Old Hollywood (Colombian Cartel Book 4)

by Suzanne Steele

  “I hate you, too, beautiful vixen. I’ll be back for you later, be ready.”

  His cruel laughter echoed off the walls as he ambled down the hall to find his brother. Valentina was as defiant as she was beautiful, so it came as no surprise to Victor that she wasn’t about to turn her life over to him without a fight. But he was a Ramirez, after all; there was nothing she could do to stop the inevitable.

  Valentina scowled at the door long after Victor’s footsteps had faded away. She curled up against the pillows, lost in thought. She’d never been with another man, Victor was all she knew…and, if she was honest with herself, he was all she wanted. And how fucked up was that?! She also knew that defiance was what made the chase so gratifying. The truth was, Victor Ramirez had women fawning all over him but he only had eyes for her. She didn’t know why he was so taken with her, but it was profoundly satisfying to keep him off balance and put him through hell. As far as she was concerned, that was exactly what Victor Ramirez needed—a challenge.

  Valentina awoke slowly, savoring the warmth of Victor’s chest pressed snug against her back. She arched her back, smiling to herself as she pressed her ass against his rather impressive morning wood. She longed to stretch her aching muscles even as she practically purred at the memory of all she and Victor had done to each other only hours earlier.

  He did come back for her, as he’d promised. They had met briefly with his father before heading out, and Ricardo had given her his blessing – and declared that a wedding would be planned -- before sending them on their way. She had agreed rather demurely. No one was more shocked than she was at her compliance, except maybe Victor. She hadn’t told him how she felt about his father’s declaration, but knew she would need to tell him soon.

  When she and Victor had returned home several hours later, Victor had fucked her with a fierce, primal intensity that went deeper than she’d ever experienced with him before. What a difference a night made.

  Following the discussion with Ricardo, they had spent the remainder of the evening securing the sale of the TV station that the Ramirez brothers had coveted for so long. One more step in their long-term strategy to establish a portfolio of legitimate business interests within the media industry. Lucky for her, their ambitions dovetailed beautifully with her own.

  Victor and Tony had ‘persuaded’ Briggs to sign over the station, and Victor had gotten his pound of flesh, too. Or gallon of piss, maybe. Victor hadn’t seemed all that surprised when Briggs soiled himself. Maybe it was typical for men to piss or shit themselves when facing the wrath of a Ramirez. William Briggs wouldn’t be straying from his wife again any time soon, that was for sure.

  So many things had become clear to Valentina during the tumultuous night. Everything Victor had done had been for her. All the ugly rage and humiliation he had unleashed upon Briggs had been for her. Because he loved her, was consumed by her.

  She swallowed hard and felt Victor’s arm tighten around her. With her eyes closed, she breathed the words that had been weighing on her heart. “I love you, Victor, with all my heart. You were right; you’ve given me no choice but to fall in love with you.”

  His body tensed behind her for a long moment, then he was turning her around and pulling her tight against his chest. “God…I fucking love you too.” He could barely breathe to get the words out.

  He had expected to feel light and happy when she finally came around and acknowledged her feelings for him. Instead, his chest was heavy with an unfamiliar feeling…the threat of unimaginable loss. In an instant, he was overwhelmed by a flood of protective instincts. He had spent a lifetime watching others endure the risks that came with great love. But she was worth the risk, he knew that for a fact, deep in the darkest corner of his soul. He wanted it all. He wanted everything life had to offer with this woman.

  She pressed his hand to her abdomen, her eyes soft. “I love you so much, Victor, and the son I carry in my womb does too.”

  He stopped breathing, staggered by the enormity of the truth she had just shared. “Are you sure?” His gut clenched with the instinctive drive to protect his growing family. In that moment, he knew he would walk through fire for them without a second thought.

  She nodded, looking up at him with misty eyes as she bit her bottom lip. The move was so fucking sexy, he couldn’t help how his hips leaned in toward hers as he blanketed her body with his, rubbing his cock against her heat, seeking her acceptance…needing her surrender.

  “Have you taken a test?”

  She nodded again. “Mm-hmm.”

  “Without me?” He pulled away with a frown. “Why didn’t you let me share that moment with you, baby?”

  Her heart clenched at the pain she saw in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to get your hopes up. I wasn’t sure at first and I just wanted a little time to come to terms with the idea. This changes everything, Victor.”

  “This changes nothing. It’s always been you for me, Valentina. Always.”

  Fear wrapped its ugly tentacles tighter around his heart as he recalled the pain his aunt and uncle had gone through when they tried to conceive. Roxanne had lost several pregnancies in a short amount of time, and when she finally gave birth, the baby was stillborn. That bitch fate hadn’t been satisfied with their hearts being broken by all the miscarriages, no, she had to brutalize their hearts a final time when the umbilical cord had wrapped around the baby’s neck during labor. Victor knew that was why his aunt and uncle had always treated him and his brother as their sons too. Their love for him and his brother was as close as they would ever get to having children of their own.

  Someday Valentina would hear that nightmare of a story, but not today. He didn’t want Valentina to think of anything negative right now. If anyone thought he’d been possessive before, Valentina’s news had roused his alpha nature anew.

  “Oh, and one more thing. Don’t even think about clowns when it comes to the nursery; not toys, not even pictures, Victor. Clowns are fucked up. I won’t have them around my baby.”

  “Wow, I don’t think Tony picked up on that at all. You know how he loves to analyze people and learn their fears. You may be the first time he’s missed something. If he ever shows up at a birthday party dressed like a fucking clown, though, I swear I’ll kick his ass!”

  She laughed but Victor didn’t. His tone was solemn and apologetic as he said, “I never would have let you watch what happened to Briggs if I’d known you were pregnant. Forgive me.”

  “Honestly, Victor. Shut up and fuck me.”

  “Oh? Well, I aim to please.” He pulled her beneath him and drove his cock into her luscious heat, making all the right moves to pull a toe-curling orgasm from her body. Watching her come apart brought him more satisfaction than any orgasm he’d ever had. The reason was simple: his life was all about Valentina and the child she carried…their child.

  A few days later, Victor summoned three cartel bodyguards to his office. Resting a hip along the corner of his desk with his arms crossed over his chest, he considered which one would be the most vigilant keeping his prized possessions safe—his wife and unborn child.

  There was Arturo, the guard who still bore the scars of Antonio Wayne’s whip because he’d fallen asleep on duty. Tony was embroiled in drama of his own these days, some ugly business involving the Sinaloans. Arturo had failed in his duties to watch over someone of great importance to Tony, and he had paid the price. Victor shook his head, returning his focus to the matter at hand, confident that his brother would take care of his own personal business in due time.

  Stiven and Edwin stood alongside Arturo. They were large men, both more than capable of guarding Valentina but Arturo had something the other two didn’t: the fear of God.

  Victor stood in front of Arturo and smacked his cheek. When that didn’t elicit a response, he did it again. The man stood with his gaze fixed straight ahead.

  “I think you have what I’m looking for. You’re focused and you have no ego – and you understand that f
ailure will mean death. Will you do anything, and I mean anything, to protect my woman and the child she carries?”

  “I would give my life, Señor.”

  “You don’t bear a grudge against my uncle, are you? You know, maybe feeling bitter about being on the business end of his whip?”

  “No, sir. I got what I deserved. I deserved worse. I should never have fallen asleep on duty, sir.”

  A severe beating will do one of two things to a man: make him a traitor or loyal to the death. The look of allegiance was in Arturo’s eyes—a look that couldn’t be faked or drummed up. He was the right man for the job.

  “Fair enough,” Victor said. Then he smacked him again—this time far harder than before. Still nothing. Good. His gaze was brutal and unforgiving. “Your life, eh? That works for me.”

  It was settled. Valentina would have a personal bodyguard at all times from now on. Many people didn’t know how brutal Arturo could be. Once he had surprised them all by giving a disrespectful guard a Colombian necktie by cutting the man’s throat and pulling his tongue out through the gaping wound. The dearly departed guard had been talking smack about Antonio Wayne behind his back, and had been rumored to be planning to betray the cartel. Arturo had dealt with it swiftly. It was one of the reasons Antonio Wayne hadn’t killed him when he beat him with the whip. Loyalty was something that couldn’t be fabricated and it had saved Arturo’s life.

  He was the perfect guard to entrust with the safety of Victor’s family. Fear would keep Arturo vigilant and also keep him from getting any ideas about developing feelings for the exotic beauty. Doing something stupid like that would get the man killed and this time it wouldn’t be Antonio Wayne doing it. Everyone in the cartel knew how volatile Victor could be when it came to Valentina, and none of them had the balls to stand up against that kind of obsession.

  Chapter Forty

  The sun was going down when Harley finished her double shift and began the long walk through the hospital parking garage to her car. Distracted by thoughts of what she’d made for a late dinner when she got home, she was taken by surprise when a man stepped from behind a concrete column and clamped his hand over her mouth. When she kicked him in his shin, a pained grunt was the only thing that gave a clue he was even affected. She found herself wishing she wasn’t kicking him with her soft-soled nurse’s shoes. They didn’t do the damage a five-inch stiletto would. Oh, what she wouldn’t give for a pair of come fuck me shoes right about now.

  It wasn’t until he growled in her ear that she realized who had her—yep, she was right about the handsome stranger being treacherous. You should have listened to your gut, Harley. As if chastising herself would do any good now.

  “Play nice, Harley. Now, you’re going to get in this van with me and we’re going to talk. If you fuck with me, I’ll sedate you and you’ll wake up in a cage.”

  She knew he meant what he said. What she didn’t know is why it made her drenched between her legs. She nodded and tried not to think too hard about how this stranger was hitting all her right buttons with such ease, when no other man had ever even gotten close.

  King half-dragged her over to a black van with tinted windows, and shoved her into the passenger seat. The tint was so dark that she knew there would be no hope of anyone seeing her and helping her.

  Harley had been in the streets long enough to know this was a conversation that needed to happen. This wasn’t the kind of guy who would quit and she really didn’t have time for whatever game he was playing. She was too busy working overtime so she could save for her dream home. Whatever this guy did on his own time was none of her business and she wanted to keep it that way. Better to get this over with so it didn’t come back to bite her in the ass later.

  King walked around and slid into the driver’s seat. “I think we both know what happened in that hospital.”

  “I don’t want to know.” She put her hands over her ears to emphasize her point.

  “Shut up!”

  He was shocked when she whirled around and jabbed her finger into his chest so hard and fast that he thought his eyes would cross.

  “Don’t ever fucking tell me to shut up! You wanna talk, that’s fine, but you’re going to respect me, motherfucker!”

  There was that cocky, lopsided grin of his again. He shrugged. “I can deal with that. What I can’t deal with is you running your mouth. I work for a dangerous man. He wanted that patient dead, so I took care of it. I want to make sure we’re still clear about what’s at stake if you run your mouth about me ever being in that room.”

  “What did he do that this dangerous man wanted him dead?”

  “He became obsessed with my boss’s woman, tried to kidnap her. That’s unacceptable. It had to be dealt with.”

  There was that delicious sensation of liquid heat between her legs again. What the hell? “Where do you come from, King? Where do you fit in all of this?”

  He waited a moment before answering and then sighed, deciding she might as well know. If nothing else, she would take him seriously if she knew the truth. She would also realize she was vastly outnumbered and that not even the FBI could help her. “My associates are with the Colombian cartel.”

  “Wait. But you’re here. In Louisville. How on earth did you get mixed up with criminals in Colombia?”

  “The cartel has business interests in the U.S. and uses Louisville as a low-profile hub for their operation. The Ramirez family has the East Coast. But all you need to know is that your life will never be the same. Your job is to make sure the cops keep believing that this guy’s broken nose was worse than originally thought – that, and to answer to me.”

  She had been around men who looked a hell of a lot scarier than King, but that was what made him even more compelling: his ability to commit atrocities like murder while blending in like he was a typical, harmless member of society. “Right. Whatever. Listen, can I go now?” she asked impatiently.

  King shrugged and nodded toward the door that represented freedom and safety. He waited until she reached for the door handle. “Harley…”

  She turned and met his gaze again, her eyebrows raised as she waited for him to speak.

  “I’m watching you, darlin’. I know everything there is to know about you, right down to the credit cards in your wallet, how much you’ve saved up for that little dream house you want so badly…and that you have a whole fuckin’ arsenal of vibrators in your nightstand drawer.” He grinned at her horrified gasp. “And that the purple one’s your favorite.”

  She blushed and looked away, and his cock sprang to full attention. It wasn’t exactly helpful that he could think of nothing but the fantastic view he’d had through her bedroom window as she had pleasured herself two nights earlier.

  But he still had a job to do. He cleared his throat and laid the cold, hard truth on her. “Harley, don’t make the mistake of fucking the cartel over. If you do, it‘ll be the last mistake you ever make. I won’t be able to save you.”

  Chapter Forty One

  Harley regarded him stoically across the small space between them in the dimly lit van. King’s words struck home, filling her with fear at the thought of losing everything she’d worked so hard for.

  “Like I said, I know everything about you, Harley. All your secrets are now my secrets. Hell, you know how this works – you grew up in the biker world. The people I work for will kill you if you run your mouth. I know where you live, how many pets you have, hell, I even know your fucking monthly cycle. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating me, darlin’. It will cost you your life if you do.

  “Consider me your new best friend. I’m going to show up when you least expect me. If you were dating anybody, I’d tell you to stop, but I’ll just tell you know that you can consider yourself off the market. I don’t need you suddenly developing a conscience and running your mouth during pillow talk.”

  She couldn’t resist making a smart-ass remark. “If you know so fucking much, why don’t you think I’m dating?”<
br />
  “Because, first of all, you seem pretty fucking devoted to your purple battery-operated boyfriend. And secondly, your loudmouthed friend is always trying to hook you up with someone but you always say no. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, now would you?”

  “Leave her out of this, King. This is between you and me.”

  “You’re not running things, darlin’. I am. Let me re-word that: don’t fucking see anyone else.”

  “Anyone else!?”

  “Yes, anyone else. I have plans for you.”

  “I have no intention of dating the likes of you! I’ve spent years getting away from the criminal element. I’m not letting you pull me back into it. I don’t give a fuck if you are cartel, you’re not the boss of me.”

  He reached over, placing his hand on her cheek and when she tried to jerk away he held on tight. He fisted her hair with his free hand, yanking until there were tears in her eyes and her bottom lip was quivering.

  “Why are you being like this?” she cried. “I thought you were this mysterious, nice, easygoing guy…I mean, you look like a surfer dude or a frat guy. Guess I was wrong.”

  “I can be a very nice guy and, yeah, usually I am. It’s a good cover and lets me move through polite society unnoticed. But you bring out something much darker in me, Harley. And I may have picked up a tip or two from the Ramirez family, so, really, it isn’t entirely surprising.”

  He couldn’t help himself. He leaned in and ran the tip of his tongue over her trembling bottom lip. “And I have no intention of ‘dating’ you, Harley. Not my style. I do have every intention of climbing inside you and fucking you so hard that you forget your own name. Now, this whole, blushing ‘little girl’ thing you’ve got going on is making my dick hard. Get the fuck out of my van before I do something about it.”

  When she turned toward the door, he pulled her back around until they were face to face once more. Nostrils flaring, he stared at her for a long moment, then muttered, “Fuck it,” and brought his lips crashing down on hers. Taken by surprise, she gasped and felt his tongue slip inside to tangle with hers. In that moment, Harley felt her insides melt, right along with her resistance.