Climbing off me, she reached for the papers she’d dropped earlier and knelt beside me. “I have something to tell you, and I don’t know how you’re going to react.”
“You’re freaking me out a little, Cereza. Just tell me.”
She blew out a heavy breath. “Okay, so, Brody came over two days ago.”
“I don’t like where this is going,” I growled, my skin feeling like fire.
I’ll fucking kill Brody Harcourt.
“Oh, calm your inner caveman, Danger. It was innocent. He came over to talk about you.”
“Me?”
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to put it out there, and we’ll deal with the fallout.” Rubbing the back of her neck, she caught my eye and held it. “Marisol Muñoz isn’t Marisol Muñoz.”
I leaned away, and studied her determined face. “That makes no sense.”
“You told me your baby sister’s body was never found after your family was attacked.”
“Eden, I don’t want to talk about…”
She placed a hand on my chest. “That’s because there was no body.”
“Huh?” I had no idea why she brought up such a painful subject, but I wanted no part of it. “Look, this is a part of my life I don’t want to talk about, all right? The past is the past.” Pushing off the floor, I buttoned my pants and headed back to the bar.
“That’s just it, Val; the past isn’t the past. Your sister didn’t die that night. Esteban Muñoz was one sadistic fuck. Think about it. What would hurt your father more than murdering his wife and children?”
Her words started to sink in, and my hand gripped the glass so hard I worried it might shatter in my hands. “It can’t be.”
“Esteban Muñoz took Adriana and raised her as his own daughter. He raised your sister to hate her own family and plan their deaths.” I felt her behind me before her hands touched my back. “I saw it in your eyes in that basement when you looked at her. You felt a connection with her, but you didn’t know why and it confused the hell out of you. Now you know.”
I swallowed hard, forcing the vomit I knew would eventually rise back down. “What are the papers in your hand?”
“Faked birth certificates, real birth certificates, blood records, and hospital records. A paper trail of proof that Brody dug up supporting what we’ve found. Esteban’s wife only gave birth once, and that was to Manuel. She’s your sister, Val.”
Turning, I met her stare, allowing her to see the fear that rolled through me. “If this is true, what will happen to her, Eden? This is all so farfetched, and she doesn’t know. All she knows is her entire family is dead now. What if she’s unsavable?”
Eden smiled knowingly. “She’s a Carrera. She’s not unsavable.”
I swallowed hard and grabbed her hand. “She ordered the hit on your brother. How would you ever forgive her for that?”
“One thing at a time, Danger.” Sighing softly, she buried her chin in my back. “Look, yesterday I thought I’d never see you again. That plan worked out well, huh?”
“I’m worried any goodness that might have been inside her has been eaten away by Muñoz influence.” I’d lived with the death and destruction of both our families my whole existence. I had no idea how she’d return from a lifetime of that kind of mind control.
“You both have your mother’s blood, as much as your father’s, Val. Give her time. She’ll find herself and seek you out. When that time comes, we’ll deal with it and be there for her.”
“What about you, Cereza?” I asked, turning and snaking my arms around her waist. “What’ve you found?”
A smile broke out across her lips as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Pressing her lips against my ear, she whispered with the strongest conviction I’d ever heard from her.
“Home.”
Epilogue
TWO MONTHS LATER
EDEN
“Val!” He sank his teeth into my shoulder as my body tumbled over the crest. Panting, I struggled to focus on his face as I grabbed it between my palms and brought his lips to mine. After a devastating kiss that found us both exhausted and collapsing in bed, he rolled to the side and scooped me in his arms.
“So, Cereza, how does it feel to sleep with the most powerful man in Mexico?”
A full-chested laugh escaped before I could stop it, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “Oh, please, Carrera. Do you really think you hold all the power around here?” The cocked eyebrow raised even higher, and my smile widened. The confused look on his face was priceless. “Come on, get dressed. We’re going to be late.”
He watched as I threw the covers back and opened the closet. “We? Where do you think you’re going?”
Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I met his stare, ready for the next step in my life. “We have a meeting.”
* * *
As the last man walked out of the room, Val returned to his seat beside me at the head of the table and placed a shot of tequila by my folded hands.
I shot a side-glance at him. “Añejo tequila? Straight shot, in a stem glass, not a highball, room temp, and if it hasn’t aged at least three years, shove it up the owner’s ass?”
“Warm house tequila, in a dirty shot glass. Cartel special.”
“Ah, big spender.”
Glancing around the room, he sat back in his chair. “So, was this your plan all along? World domination?”
With Mateo’s help, I’d finally figured out how I could be with Val and still keep my identity.
As equals.
I refused to be his dirty little secret or the little woman waiting at home for him to maybe come home, or maybe not. If what we had was going to work, I had to be in on every decision, every strategic move, and every dangerous situation he put himself in.
Sitting beside him at this table.
Bringing my idea to Mateo, he’d grinned and arranged my ambush of Val’s scheduled meeting with his top lieutenants, demanding their compliance by assuring Val’s approval. I knew Val would never agree with a partnership if I’d asked straight out. He was too protective, and if I started asking for his approval for my actions now, not only would that set a precedent in our relationship, it wasn’t how Val and I worked.
Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Lowering my lids, I picked up the shot and downed half of it and shuddered. It was eighty proof piss water.
From beside me, Val let out a low chuckle. “All you Americans are alike. You never take time to appreciate the finer things in life.”
Holding the glass by my cheek, I shot him an annoyed look. “You just said it was shit tequila.”
“Not the tequila, Cereza,” he said, his eyes deadly. “What’s at the end of it.”
“Oh, my God, there’s a fucking worm?” Slamming the glass on the table, I pushed my chair as far away from it as I could and scrubbed my tongue with my palm.
His laugh growing louder, Val picked up the glass and shook it, as something made a ting ting sound at the bottom. Curious, I snatched the glass out of his hand and peered inside. Immediately, my heart raced with disbelief and apprehension.
It couldn’t be real.
And yet, there it was, right before my eyes—large, round, brilliant, and very wet.
Taking the glass from my shaking hands, Val dug a finger inside and pulled the ring from the bottom, shaking off the excess tequila. Holding it up, he took my hand in his. “Eden, you’re everything I thought I never wanted. I don’t think there’s anyone else like you in the world, and for the sake of humanity, I hope I’m right. The minute I saw you, you got under my skin. You make it impossible for me to make sound decisions when you’re around, and you disrupt every aspect of my life.”
“Is this your idea of a proposal, Danger?” I whispered.
“I’m getting there,” he smiled. “With all that said, I wouldn’t change a thing. I meant it in Monterrey when I said I couldn’t breathe without you. I can’t, Cereza. You’re my air, and I ne
ed air to exist. I need you to exist. So, what do you say? Will you marry me?”
In that moment, I thought of Nash. “There’s no one to walk me down the aisle or give me away.”
“Eden, no one needs to give you away. When I walked into that bar, you became mine. Your heart, your eyes, your smile—they combined to give everything to me, and we’ve belonged to each other ever since.”
“I don’t belong to anyone, Val.” Touching his face softly, I reached in his waistband and pulled his own gun on him. Smiling, he never flinched before pulling another one from inside his ankle holster. Raising an eyebrow, I glanced between our weapons. “This is supremely fucked up, Danger.”
“I agree. But you have no idea how turned on I am right now.”
“You’re such a pig.”
“Ah, but this is the hallmark of how we operate, Cereza. We fight hard and fuck harder. Isn’t that the key to a lasting relationship?”
“We’re some seriously fucked up individuals.”
“You still haven’t said yes.” Thinking over his words, the night he walked into Caliente popped into my mind. “What are you thinking, Eden? You have a strange look on your face.”
“That night at Caliente. It was the worst night of my life and also the best.” My mouth twitched as I mulled over the words I’d just uttered. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to reconcile the whole dichotomy of it. I’m not the same person I was when you sat down on that barstool. I’ve done things I never thought I’d do, but I don’t feel remorse. What does that make me?”
“Answer me and I’ll tell you.”
“Tell me first,” I demanded, shaking my head defiantly.
“Eden, I was destined to run my father’s empire. I’d be here with or without you. I’ve never needed anyone. I’ve never wanted anyone because a soul was easier not to have. Stoning my conscience and heart made it simpler to rationalize this life, but you’ve become as vital to me as my legacy. There’s no distinguishable factor between them anymore. One can’t exist without the other. I’d be a broken man.”
“Val—”
“Listen to me, Lachey. Most of the world doesn’t see what we see and that’s all right for them. But the moment I saw you, Cereza, there was a fire in your eyes that matched your hair—a hunger for the power you lacked. Power that’d been continually taken from you. I offer you power and more. I never want you weak. I’ve seen what happens to weak women who aren’t informed and aware.” Holding up the ring, he grasped my hand. “Being my wife means being my partner. Not just in stupid meaningless vows people say every day, but in the true sense of our world. The world that’s now yours. My equal. My love. My salvation.”
“What about your precious heirs? Don’t you need a true bloodline to run an empire?”
“I need you, Eden. The rest we’ll figure out along the way. Stop putting everything in a box.”
“Yes.”
* * *
I married Valentin Carrera thirty days later on the grounds of our heavily-guarded estate. There was no fanfare or extensive guest list befitting the head of one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world. Just like us, it was private and discreet, with only Mateo and Val’s secretary Janine standing by our side.
After an impressive full cartel gun salute, he slung me over his shoulder, dismissed everyone with a wave of his hand, and threw me onto our bed. His hands trailed my sleek, white dress up the length of my legs, and he paused at the apex of my thighs as his hands brushed against my white elastic thigh holster. He lifted a sleek eyebrow as he traced his fingers over the metal fastened within its confines.
“Is this your old, new, or borrowed?”
I winked. “It was a wedding gift from Mateo.”
“Remind me to kick his ass later.”
I ran my hands through his thick, midnight black hair. He’d slicked it back for the ceremony, but I loved it when it was wild and dangerous—just like him. “Be nice. You know as well as I do, anything could’ve happened today. You’re telling me you weren’t armed?” His lip twitched in a half smile. “That’s what I thought. Mateo just wanted me to have protection too.”
Val’s hand tightened around my thigh. “Speaking of which, now that we’re married, there will be no more birth control, Eden. What happens, happens. I want to feel every inch of you with nothing separating us.”
Releasing the garters from my elastic thigh holster, Val slid it down my leg and tossed it and my gun to the floor. I groaned impatiently as he chased his fingers back up the length of my leg with his lips. The minute he passed my knee, I meant to moan something enticing and dirty.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t what came out.
“About that heir thing…” He froze, with his mouth on my inner thigh. Glancing up through thick eyelashes, he waited for me to continue. Swallowing the lump growing in my throat by the minute, I took a deep breath and smiled. “Well, with Nash being gone, and neither of us having any family left, I decided to listen to you and stop putting everything in a box.”
“Oh?” He smiled.
“Except for one thing. I left this in there.”
Digging under the pillow, I handed him the rectangular box and held my breath. It rattled as he shook it and I smiled nervously. “So, how would you feel about a daughter running the empire someday?” The horrified look blanketing his face first scared me, then irritated the hell out of me. Narrowing my eyes, I peered at him through tiny slits. “Really?”
Full chested laughter overtook him as he rolled over and took me with him. “If she’s anything like you, she’ll run more than this empire. She’ll run the world.”
Holding my head between his hands he kissed me long and hard, glancing from the box to my face. “Really?”
“Really.”
“We’re going to fuck this up, Cereza.”
“Probably,” I agreed. Frowning, I ran a hand down his chest. “I don’t think I’ve ever really thanked you.”
“For what?”
“For kidnapping me. You most likely saved my life, and I repaid you by stabbing you with a fork. It’s a wonder you didn’t kill me yourself.”
“The night’s still young.”
“We’re bringing a kid into this, Danger. Are we doing the right thing here?” Panic seized me at the thought of our child enduring the life Val grew up with.
Eyeing me closely, Val brushed a piece of hair from my face. “Do you regret being here, Eden?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Not a moment.”
“Then neither will he or she. Family isn’t what’s around you. It’s what surrounds you. My mother showed me that every day of her life. I think you’d agree—so did your brother.”
“I miss him, Val.”
“And you always will, baby. Just like I’ll always miss my mother and the person my sister used to be. Maybe someday she’ll remember where she came from, maybe not. What’s important is we don’t stop living just because they did.”
Pulling his face down to mine, I dusted my lips across his. “How’d you get so smart?”
“Someone once told me I was an emotional black hole. I may’ve done some light Googling.”
* * *
In the middle of the night, I watched my husband sleep. No one would ever accuse Valentin Carrera of sleeping peacefully, but in the sanctuary of our bedroom, we let down our guards and let trust rule the night.
Wrapping the blanket around my shoulders, I realized that I barely thought of my old life anymore. Although we both lost our entire families and still mourned our slain loved ones, the ache they left would’ve eventually destroyed us. Ironically, the catastrophic events that their deaths set in motion created a love we found in each other, easing the ache and filling a void neither of us knew existed.
Some people were raised to see only two sides of a world—good or evil. You either stood on the side of righteous or damnation. I discovered life wasn’t predictable and people weren’t necessarily all pure or all malicious. Perceptions changed when cul
tures and survival were on the line.
Val said we fought hard and fucked harder. I supposed that was true. My emotions ran at heated fluctuations when we were near each other. He angered me and loved me like no one ever had or ever would.
My father’s favorite quote referred to the fine line between love and hate. He’d tell me not to confuse or blur it. I should recognize the difference and turn my back on the latter.
I disagree.
Val Carrera taught me that life didn’t necessarily run in clear shades of black and white. Gray areas clouded a side of people they had no idea existed—a side capable of unspeakable acts when thrust into darkness. In those gray areas, love and passion ran volatile in two people whose paths were never meant to cross.
Hearts.
Hatred.
Blood.
In this life we’d chosen to live, the blurred line between love and hate was sometimes stained red.
Acknowledgments
As always, many thanks go out to the Thelma to my Louise, my cohort and partner-in-yet-to-be-proven-crimes, K.A. Ware. Remember the Facebook message I sent you with a little story idea, and you responded back with, “Stop what you’re doing, put the Cheetos down, put on some real clothes, and write the $*@%ing story right now, or I’ll kick your ass!” Lucky for me, the story is this book, and my ass is safe. You’re my person, you know that. This business would be nothing without you beside me.
Crystal Unger, you my right hand…you my go-to. Seriously, some days I wonder how I got so lucky to have you as my PA because you are worth so much more than I pay you…which is nothing. You keep my life straight. Thank you for not complaining when I asked you to Google the strangest things in the name of research that probably has both of us on some kind of FBI watch list. You are now—and forever—Mrs. Valentin Carrera.
Mitzi Pummer Carroll, holy crap woman, you are the best! Editor extraordinaire and one of Brody’s biggest fans. Thank you for going back and forth with me on Danger and Cereza and leaving the most hysterical running commentary I’ve ever read. I’m blessed to have found you.
Blurred Red Lines: A Carrera Cartel Novel Page 28
