She’d still dangled herself as bait in front of me, a man she knew to be dangerous. A man she believed was her mother’s murderer. Every time I tried to scare her, she returned for more. Even hours earlier, when I’d stood at her back in her bedroom and had practically watched her imagination run wild with all the possible things I could to do to her while we were alone, she hadn’t cowered long.
She should cower, though. Testing boundaries got her into trouble. Case in point—she’d stupidly spent last night in the most dangerous place possible.
With Diego. For Diego.
It hadn’t occurred to me they might be there. None of my men had seen her. I gripped my glass at the thought of Diego alone with her all night. It was like the unnerving feeling I’d gotten when I’d come across them in the courtyard at the costume party. Jealousy had warred with my fury. Any other time, I would’ve been delighted to catch Diego in a vulnerable moment, but Bianca Cruz’s dying words had been for me. A plea. And no matter how far I’d run, or how hard I’d worked, I’d never forgotten them. And that tied me to Natalia in ways she didn’t understand.
Maybe Natalia Lourdes was no longer my responsibility, but that instinct to protect her remained. Seeing her again had reawakened an unwelcome fondness for her, but my fascination wasn’t nearly as innocent as it’d once been. But who could blame me?
She had mesmerizing violet eyes that could charm a man to walk into a burning building.
Long legs that could wrap around him for days.
And I hadn’t stopped thinking about that virgin pussy since this morning.
Diego wouldn’t know what the fuck to do with a panocha like that. I knew exactly what I’d do with it, though. And it would start with my tongue buried so deep inside her, I’d be tasting her for weeks.
With a knock at the door, I took a moment to collect myself. This was why I didn’t fuck with sirens like Natalia King Cruz. I was thinking about her when I’d spent years anticipating this final standoff with my brother. Costa had cleared my name, and I was back where I belonged—but I still had one more loose end to tie up. I couldn’t let Diego’s faithlessness in me go unpunished.
And I was going to revel in every moment of what was to come.
I turned from the window. “Pasen.”
Maksim entered first, followed by two of my men as they restrained Diego. Max tossed a semi-automatic pistol next to the bottle of tequila on my desk. “He’s clean.”
“He shouldn’t cause you any trouble.” I said, picking up a second glass from the drink tray to pour a fresh one. “He’s smart enough to know he’s cornered.”
“Your head of security has a glass eye and your bouncer a severe limp,” Diego said. “They’d be lucky to get a shot anywhere near a target.”
“I’d think twice about insulting anyone in this room.” I gestured at a club chair. “Have a seat.”
“I’m not staying,” Diego said. Covered in ash and soot, with cuts along his face and hands, my brother looked as if he’d been up all night fighting for his life. Which, I supposed he had.
“Siéntate,” Eduardo ordered.
“You were expecting me.” Diego sat on the edge of the chair. “Why not show up at the warehouse like a man to face those you ruined?”
“I had something to attend to at Costa’s.” I held out the tequila to him. “Here.”
He waved off the drink. “Costa was with me.”
“Seguro?” I asked, offering it again. “It’s top-shelf. A special edition sent especially from a tequila bar in Guadalajara.”
“I’m sure what’s ‘special’ about it is a dram of poison,” Diego said.
I gave Eduardo the glass. “Enjoy, compadre,” I said.
Ed nodded as he accepted it. “Gracias, señor.”
I returned in front of Diego, picked up my drink, and sat back against the edge of my desk. “Costa left his poor, trembling daughter alone in that big house this morning. And during such a dangerous time.” I frowned into my drink. “I took it upon myself to offer her my protection. And my comfort.”
Diego narrowed his eyes on me. “What’d you do to Natalia?”
“Nothing she didn’t enjoy—don’t worry.”
“Vete a la chingada,” he said, jumping out of his chair. “Fuck you, pinche puto pendejo.”
As Diego released a string of curses, I held up a hand to stop my men from drawing their weapons. Had I hit a nerve? When it came to Costa and his family, Diego put on an admirable performance, but today, we had no audience. Could it be that his feelings for Natalia were genuine? I smiled. That would make this even more interesting. Diego was about to lose more than I could’ve even planned for.
“You almost killed her this morning,” Diego said.
She wasn’t supposed to have been at the warehouse, nor was he. It was a fuck-up on my part, but I wouldn’t let him see that. “Tranquilo,” I said, keeping my tone light to calm him. “I simply bandaged her up.” Bandaged her up and resisted my every urge to fuck her until she forgot my brother’s name. If waiting years for this moment with Diego wasn’t evidence of my unrivaled self-control, removing my hands from Natalia’s smooth, firm thigh was.
A round with me and she’d question everything she knew—including her devotion to Diego. It hadn’t occurred to me until now that she might actually mean something to him.
“She was trapped on the roof of the warehouse with no way out,” I said. “Luckily, I was there, or she’d have been burned alive.”
“You say that like it was a coincidence,” he said. “You planned it that way.”
“Planned it? No. I was supposed to watch from a distance as your hopes, dreams, and livelihood went up in smoke.” I took a sip. “I hadn’t intended to risk my own life for your Natalia.” Despite the silky vanilla-almond flavor the tequila had left, ‘your Natalia’ tasted bitter on my tongue. My Natalia sounded better, but I couldn’t entertain that thought.
After this, she’d never forgive me.
“You did this, Cristiano,” Diego said evenly, taking a step toward me. “The hits on the safe houses. The tunnel explosion. The warehouse fire. You’re responsible for all of it. And now, I have nothing to offer the Maldonados but ashes.”
I stood to meet him. “I warned you one shot was all you’d get it,” I said. “You missed. That was your mistake.”
“I’ve never taken a shot at family. That was you.”
“You put me in front of the firing squad, which is worse,” I said, holding his stare. “First, by accusing me of Bianca’s murder, then years later when I reached out to you for help. You sent men to kill me as soon as you knew where I was, and they came home empty-handed. Never take aim if you can’t hit the bullseye. You missed both times.”
“You went to Costa, our family’s enemy, with information that you knew would get our parents killed,” he said, balling his fists. “I tried turning you over to Costa, yes, but that’s no different than what you did to our mother and father.”
“It’s completely different. The victims of my crimes are never victims—they know exactly the risks of the life they lead.” I picked up the tequila bottle in the likeness of a smiling golden sun and pulled off the top. “Our parents were getting deeper and deeper into trafficking innocent children and women,” I said. “I went to Costa for help because you and I were too young to do anything, and they had to be stopped.”
“Nothing breaks the bond of family,” Diego said. “Costa might’ve pulled the trigger, but you murdered them. Their blood is on your hands.”
I made a show of checking my knuckles. They were callused and scarred from years of defense, offense, and survival. But there wasn’t a spot of blood on them. “You’re one to talk about breaking family bonds.” I refilled my drink. “Do you know what tomorrow is, Diego?”
Diego took my drink off the desk and gulped from it. “Holy Saturday.”
“The burning of Judas.” I filled another glass on the tray for myself. “We’ll be celebrating here at the clu
b in case you know any traitors. There’s still time to make an effigy.”
“Then make it in your likeness.” His nostrils flared. He thrust the glass in my direction, and tequila sloshed over the side as he pointed. “You killed our parents.”
“Costa did.”
“And he has paid half the price,” Diego bit out. “His debt will be settled once his daughter chooses me over him. Once he realizes I can take her away from him if I choose. But you haven’t been made to pay at all.”
“I’ve paid, believe me. The Cruzes were my family, and they turned on me for a crime I didn’t commit.”
“They are not your family!” He shoved a hand in his hair and turned around, pacing to the glass. “They never were. You don’t deserve one after what you did to ours.”
The Cruzes had been family to me once, especially Bianca. Costa’s wife could’ve easily cast me off or ignored me as she had Diego—who, I was certain, she’d seen through from the start.
But she hadn’t. She’d cared for me the way a mother should when she had no reason to. But she’d never get to speak her truth—so I would do it for her.
“Bianca was family,” I said. “You didn’t know her like I did.”
“No, I never got the privilege,” Diego said, turning back to level me with a glare. “We all know how well you knew her. Despite Costa’s pardon, the state they found her in speaks for itself.”
I dropped my glass and charged at him, seizing him by his shirt. “I never touched her, and you know it. You talk of loyalty but reek of betrayal, and that’s why she kept you at arm’s length. It’s why Costa will never let you near his daughter. They only trust you so far.”
Diego grabbed my lapels to try to push me off, but Max drew his gun in a split second. Glass eye or not, my right-hand man had as unshakeable an allegiance to me as I did to him, and that made him a killer of the deadliest sort. Diego clenched his teeth but let go of my jacket.
“You’ve planted some bullshit ideas in Natalia’s head,” I said, “but don’t think I don’t know where they came from. You’re the one with plans to take over, not me.”
Diego laughed grimly. “I’ll do it the noble way. I don’t have to force a woman like you. My plans are to marry Natalia, who loves me, and stand by Costa’s side until he’s ready to hand over the reins.”
I released him with a shove. It was uncanny, my ability to sniff out when my brother was lying. Why other certain people couldn’t see it, I had no idea. “You fused yourself to Natalia when she was most vulnerable. Bianca would never have allowed you to get so close to her. You saw an opportunity and you took it. And if Costa wasn’t going to give you what you wanted, you were going to use Natalia’s love for you against him.”
“You’d have done the same,” Diego said. “The difference is, Natalia fell for me, not you.”
I had traveled the world in search of the kind of loyalty she gave Diego. I’d lost any family bonds I’d had or formed. My parents were dead. Bianca was dead. The only man I’d ever looked up to had thought I’d violated and murdered his wife. I’d gone through great pains to surround myself with men and women I trusted my life to every day—ones I’d give mine for in return.
Yet I remained haunted by the day Natalia had risked her life for my brother. A man who didn’t deserve her. To have what I’d built was one thing. To have the unflinching devotion of a woman like her, to be loved the way Bianca had loved Costa, was surely nirvana.
But devotion to the wrong man could get you killed; my mother was evidence of that.
Diego made Natalia weak—I was doing her a favor.
Because Natalia had proved a woman who couldn’t be moved with words or reason. It had to be with action and force.
“Natalia didn’t fall for you. She was manipulated.” I stalked closer to him, enjoying the way he pulled back his shoulders, as if he thought he stood a chance against me. “You slowly secured her loyalty to you over anyone else, so when you were ready to make demands of Costa, he’d have no choice but to give in or lose her.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t love her or see him as a father,” Diego said. “I know what’s best for all of us.”
A monster didn’t always perceive himself that way. But I saw right through my brother. “It was an admirable grab at power, not unlike something our father would’ve done, but it didn’t work. And in the end, it doesn’t matter, because it won’t change your fate.”
“Once the Maldonados hear about the fire, they’ll come looking for me.” A vein in his forehead appeared as he tensed his jaw. “I can’t recover from this.”
“No, you can’t.”
He swallowed, his hands twitching as if he had to resist throwing a punch. “So, here I am. You have me where you want me. What do you want, Cristiano?”
“Nobody gives me what I want. I take it.”
He ran a hand through his hair and made a fist. “I’ve cost them over a hundred million dollars. They’ll crucify me. And Costa. And everyone who ever spoke a word to me.”
I rounded my desk with my drink and undid my jacket. “You knew the risk of writing a check you might not be able to cash.”
“I would’ve been able to—if not for you.”
“There is no use in if, Diego.” I sat in my leather chair and leaned back. Diego continued to stand tall, though I read the agitation in his eyes and hands. “What’s done is done.”
“So that’s it. You’ll ruin the Cruzes too? Stand back and watch as the cartel takes revenge on everyone involved—me, my men . . . Natalia?”
I didn’t respond at first, letting that sink in for Diego. He had fucked with me, and now I had the power to destroy him and everyone he loved. His precious Natalia too, who’d be especially devastated since she’d been lying to herself for years that she wanted nothing to do with this life. Now his sins would be hers.
When recognition of my reach began to cross his features, I spoke again.
“Ángel Maldonado and I happen to have an amicable relationship,” I said, crossing an ankle over one knee. “For his mercy, I will pay a hefty price, but it can be arranged—for those I find deserving, at least.”
He shoulders loosened just a little. “I figured as much. So what do you want in exchange for that ‘hefty price’?”
“From you? Nothing. I’ll pay the toll to spare Costa and his family—who have acted as my family.”
“And me?” he asked, drawing back. “Your own brother?”
“You’ve been in my shoes.” I opened the top drawer of my desk and took out a box of Cubans. “You had the chance to save my life by speaking to my innocence, but you didn’t.”
“I was trying to protect the family you claim to love. I had no reason to believe you weren’t guilty.”
I cut the tip of one cigar and glanced up at Diego to scrutinize his reaction to what I said next. “I’m not sure I believe that.”
His jaw set as the pulse at the base of his neck quickened. He flattened his hands on my desk. “Whatever lies you’ve convinced yourself of, you can’t hide from the truth. You’d murder your own brother.”
“No. The Maldonados will do it for me.” I flicked my lighter and held the flame to the end of the cigar. “You left me at the mercy of another—now I’ll do the same for you.”
“Why not just shoot me here?” he asked. “Don’t you have the guts?”
“I hope for a long, prosperous relationship with Costa if he wants one.”
“And killing me might jeopardize that.”
“I’m not killing you. You got yourself into this mess. I’m simply not going to help you.” I puffed on the cigar, feeling gratified, then offered it to him. “Eye for an eye, Diego. It’s more than you deserve after everything you’ve done.”
He ignored my gift and straightened up, regaining composure as if he’d grasped an answer that could earn his freedom. There was none, but I’d play along until I got bored. I’d waited for this moment too long to rush it.
“You want to see
me stripped of everything? My family, my money, my woman?” he asked. “You hold the cards, Cristiano. Estás encargado. I’m at your mercy—but you cannot let Maldonados go through with this. They won’t just kill me . . . they will make an example of me—”
“As they should.” I traded the cigar for my drink. With a celebratory sip of tequila, I ran my tongue over my teeth, pleased to find revenge had hints of peach and sweet agave. “There has been a snake in the grass far too long, and it’s only fair somebody separate its deceitful mind from its body.”
He began to pace in front of my desk. “Name your price, then.”
“There’s none.”
“There’s always a price. Whatever it is, however high, tell me now.”
I watched him quietly, reveling in the way his eyebrows knitted together when the truth dawned on him. This was the final puzzle piece he’d come looking for today, the one thing he couldn’t figure out. What did I want in exchange for taking mercy on him?
Nothing.
I hadn’t manipulated him into this position to extract anything. Because of him, I’d suffered. For years, I’d been on the run, looking over my shoulder for a sicario in the dark. I’d lived with the knowledge that the people I’d cared for most had thought me a traitor. I had pulled myself from nothing and built an empire. I was wealthier than God and surrounded by a steadfast army. I’d made peace with Costa. All that remained was to see my brother pay for his sins, which I suspected ran deeper than he was willing to admit.
And now I would.
And now he knew the truth.
Betrayal had a price, and even family had to pay.
“Confess your sins and pray for mercy,” I said. “But you’ll get none from me.”
Diego had plans to take over Costa’s cartel and drag down Natalia as he followed in my father’s footsteps, but I wouldn’t allow it. The world would be a better place devoid of any de la Rosa men, but especially without the two of them.
Violent Delights (White Monarch Book 1) Page 20
