Diego shut his eyes, his chest expanding with each deep breath. When he looked at me again, his gaze burned with hatred. “You can’t do this,” he said.
“It is done.” I looked to Maksim, Eduardo, and Alejo—my friends and my compadres—as I spoke to Diego. “You can run. I did for years. But I expect you won’t make it months.” I returned my eyes to my brother. “Then again, perhaps you’ll surprise me.”
“Or perhaps I’ll spend my final days in California. Natalia is headed back soon. She’d like to have me with her.”
I flattened a hand on my desk. I could order the Maldonados not to kill Natalia, but there was no guarantee they wouldn’t if she purposely got in the way. I hadn’t been able to stop my mother from supporting and defending my father’s decision to get into the sex trade industry.
“You’d be putting Natalia at risk. You know what they’d do to her. It would be selfish. Are you a selfish man, Diego?”
He glanced away.
I didn’t need an answer. I’d convince Costa to keep Natalia close in the coming days. With his help, no harm would befall her. I took a final pull from my cigar and stood, cracking my knuckles. “Do as you please with your final days. We’re finished here.” From my pocket, I took a silver coin and flipped it at him.
He caught it and turned it over in his palm. “What’s this?”
“The ferryman demands a toll to take passengers to the underworld,” I said. “This one’s on me. Safe travels to hell, hermano.”
Diego stood his ground, raising cold, bitter eyes to mine. “I’ll beg if that’s what it takes. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
“You have nothing to offer me. What’ve you got that I can’t buy for myself?”
“Besides my loyalty—information,” he said. “I know everything there is to know about Costa’s business. I can give you inside access. Together, we can take over his cartel and you can rule them both with me as an advisor.”
“I have no need for Costa’s business, but if I did, I’d manage to secure it fine without you.” I signaled for my men to remove Diego.
“Help me leave town,” Diego said, growing louder as he rushed out his final pleas. “This will be the last you ever see or hear of me. You can tell everyone, including the Maldonados, I attacked you and died as a traitor. Tell them anything.”
I rose from my chair, buttoning my jacket as I strolled around the side of my desk to face him. “You’ve plotted against Costa; why should I believe you wouldn’t do the same to me? I can already see the wheels turning in your mind as a plan forms. I won’t spend my life looking over my shoulder anymore.”
“I will, you have my word,” he rushed out. “I’ll disappear completely.”
“Your word means nothing. A parasite doesn’t change its ways.” I nodded to Maksim. “Remove him.”
Eduardo and Alejo rushed forward like a stampede and took Diego’s arms, forcing him toward the door.
“Suéltame,” Diego said, struggling against them. “Get off!”
As they dragged him backward, I turned back for my cigar.
“You’re wrong, Cristiano,” Diego said. “About one thing, you’re wrong.”
Despite the desperation that remained in his voice, something about it had turned chilling, almost satisfied. He wasn’t entirely defeated as he should be. Nor was he filtering himself anymore or hiding behind a persona he’d crafted.
It was enough to get me to look back and raise a hand to stop my men. I smiled. “Dígame,” I invited. “Tell me what I’m wrong about.”
His breathing evened out as smug certainty tainted his words. “You say you have everything you want—but that isn’t true. Some things can’t be taken. Some things must be given.”
I narrowed my eyes on him as red light flickered and faded downstairs. “There’s nothing in this world you have that I can’t take for myself.”
“Then you’re no different from our father.”
I drew back. He was right—because my father had taken people. If Diego was saying what I thought he was, then even I had underestimated the lengths he would go to to save himself. Something stirred deep inside me, a desire I tried not to acknowledge for fear of where it could lead.
“Don’t think I don’t know your weak spot, brother,” Diego said. “Because it is mine too.”
I raised my chin. I couldn’t protest. I should’ve stopped him by now, but I hadn’t—because in this area, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be strong. “That’s not yours to give.”
“It is. Call off the Maldonados.” He bowed his head and spoke ardently. “Spare my life, and I will deliver it to you.”
I should’ve had Max finish him off there for trying to tempt me. I had a plan. More importantly, I had a code, especially when it came to human lives. I hadn’t encountered many reasons in my life to break it.
But this possession wasn’t only something I wanted. It was something Diego wanted.
And that made it all the more precious.
17
Natalia
I sat at my dresser in a daze, unsure of how long I’d been brushing my hair and willing my phone to ring. I hadn’t heard from Diego since the warehouse had burned, and my father was making arrangements to get me out of Mexico. Diego had to know how worried I was. And how that anxiety ruled my imagination. If the Maldonados knew about the warehouse, Diego could very well be dead by now.
Until I spoke to him, there was nothing I could do but pray for his safe return. I traded my brush for a match. When I struck it, fire flamed. I held it to the wick of my Virgin Mary candle, lit a few others on my dresser, and closed my eyes.
But I didn’t think of Our Lady or God or even Diego.
Instead, the devil came to mind.
Cristiano had fooled everyone around him—except me. I still hadn’t completely processed Cristiano’s involvement in the death of his own parents. At only fifteen, he’d come to my father, the head of their rival cartel, with information that he knew would seal their fate. How could my father have trusted someone who’d committed that kind of betrayal against his blood?
And now, Diego would pay the price.
No, I couldn’t think like that. Diego could pull himself out of this, and I had to hold on to that hope for both of us. Whatever it took, I wasn’t going to let him go. I couldn’t. Having Mamá ripped from my arms was enough heartbreak for one lifetime. Diego wasn’t just the love of my life—he was my past and future. He anchored me. We had a long life ahead of us—a cliffside California wedding, children that would resemble each of us, safety and security that had been earned over a lifetime.
Saying good-bye to all of that would be too difficult to bear.
I’d protect it however I needed to.
Diego had already shaken hands with one devil. Whether it was the Maldonados or Cristiano who held his fate, we’d take it back—even if it meant making a new deal.
No matter what my father said, I wasn’t leaving Mexico until I knew Diego was safe.
I paid no attention to the first couple taps at my window, but when the third came, I jumped up. Barely noticing how my feet smarted, I ran onto the balcony, tying my robe closed, and leaned over the side. One the dark lawn, a shadowed figure looked up at me from under a black hoodie.
My heart leapt. “Diego,” I said. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”
He held a finger to his lips. After glancing left and right, he scaled the trellis along one wall he’d used before to sneak into my room.
I scanned the yard as he climbed, making sure nobody saw. As he reached the top, the wood lattice under his foot snapped. He jerked, cursing as he almost lost his footing. I reached for him, and a vision flashed across my mind, his fingertips centimeters from mine before he lost his grip and fell to his death.
I shook the harrowing thought from my mind. “Careful,” I whispered.
He grasped my hand and heaved himself up the rest of the way. I grabbed his cheeks and pulled his mouth to mine. He thrust one hand in my
hair, holding me as he devoured me for a kiss that tasted of soot, smoke, and death. My fingers traveled his face, brushing over cuts and bumps. I drew back to take in the bloodied bruises on his cheekbones, nose, and forehead.
Seeing the evidence of his fight against that morning’s attack made my chin wobble.
“Oh, no, princesa. Don’t cry,” Diego said softly. “Let me in. After the last twenty-four hours, it’d be a waste for me to get shot here.”
I moved so he could climb over the concrete balustrade. Once inside, I hugged his neck. “I’m so scared.”
“Shh.” He rubbed my back. “Come. I need you to be strong for me.”
I swallowed down the urge to cry and reluctantly released him. “What’s happening?”
Diego sat on the edge of the bed, put his elbows on his knees, and ran both hands through his hair. “Please forgive me for last night. Please. I need you to know that I came back for you, but you were gone.”
“Against my will,” I said. “I would never have left you, either.”
“Cristiano.” As he cupped a hand over his other fist and squeezed it, the tendons of his forearms went taut. “Did he hurt you?”
The fear and concern in his eyes made me go to him. He pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. “No,” I said. “He forced me to leave and brought me home.”
His fingertips dug into my hip. “I want to curse him and thank him all at once. He may have saved your life, but it was only so he could flaunt that in my face.”
“You’ve spoken to him?”
“Yes.” Diego looked up at me, his expression pained as he caressed my back. “First, just promise me he didn’t lay a finger on you.”
I nearly shivered remembering Cristiano’s threatening presence behind me in my bedroom. My thoughts as they’d strayed to the possibility that he’d unapologetically take what I’d saved for Diego. The way he’d held my wrist and provoked me with words to distract me from the pinch of the tweezers. His fingertips trailing up my leg, his grip on my upper thigh, his unusual reaction to hearing about my virginity.
I smoothed Diego’s brown hair from his forehead. It was no less silky for whatever trauma he’d been through. “He dropped me off,” I said. “That’s all.”
“Really?” Diego’s expression eased. “He never touched you?”
“Really.” I was surprised at the lie, but relief crossed Diego’s face for the first time since he’d arrived.
“I never should’ve taken you to the warehouse,” he said. “Being around me puts you in danger.”
Because my father had said the same to me many times, hearing that from Diego almost felt like a betrayal. I drew back. “That’s my choice to make,” I said. “Papá wants to send me home early, but I’m not leaving you.”
“When?”
“Sunday. He says we’ll go to Easter Mass, but the helicopter leaves before nightfall.”
“I’m doing everything in my power to get us out of this,” Diego said. “I need you now more than ever—you are my strength.” He glanced out my window, setting his jaw as if he were fighting himself. “But Costa is right. You shouldn’t be here. I’d never be able to live with myself if anything happened to you.”
“But you just said you need me.” I gritted my teeth to stem a fresh wave of tears, but not because I was sad. I hated that Diego and my father wanted me gone when this was the only place I should be. “I won’t abandon either of you.”
“This isn’t a game, Tali,” he said, looking back. “When the Maldonados come for me, they’ll come for us all.” He lowered his voice. “We owe them a lot of money.”
I would’ve had to be have been a fool not to know that, but hearing it sent chills down my spine. “How much?”
“Millions and millions,” he said quietly. “More than we can ever repay.”
I covered my mouth. “There has to be a way out. Can you borrow it from somewhere? Ask for more time?”
“Years wouldn’t be enough. Retribution is taken with a long arm and a firm grip. Not even Costa can protect us.”
“Then we have to leave,” I said, standing, ready to run the second he agreed. “Fuck this life! Just come with me.”
“I can’t.” He reached for me. “You know there’s nowhere I can run they won’t follow.”
I went to my closet. “Well, we can’t stay here,” I said, wrestling my suitcase from the top shelf. “Since when are we sitting ducks? Why not at least try to disappear? We can get passports and start over—”
“Please, Talia,” he said, rising from the bed. “Don’t pull away from me.”
He caught my elbow and drew me into his embrace. Cupping my face, he kissed the tears that’d escaped down my cheeks. “Forgive me,” he whispered, sliding his hands everywhere on my body. “I’m desperate.”
His hungry lips found mine, and I grasped his hair as he took my mouth. I arched into him, letting him walk me backward toward the bed. He untied my robe and slipped his hands inside to grab my ass. His kiss grew more feverish. This time, he didn’t stop it, as if sensing this might be the last time.
As that reality hit me, I choked back a sob but tried to hide my despair with a moan.
Diego wrenched himself away and strode to the other side of the room. “We can’t do this.” His hair fell forward, and he tucked it behind both ears. “My God, Natalia. You are so beautiful . . . but we can’t. I’m weak.”
“Then let us be weak together.”
He paced the room. “It was a mistake to let myself fall in love with you, but I could no more help it than I could growing older each day.”
My gut smarted as if his words had delivered a punch to my stomach. “You don’t mean that.”
“How can I not?” His anguished eyes met mine. “I’m a dead man. I’ll never have you. Not now.”
“Don’t talk like that.” My throat thickened again. “You’ll find a way out of this, and then my father will understand—”
“Your father? He’s the least of our worries.” Diego unzipped his hoodie, balled it up, and tossed it on my reading chair. It slipped over the arm onto the floor. “It’s over, Tali—don’t you see?” He strode back and forth, his muscles straining a black t-shirt each time he thrust his hands in his hair. “Even if I found a way out of this, Costa would never forgive a failure of this magnitude.”
“Then there’s nothing keeping us here,” I said, reaching for him. “We have to go.”
He avoided my eyes as if it was easier to pretend I wasn’t here. “They’ll find us, and when they do, they’ll kill us both. I can’t put you in that position.” Finally, he stopped moving and pinched the inside corners of his eyes. “I’m as good as dead. The only peace I can have now is knowing you’re safe.”
My chest stuttered with a panicked breath. Fear crept into every part of my body. I had known it was bad, but seeing Diego come apart in front of me made everything even more real. He’d never expressed anything close to this level of anguish. “We’ll elope,” I said. “Papá will understand how much I love you, and he’ll find a way to stop the Maldonados. He has that power.”
“He doesn’t,” Diego said. “If he did, he would’ve stopped them already because he . . .” His jaw squared as if he were checking his emotions. “He’s in just as much danger as I am.”
No. My heart fell to my feet. I’d lose the two people who meant the most to me in the world. I put my hands over my face. “They’ll kill him too.”
“I’m sorry.” His voice came out strangled. “I’m so sorry, Tali.”
I wanted to sink into a ball on the floor, but that wouldn’t help. As despair weighed on me, I forced myself to hold it together. I picked up his hoodie to fold it over the arm of my chair. “There has to be another way. There must be.”
“There . . .” He hesitated. “There is.”
I glanced up at him, unsure I’d heard him correctly. “What is it?”
“It’s not on the table,” he said. “I won’t involve you in any way.
”
Me? I could do something? I didn’t care what it was. I hurried over to take his hands. “If I can help, let me. Please.”
He brought the backs of my hands to his lips. “I don’t deserve you. You should walk away now.”
“You must know I’d die for you if it came to that,” I said firmly.
He swallowed, his eyebrows cinching. “Tali.”
“I would,” I said. “Now tell me what can be done.”
With obvious trepidation, he paused for a breath, seeming to struggle to get the words out. “The Maldonados are too powerful. Nobody who would help us can match them. They don’t fear us—but they could.”
Hope surged in me. There was a way—that was all that mattered. Not all was lost. I would take a sliver of hope over nothing. “How?”
“Neither your family nor mine is strong enough to stand against them alone. But together . . .”
Together. Two families standing as one. United.
“You’ve been part of our cartel longer than you haven’t,” I said. “We already stand together.”
“Not officially.”
To bind our families in a legal sense meant . . .
Marriage.
My heart soared. Relief and joy—and a sense of rebellion—spread through me. They thought they could destroy us, but we’d fight back. My father thought he knew better, but he’d see that keeping us apart wasn’t the answer. Taking Diego’s name was not only a privilege, but now it was my destiny. I could save us—and I’d be getting exactly what I’d always wanted.
“We’d be resurrecting my father’s dream of unifying both families,” Diego explained. “We’d stay in the shipping business but unite with weapons and narcotics. Each cartel would benefit from the others’ infrastructure. Pooling our resources, network, and cash, we’d become a formidable front.”
“Father would forbid it,” I cautioned. “He’d never let us go through with it.”
“Once it was done, he’d be forced to see it was the only way. Our houses, united, expands his empire. He’d control the movement of his own drugs and guns—we’d be untouchable.”
Violent Delights (White Monarch Book 1) Page 21
