Faded Gray Lines (Carrera Cartel Book 2)

by Cora Kenborn

  Leighton fell to her knees, scooping the little girl into her arms. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what Leighton would say. It hardly seemed like the time or place for a family reunion. As much as I wanted to claim my child, I didn’t want Stella’s first memory of meeting her father to be in a dirty shed after being kidnapped.

  But as usual, Leighton knew exactly what to say. Inching toward me, she placed a hand on my arm and smiled. “Stella, this is my friend, Mateo. Can you say hello?”

  There were two moments in my life I knew I’d never forget: the first time I saw a girl in a yellow dress, and the first time I heard the voice of an angel.

  “Hi.” She grinned, dimples sinking into both her cheeks.

  I choked out the words lodged in my throat. “Hello, Stella. I’ve waited a long time to meet you.”

  Ending the call, I glanced at Leighton. “Val’s contact at the morgue said he can only slow down the autopsy report by two days.”

  “So, I’m officially dead for forty-eight more hours, huh?”

  The smirk on Leighton’s face made me question our plan. After all she’d been through, maybe I needed to handle this myself.

  “No,” she said firmly as if reading my mind. “I’m doing this. She’s not getting away with it.”

  We didn’t speak again, riding the rest of the way in silence with Stella sleeping soundly in the back. Although I had no idea how she managed it, considering her uncle’s four-letter tirade when Leighton called him and explained everything that had happened.

  By the time we got to Brody’s apartment, my whole body felt like a downed power line. Stella whined about spending the night away from her mother, but Leighton managed to soothe her with promises of candy and dolls and other shit I had no idea about. Eventually, she gave in, giving her uncle a hug and kiss before skipping off to his bedroom to watch television. Obviously, the two of them had a solid relationship.

  A fact that both calmed and irritated me.

  Brody watched Stella until she closed the door then turned his gaze toward us. His expression was dark and sullen. The ravaged man I’d left on his knees in that field was gone. In his place stood a man fractured by his own choices. The Brody Harcourt I’d come to know and call a friend was locked away behind a wall of nothing. He was lost, and I wasn’t sure he’d ever return.

  A tear fell from the corner of Leighton’s eye as she wrapped her arms around her brother’s neck. For whatever reason, he couldn’t hug her back, and my heart broke for them when I saw Leighton die a little inside.

  “I’m going to fix everything,” she whispered in his ear. “My best attack is a surprise attack.”

  Brody stared at the wall. “It shouldn’t have gotten this far. I should’ve protected both of you.”

  I’d seen her tortured enough for one day. Stepping in, I took her by the hand. “They’re ready for us. We have to go, mi amor.”

  Forty-Five

  Leighton

  When Mateo said they were ready for us, he wasn’t kidding—and by “they,” he meant Val and Eden. He’d called them the way to Brody’s with explicit instructions on what to have ready for us at the Aloft Hotel in downtown Houston. By the time we arrived, my stomach was already in knots.

  Even after a few hours of sleep, I felt no better. While Mateo got ready in the main room, I fought with the tie on my wrap dress as Eden fussed with a stray hair that had escaped out of my brown wig. Just as she got it tucked back in, it popped back out.

  “I look ridiculous,” I said, collapsing against the sink.

  To her credit, Eden didn’t seem offended. In fact, she leaned next to me on the counter and smiled. “There’s no worse betrayal than that of a parent.”

  “You sound like you know from experience.”

  She gave me a sad smile and patted her belly. “This little guy doesn’t have any grandparents either, Leighton. That’s not by accident. We’re taught to honor thy mother and father, but where’s their rule? They’re supposed to love and protect us at all costs. When they don’t honor their commitment, we’re no longer bound to honor ours.” Squeezing my hand, she walked out and closed the door behind her.

  Turning around, I let her words sink in. The longer I stood there, the less nervous I felt and my heart filled with overdue revenge.

  “Checkmate,” I announced to the strange woman in the mirror.

  The JW Marriott was a short six-minute walk from the Aloft Hotel. Our choice of meeting places wasn’t by accident. We needed quick and easy access both inside and outside the hotel. Although we weren’t guests, Val had secured us keys to the side entrance, which had been staked out and verified as unguarded. Gaining access to the room wouldn’t be a problem. Unlike a traditional campaign event, this was a press conference and authorization wasn’t required.

  A fatal mistake on her part.

  As we walked toward the enormous banquet room, the sound of her voice boomed over the microphone, filtering into the hallway. I felt myself tense. Apparently so did Mateo, because he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. Absorbing his strength, I nodded, and we walked inside, blending in with the crowd on the outskirts of the room.

  My mother was in her element. When the spotlight was on her, she pulled out all the stops. Fake tears flowed down her face, and she even managed a few wobbles in her voice.

  Aw, how sweet. A performance dedicated to me.

  “People of Houston, I stand before you as a victim with a bleeding heart wanting to heal the wound that’s been carved in the soul of our community by evil. As you may have heard, yesterday, Emilio Reyes, owner of Caliente Cantina and who’s now known to have been head of the Carrera Cartel’s Houston sector, murdered my late husband’s parents then kidnapped and murdered my daughter and my granddaughter. He used them to lure me to a secluded location where I can only assume he planned to kill me too.”

  A gasp rippled over the crowd.

  My mother held up a hand. “It’s frightening to realize that evil like this lived and worked right under our noses. I know you’re asking yourselves, ‘why, Mayor Donovan? Why such a vicious attack on your family?’ I’ll tell you. Because I stood up against the Carreras. Because my late husband stood up against them. Because my son fought on the side of what is just and right. Because my daughter saw the good in a boy instead of the evil in the man.”

  I was at a loss. I couldn’t buy enough shovels to dig my way out of the pile of shit she’d just flung.

  “Fucking bitch,” I muttered under my breath.

  “I have to hand it to her,” Mateo chimed in. “I’ve never seen someone talk out of their ass without bending over.”

  Dabbing her eyes, my mother put a tremble in her hand as she took a sip of water. “I’d like to introduce my new campaign manager, Carl, who’ll give you the information we have while I collect myself. I do need a moment, if you don’t mind.” She made sure to look extra devastated while making her way toward the restroom.

  “I need a moment too, if you don’t mind.” I mimicked, turning toward the door.

  Squeezing my hand again, Mateo placed a light kiss on my forehead. “You do what you have to do. I’ll take care of everything else.” Tossing the flash drive in his hand, he scanned the room, his eyes settling on the sound system and laptop Val had secured for us in a far corner.

  The ladies’ room wasn’t huge, which benefitted me. Three stalls, two sinks and one door with a turn-lock. I took my time applying my lipstick and waited until the last person walked out, leaving only my mother primping in the mirror like some wounded prima donna.

  Dropping my lipstick in my purse, I calmly walked to the door and turned the lock. Hearing the click, mother glanced up, her expression more annoyed than worried. Smiling to myself, I turned my back to her.

  Typical.

  I heard her walk toward the door. Of course, I was in her way and she let out a dramatic sigh. “If you’ll excuse me, please. People are waiting on me.”

  I slowly turned around, raised my hand,
and smacked her across the face, the impact knocking her chin over her shoulder and her body against the sink. Grabbing her cheek, she turned to face me, her eyes widening as they settled on my face.

  “What’s wrong, Mother?” I taunted, drawing out her name. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Leighton,” she sputtered, glancing around for help that would never come. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “What’s gotten into me?” I threw my head back and laughed. “The truth, Mother, and believe me, it really does set you free.” Placing a hand on either side of her, I leaned against the sink and blocked her in. “Where’s your husband?”

  Her eyes flickered. “You know he’s still missing.”

  I smiled. Breathing in her fear, I pressed my lips against her ear and whispered, “Wrong again. He’s dead. You ruined my innocence, robbed my future, stole my freedom, and now I’m going to fuck you out of yours.”

  Pushing away from her, I left her speechless as I unlocked the door and walked into the hallway. It didn’t take her long to catch up to me. I expected it. In fact, I counted on it. My mother had shocked me in the last two weeks, but in certain ways she was a creature of habit. If I could count on anything, it was the fact that she’d bust through a brick wall to protect her image.

  Too late.

  I heard her heels click behind me then abruptly stop. It didn’t matter. She had the same view I had and two perfectly good ears.

  “Remember when you pointed out that a woman ensures her own survival? You were right.” I smiled as her little homemade porno projected on one of the stark white walls of the ballroom.

  As if that weren’t enough, she gasped as the words I just said to her repeated in her own voice in surround sound during her damning confessional.

  “This proves nothing,” she insisted. “I’ll say it’s all faked.”

  “Go to hell.”

  She grabbed my arm, her nails sinking into my skin. “You ensured that for yourself the minute you spread your legs for a second-class criminal.”

  I stared down at my arm and shook my head. “Conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion, and law enforcement tampering. That’s not going to fare well in the polls.” Prying her claws off me, I patted her hand. “Enjoy prison, Mother.”

  As I walked down the hall toward the side exit, she let out a harsh laugh. “You had the chance to kill me for weeks, and you didn’t have the guts. You expect to survive in their world?”

  Mateo waited in the shadows by the door, yet I still stopped. “There are plenty of Carrera and Muñoz wives and girlfriends in prison. Why do something for yourself when you can pay other people to do it for you? You taught me that.”

  “You’re just a drug runner’s whore,” she yelled as voices grew louder behind her. “You always have been, but you could have been so much more.”

  I laughed but kept walking. “Like you—a pathetic and desperate excuse for a woman? Yeah. I’m okay with that.”

  “The police are here!” I heard someone shout behind her. “I see the mayor. Don’t let her leave!”

  “Leighton!” she called out as Mateo took my hand and pushed the door open.

  I couldn’t resist one last look at her. “That’s Mrs. Cortes to you, bitch.”

  Forty-Six

  Mateo

  “Are you sure you won’t come with us?” Leighton begged.

  Brody smirked. “And leave this quiet little town? Not on your life. Besides, I have to bury my grandparents, make my mother’s life a living hell, quit my job, and oh, yeah, play the grieving brother for my presumed dead sister. I’m swamped.”

  Leighton’s guilt-ridden face fell. “There’s no other way, Brody.”

  “I know,” he said, lowering his eyes to the floor. “I want you to go. The Harcourts don’t fare too well around here.”

  I wanted to punch him, but as long as he talked, Leighton was happy, and as long as Leighton was happy, I’d keep my hands in my pockets. Besides, no matter what we said, he’d set himself on a dark path, blaming himself—not only for Luis—but for telling his mother about Stella in the first place. He’d intended to reunite his estranged family but ended up destroying what was left of them.

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” I watched curiously as he pulled her gold necklace from his pocket. “I think this belongs to you.”

  The second he clasped it around her neck, her fingers dove for the pendant. “I won’t say goodbye,” she said, her voice breaking. “Promise me you won’t either.”

  He nodded, although she couldn’t see it. “How about, ‘I’ll see you later.’”

  “See you later,” she whispered, squeezing the pendant between her fingers. At the last minute, she spun around and threw herself in his arms. This time he awkwardly held her for a few beats before catching my eye in a silent plea for help.

  “Hey,” I said, standing and running a hand down Leighton’s back. “Why don’t you go check on Stella? I’m sure she’s in the car talking Eden’s ear off.”

  “Yeah.” Letting her brother go, Leighton wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and pasted on a smile. “Good idea.”

  Once she was gone, Brody handed me an envelope. “Fake passports to get them out of the country,” he explained. “Consider it my last official illegal act as ADA.”

  I tucked it under my arm. “Speaking of which, there’s an opening as the head of Houston operations.”

  “I thought it took years to earn that kind of position.”

  “Time is measured by sacrifice, not a clock. You deserve the title. I’ve talked to Val, and it’s yours if you want it.”

  He shrugged, and I saw a glimmer of the old Harcourt in his eyes. “Why the hell not. This one foot in, one foot out shit was getting old anyway.”

  I held out my hand, and Brody stared at it before finally accepting it. Just as I turned to leave, he grabbed my shoulder.

  “After being in that fire, she needs to see a doctor. Both of them do.”

  Way ahead of you, counselor.

  “I’ve already called our doctor in Mexico. She won’t have a choice.”

  “Good.” He seemed satisfied with my answer but still held onto my arm. “Take care of them, Mateo. They’re all I have left.”

  “With my life,” I promised. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah.” Nodding his head toward the open door, I followed his eyes to where Stella sat in a car seat next to the window. “Don’t let her grow up and marry a man like us.”

  We waited in the car outside Hobby Airport as workers prepared Val’s private jet for departure. Stella pressed her forehead against the window and gazed up at the sky with curious eyes.

  “Have you ever been on an airplane before, Stella?” I asked.

  She shook her head, her dark waves bouncing around her shoulders. “No.”

  “Would you like to?”

  She cocked her head, staring at me with inquisitive eyes. “Wif you?”

  I bit my tongue, honoring Leighton’s request to ease her into the idea of who I really was. “Yes, and your mommy.”

  “Awe you Mommy’s fwiend?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, old friend.”

  She seemed to consider that for a minute, rolling it around in her head. “Wanna be my fwiend too?”

  She might as well had ripped my heart out and held it still beating in front of my face.

  “Would you like for me to be?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  And just like that, we were friends. Apparently in kid world, an agreement could be forged by an acquaintance and an uh-huh. Maybe the cartel world could take a few lessons.

  Still studying my face, Stella ran her tiny fingers through a strand of my hair. “Pwetty,” she said, offering me a smile. “Wike me.”

  I laughed softly, never wanting this moment to end. “No, I think you’re much prettier. Te lo prometo.” I promise you.

  She leaned away from the window and scrunched up her face. “Te...huh?”

>   I shifted in my seat next to her. “It’s Spanish, little star. Would you like me to teach you?”

  Lowering her head to my shoulder, her cheek brushed against my shirt as she nodded.

  “Something tells me you’ll be a natural,” I laughed.

  EPILOGUE ONE

  Leighton

  Mexico City, Mexico

  Three Months Later

  I lay curled on my side and watched him sleep. His long, dark hair drifted over one eye and across the bridge of his nose. It’d grown even longer since we’d been in Mexico and needed a trim. Or maybe not. I kind of liked the added reckless look it gave him.

  My fingers itched to touch him, but I settled for gazing upon him with my eyes instead. It felt like I hadn’t see him in weeks, but in reality, it’d been only a little over twenty-four hours. Since Eden was due soon, Val had handed over all day-to-day business to Mateo. I didn’t ask any questions as to where he went or what he did. I didn’t want to know. All I cared about was that he returned in one piece.

  My husband.

  I’d loved Mateo Cortes from the first moment I saw him as a teenaged girl, and nothing had changed. Actually, that wasn’t true. Everything had changed. I still loved him, but I saw him with new eyes. Stronger eyes. Eyes that viewed the world for what it was. Eyes that now knew the evil that resided in the hearts of ones trusted to protect us.

  Eyes that saw him faced with a choice, and eyes that watched him protect me over all others. Just like he promised from the first moment we met.

  He shifted in his sleep, and a lock of hair caught in between his full lips. I moved my hand to brush it away then gasped as his hand snaked out from under his pillow and wrapped around my wrist. Midnight eyes met mine, and he pulled his arm back, sending me tumbling on top of his chest. It wasn’t an easy landing. The toned and hardened planes rose and fell with even breaths as he studied me.