew he couldn’t see it. “Confident, are we?” I barely got the last word out before another round of coughs almost brought me to my knees.
Sheets rustled, and the lamp ignited, flooding the room with agonizingly bright light. It felt like a thousand knives stabbing through my eyes all at once, and I muffled a cry as I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyelids.
Brody’s warm hands cradled my head. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“The light,” I wheezed. “Turn off the light.”
His warmth disappeared along with the glaring brightness. It was a painful and welcomed loss, fighting against another one inside my head. Once again, the violent contrast sent me into a tailspin, and I stumbled into his strong arms.
“Christ, Adriana, tell me what’s wrong.”
But I couldn’t. At least, not and still claim the peace I desperately needed. “Remember when I walked in on you at Caliente?”
The tension eased with his low chuckle. “You mean when I was jerking off, pretending it was you?”
I nodded. “I want to give you that.”
He let out a rough exhale, the raw need in his voice strained with hesitation. “Adriana…”
But nothing he said would deter me. Hell could rise up and drag me down piece by piece, but I was going to give him this one last memory.
My final surrender.
Sinking to my knees in the darkness, I curled my fingers around the waistband of his boxers and slid them down his strong thighs. Brody let out a low grunt as his cock sprang free. I’d never wanted to touch a man more. I’d never wanted to give without any reservations or expectations. So, I cradled him in my hands and stroked my thumbs over his swollen crown.
