El Malo

by K. Webster

  “That is all that matters,” he agrees. “When I claim something as my own, I treat it well. Do my men look like they hurt for anything?”

  “They all have cars that cost more than most people’s homes,” I say with a snort.

  He grins wide, his dimple forming. “Their bank accounts are even bigger. When something is mine and they pledge one hundred percent loyalty to me, they are rewarded.” His thumb brushes along my bracelet. “You are being rewarded.”

  I drag my stare from his piercing one and stare off into the ocean. “Have any of them betrayed you?” I can’t look at him because he might see I’m betraying him too.

  His fingers link with my left hand. “None who have ever lived to tell about it.”

  Our eyes lock again and I see fire brimming in his stare. Challenging. Questioning. I should back off, but I’m clearly a masochist in wanting to know my fate because I continue.

  “Girlfriends? I never see you with anyone. Sure, I’ve seen you with women, but they never stay. Not after a little fun. Why’s that?” There are some questions that need answering and it has nothing to do with the agency.

  “I haven’t found one worth keeping.” His answer is simple and it makes my heart swell.

  God, I’m so deeply fucked with this man.

  “And I’m worth it?” I bite on my lip, ignoring the way butterflies dance in my belly.

  “You are to me.” He tugs my hand so I’m stretched forward over the table. His lips press to the back of my hand that’s locked in his. “Completely worth it. You’re a mysterious package I’m enjoying opening layer by layer. When I get to the center, I know you’ll be completely mine.”

  “What if you don’t like what you find?” I ask, my voice catching and tears threatening. I’m getting swept up in the storm that’s Javier Estrada. Desperate to be in the center where it’s calm. I want to cling to him and forget everything around us. That would make life much simpler. This having to be two people is tricky. A part of me likes the woman I am when I’m in his arms. Sexy, beautiful, fierce, and strong. When I’m Rosa Daza, CIA agent, and with Michael, I feel dirty and tired and overworked. I’m not the confident woman I am now. It confuses me because I’m not supposed to be a better person with a wanted man. Everything is supposed to be worse, not better.

  “I’m pretty sure I like everything about you, manzanita. Even the parts you hold dear to your heart.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “And it doesn’t matter if I don’t like what I find. You’re already mine.”

  I want to discuss this more—to probe him on what he’ll do if he ever finds out—but the man is back with a bottle of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold Champagne. He pops the cork and pours the bubbly alcohol into our champagne flutes. I’m in a daze as he rattles off the specials. Javier, sensing I can’t decide, chooses for us both and waves the man away.

  “Rosa,” he murmurs, his voice harsh despite how quiet he is. “A toast.” He holds up his glass and indicates I should do the same.

  I grab my crystal flute that’s filled nearly to the brim and hold it up. His hand has never let go of mine and I can’t help but cling on to the fact he won’t hurt me if he ever discovers the truth. “A toast to what?”

  “A toast to what is happening between us. My father told me stories of my mother. How when he saw her, he knew she was his. Pursued her relentlessly. Fucked a child into her and married her not long after. He said Mamá was like the sun. Brilliant and hot and dangerous to a man like him. But he wanted her to burn him anyway.” His eyes darken and I try not to melt under his heated gaze. “I have no doubts you will burn me, manzanita. I can feel it just below the surface. Like an alligator beneath the water, just ready to strike. It’s going to hurt. It’s going to hurt so fucking bad and yet…”

  Tears prickle my eyes and my bottom lip trembles. “And yet we want it anyway.”

  He nods and tilts his head. “Here’s to sweet motherfucking pain. It is our future.”

  We both suck down our champagne, the air charged with many emotions. Anger. Lust. Need. Desperation. I’m not rattled and upset like I should be because he knows this can't end well and is still here. He feels it down to his bones and yet he’s here with me anyway.

  I’m worth it to him.

  A sob catches in my throat that has him rising from his chair. He rounds the table and pulls me into his arms. His warm strength envelops me and I allow myself to fall. Just for a moment. I get sucked up into him and I seek out the eye of the storm. It’s safe there. Nobody gets struck with flying debris. It’s warm and sunny and ours.

  “Música, por favor,” he barks out to someone.

  Seconds later, a romantic Mexican song fills the air. He pulls my arms up and I lock my fingers behind his neck. His palms fall to my waist as he rocks with me slowly. I can’t look at him. He’ll see the secrets I harbor. That I’m supposed to be taking him down and all I want to do is fall deeper into this thing we’re doing. To pretend I am his Rosa Delgado…forever.

  Rosa Daza has been snuffed out for four years.

  Does she even exist anymore?

  I tilt my chin up, hot tears welling in my eyes. “We need to use protection. I need the morning after pill. We’re being careless.” I’m telling him without telling him we can’t be like my parents. It ends badly. We will end badly.

  “Shhh,” he croons, his lips brushing against mine. “You’re mine, Rosa. How many times do I have to tell you this? Mine. Even if you betray me and destroy me in the process, you are mine.”

  “But…” I whisper.

  “But nothing. This is the Estrada way. When we know, we know.”

  I meet his intense stare as tears roll down my cheeks. “For the record, I want you to know, I want this.” The real me, whoever she is now. She wants Javier Estrada and wants to forget anything else.

  He doesn’t let me speak anymore. Just kisses me.

  The sunset our backdrop.

  The sweet music our soundtrack.

  Our future the credits that will roll at the end of our eventual unhappy ending.

  Javier

  “He fucking stinks, jefe,” Alejandro complains. “Can I just cut his throat and get rid of the body?”

  Smirking, I shake my head. “Nope. He lives. Velez will stay alive as long as we can prolong it. Did you repack him with ice?”

  “Yeah, but he’s looking a little green. I don’t think he’s going to live much longer,” he admits. “When will Yoet arrive?”

  I check my watch as I stand from my desk chair. “My father and Tania are supposed to already be here. Everything is ready for the party tonight?”

  It’s been several days since I took Rosa shopping. That night, when I pulled her into my arms and danced with her at the hotel, she’s seemed to shed some of her tension. Allowed me to fully pull her into my world. She didn’t balk when I had Arturo pack up her things and bring them to my bedroom. She didn’t argue when I told her she was no longer a maid. She just went with it. For this, I’m glad. She needs to realize she’s mine. Now and forever.

  Alejandro walks over to the window and points. “The food is prepared and guests are arriving. Rosa is ordering around the hired wait staff for the event. Is that okay, jefe?”

  Chuckling, I walk over to where he points and watch her from the window. Despite being told she’s not a maid anymore, she still oversees the maids as though it’s her duty, and now the hired wait staff. She’s gesturing to a table and the man she’s talking to has his head bowed in submission.

  My queen is on fire today.

  She knows how important it is to me to impress my father and she’s going out of her way to please me. If my father wasn’t arriving any moment, I’d toss her over my shoulder and fuck her real good for being such an accommodating woman.

  “Are they bringing their nanny?” Alejandro asks.

  I’m not a fan of Camila, but she loves Emiliano as though he’s her own, so I forgive her. I’m not blind to the disdainful way she regards Tania behind her back. Camila
worships my father and is a beautiful woman, but Tania is his wife. She can do no wrong in my father’s eyes. I believe this drives their nanny crazy. I’m sure she’d prefer if she got to play mommy along with my father.

  “Camila will be here. Don’t fuck her,” I warn.

  He chuckles. Alejandro may be a young man, but he always has eyes for the older women. The last thing I need is one of my bodyguards fucking my father’s nanny. What a shitfest that would be. “I’ll stay away, but you know my dick brings all the honeys to the yard.”

  “You won’t have a dick if you disobey me,” I snap back.

  He’s not worried by my warnings based on the smirk he still wears, but he tells me what I want to hear anyway. “I like my dick. I won’t fuck the nanny.”

  “Good, let’s go—” I start but then a shrill shriek echoes from down the hallway.

  Emiliano.

  I stalk out of the office in time to see a three-year-old boy with black hair clumsily running for my office. When he sees me, he holds his arms out. I eat up the distance and scoop my baby brother into my arms.

  “Emi,” I coo as I kiss the top of his head. “I missed you, hermanito.” Little brother.

  “Javi! Pool!” he says, his pudgy fingers tugging at the knot on my tie.

  I chuckle as I walk down the hallway with Alejandro on my heels. In the foyer, my father and his wife, Tania, stand looking weary from their travels. Father wears a three-piece suit and tie, which makes me glad I decided to wear one as well. He’s fussing over Tania as she tries to untangle her sunglasses from her long, inky black hair. My father is of my size and build, but he’s gone fully gray. His skin is tanner than mine as he spends a good portion of his time on the beach and by the pool. At fifty-two, he’s still a good-looking man. Always smiling and charismatic. It’s no wonder how he was able to rope such a hot looking wife.

  “Javier,” Tania greets, her pouty lips forming a smile upon seeing me. “Come here, love.”

  Emiliano wiggles out of my arms and takes off sprinting to explore more of the house. Camila, wearing her usual sour expression, chases after him. Tania pulls me into a hug, her fat fake tits smashed against my chest. She smells like one of the new perfumes I bought Rosa.

  “How are you?” I ask.

  She pulls away and smiles, her fake lashes batting against her cheeks. “Perfect as always. How is my favorite stepson?”

  Father chuckles from behind her as he possessively pulls her back into his arms. I am of no threat to him with Tania, but she’s closer to my age than his. He doesn’t let her get far from him. Ever. She seems to prefer it that way as she melds against him.

  “All is well in Acapulco,” I tell her with a grin.

  Father kisses her head and then releases her to hug me. “I’ve missed you, mijo.”

  I pat his back and then gesture to the open doors overlooking the backyard and ocean. “You must put your things away and relax after your travels. Everything is ready for your arrival.”

  Father flashes me a grin of approval. “We’ll change into our suits. I look forward to catching up.”

  Tania clutches onto his elbow and Alejandro shows them to where they’ll be staying. It’s where they always stay. Father’s bodyguards follow after them. I take the moment to seek out Rosa. She’s still outside and is fussing over a flower arrangement over one of the tables. I sneak up behind her and wrap my arms around her.

  “Time to party, mami,” I growl against her ear.

  Her pink summer dress is thin and I love how it hugs her curvy body, but I want to see her in a swimsuit more.

  “Change into your swimsuit. Party is getting started and I want you to officially meet my father,” I say, my hands sliding up to her fat tits.

  She turns in my arms, a frown on her pretty face. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

  I chuckle. “You are beautiful. Father loves pretty things. Go change.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I’m always right.”

  It’s taken her much longer than I expected for her to change. I already swapped out my suit for black swim trunks. Tania and Father have long since come to the pool. What’s taking so fucking long?

  “I heard about the Osos,” Father says as he sips from a mini bottle of tequila. He prefers them over glasses. The same sized ones they stock hotels and airplanes with. I make sure to have plenty to keep Father happy. And as his son, I drink them too when he’s around.

  “The Osos no longer exist.” I down the small bottle and deposit it on the side of the pool. Despite the cool breeze, the water is heated to perfection.

  “Who are our threats now?” Father asks.

  I shrug and then rest my arms on the edge of the pool as I stare at the ocean. “Arturo is analyzing our next moves. Everything is in chaos. Mayor is missing. Police are wisely protecting their only money-making assets left, the local hotels along the beach. The city is nothing but bloodshed and horror.”

  Father chuckles. His back is against the pool side as he watches Tania play with Emiliano in the shallow end. “Business is up in Puerto Vallarta. New hotels being built all the time. The Estradas own most of the expansion. It’s how I was able to buy my new yacht.”

  I narrow my eyes and focus on the massive beast out beyond the waves. “That’s yours?”

  “It is. She cuts through the water as though she’s Moses parting the Red Sea. The waters yield to her command.”

  “It’s safe for Emi?”

  “Of course it is. There’s no way he could accidentally fall off. When on the yacht, not only does Camila watch after him, but I’ve assigned my two most trusted men to also watch. He’s precocious but intelligent. Your brother has a healthy respect for the ocean. Unlike someone I know,” he teases.

  I chuckle. “Cliff diving has nothing to do with respect for the ocean. It’s about knowing your abilities. I’m confident in my ability of finding the deepest part to dive into. I am not careless, Padre.”

  “Of course not—holy shit,” he hisses. “Look at that woman, Javi. Ella es hermosa.” She’s beautiful.

  When I turn, I grin upon seeing her. My Rosa. And she’s more than beautiful. She’s utterly breathtaking. She wears a two-piece white bikini that barely covers parts of her that taste like heaven. The triangles covering her nipples are tiny and the globes of her breasts are on full display for everyone, including my father. The tiny scrap that covers her bottom half is just that. A scrap. I know she’s shaved smooth beneath, but I can see the dark line of her slit of her pussy lips. It will be only more transparent once she hits the water. I knew when I chose this one for her, it would be perfect. Her long dark hair is in messy waves behind her and she wears a pair of white strappy heels that make her calves more toned looking than before.

  “¡Hola, mami!” I call out, pride in my voice.

  She seeks me out and flashes me a brilliant smile. Her makeup is flawless. Long dark lashes. Smoky eyeshadow. Full red lips. The jewelry I’ve given her glimmers in the late afternoon sun, making her fucking sparkle.

  “Hola, Javi,” she greets, her voice husky and shy.

  “This is your girlfriend?” Father asks, his eyes tracking her as she walks around the pool.

  “Sí. She’s perfect, yes?”

  “I can certainly see why you’re so taken with her,” he agrees. “Let’s meet the darling.”

  I climb out of the pool and stalk over to her, dripping wet. She lets out a squeal of surprise when I grab her and pull her against me. Her ass is bare and I’m pleased that she’s wearing this thong swimsuit. It’s daring but my manzanita is brave. My palms grip her naked ass in appreciation.

  “I could fuck you right now in front of everyone,” I murmur against her ear. “You’re so goddamned hot that everyone here wishes you belonged to them. But you are mine, Rosa.”

  She melts at my words. This woman is so pliable. I can ease her into anything as long as I preempt it with something lovely whispered into her ear.

  “I’m
yours,” she agrees.

  “And I’m Yoet Estrada,” my father says from behind Rosa, amusement in his voice.

  She pulls away and offers her dainty hand. He takes it and kisses the top but doesn’t release her. Tania, used to his flirtatious nature, doesn’t even bat an eye in his direction. My father is no threat of taking my woman, but it won’t stop him from being ultra friendly with her.

  “Rosa Delgado,” she says, her voice sultry and somehow fierce all at once. Another niggle of pride dances through me. I hug her from behind, my palms roaming all over her naked flesh. I’m hard and my cock presses against her, letting her know just how she affects me.

  “Rosa is a beautiful name,” he says. “Come meet my wife, Tania, and our son, Emiliano.”

  He tugs at her hand, forcing me to release her. I watch Rosa’s perfect ass jiggle as she walks with my father toward the shallow end of the pool. Tania with Emi on her hip climbs up the steps and regards Rosa with a wide smile. They shake hands and then Rosa leans forward to ruffle Emi’s hair. He beams at her and reaches for her.

  My chest aches at seeing her take my brother into her arms. She hugs him to her as though he’s every bit as precious to her as he is me. When she turns to seek out my gaze, her eyes shine with love and adoration. I’m stunned by how gorgeous she is in this moment. It has nothing to do with her killer body and everything to do with her instant love for my brother.

  Stalking over to them, I beam at her. “He’s perfect, yes?”

  She nods. “So cute. Oh my God. I love him.”

  Emi plays with her necklace and babbles about a show called Paw Patrol. She nods animatedly as she listens. He equally adores her. Any apprehension I had about her meeting my family is squashed in this moment.

  “Camila,” Tania calls out. “It’s time to put Emiliano to bed.”

  Camila nods, never smiling, and takes Emi from Rosa’s arms. It’s dusk now and the party is getting underway as the band has arrived. The atmosphere quickly evolves from family swim party to adult dance party. As the music begins booming and an up and coming new Mexican band starts playing, I tug Rosa back into my arms where she belongs. I wave for a server to bring us drinks. Real ones. He offers us shots of tequila. Once we’ve downed a couple and the heat is sliding through our veins, I start dancing with Rosa.