Thorned (Martinez Mafia Dynasty Book 1)

by K. H. Kate

CHAPTER 14

  ACE

  I can forgive her for lying.

  I can look past her fucking naivety. But this, this confuses me the most. When Sabine called me panicking, she couldn’t even come close to describe what just happened. Her eyes look like they have seen something they shouldn’t have, her dress is a fucking mess and her head? It’s like someone painted her in the color red.

  Barbie opens her mouth to say something but I reach her in one step, stopping whatever excuses she was going to blurt out. Probably lies anyway.

  “Come with me,” I whisper, but they come out as a threat. She has no fucking idea what I’ve risked coming here. Just when I think that I have to drag her myself, she starts following me but there’s a strangeness in the way she’s walking. In the end, I have to carry her to the car and even then she’s silent.

  And I’m just too angry to talk.

  “How did you know?”

  I want to ignore her just like I’ve been doing for the last month. Let her wonder what I know. But I’ve tried to scratch her from my mind only to sink in the fact that she’s more like her brother than ever. So if she wants to talk, I’ll fucking talk.

  “You were supposed to come clean about everything that happens there.” Including cheap offers and stealing touches. “What exactly were you trying to prove, hmm?”

  She looks out of the window, shuddering. “You didn’t answer my question, why now? Why care now? You didn’t want to know, admit it.”

  I want to yell at her, I really do. But she’s bleeding all over my car and the shuddering increases the closer we get to the manor.

  “Hey!” I snap, noticing her eyes almost roll. “Fuck. Open your eyes!”

  But like the stubborn girl she is, she doesn’t listen to me. Just like you haven’t listened to her. Fuck, this isn’t the time. I tell myself that but even then I can’t stop the words. “Me matas! You want me insane, is that it? Fuck, why are you so difficult?”

  “He was there, you know.” She laughs, hysterically. “He…he was there. And I hate him, I-I hate you.”

  He, those two fuckers? I go to ask her just that but her eyes are closed and no matter how many times I yell at her she doesn’t respond. Mierda. As soon as the car enters the garage, I realize I’m shouting.

  At my men.

  On my phone.

  Felix is the one I first find, lingering along the hallways. He takes one look at us and in a minute, he’s there to help me. And when Doc comes to check her, writing off words like concussion, stress, rest…I don’t stand there too long. Instead, I walk slowly up the stairs, opening the door of a museum.

  At least that’s what it feels like.

  Dust is gathered in most parts of the room but only one desk is clear of it. Sighing, I crouch down, finding a latch to open a hidden compartment. The thing gives away, revealing bright yellow letters. I pick one, doesn’t matter which one since all of them say the same thing. Only the words are different, angrier than the previous.

  Pedro,

  Why didn’t you come after me? I waited for you, you know I did. So why didn’t you? Is your mafiya more important than us…

  This is one of the earliest ones. I know because I have devoured every word, trying to understand how anyone can love Pedro Knight. These letters didn’t give me any answers though, they didn’t make sense why he’d hide in here to read these all night. Maybe he was tempted with the idea of a life without the La Eme? I can’t stop the chuckle. Temptation, such a dangerous prospect. It's better to get rid of it then wonder where it would go. From my experience? Dead in six feet under. Dropping this one, I pick another.

  Pedro,

  Sometimes it feels like I did the right thing by leaving you. You didn’t deserve what I offered, you always wanted more…

  I go through one after another until the last one. This one is creased so badly as if someone wanted to tear the page apart.

  Pedro,

  I realized something today. I hate you. I hate you so much. But I hate myself more for ever falling for you…

  Fuck.

  My nostrils flare, watching the way my fingers have scrapes of blood. Maybe all along I was wrong? Maybe I shouldn’t have taken a toy only to ignore it when all it wanted was to play? Pedro certainly didn’t.

  You didn’t want to know, admit it.

  I offered her a game, but how can one play it when all their opponent is themselves?

  ***

  “We need to talk.”

  My eyes open too abruptly, and I can’t stop the scowl when I see her standing there as if nothing happened. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” On second thought. “Who let you in? Where’s Felix?”

  For the first time, her eyes take in the room, seeing the bareness of it. And the letters. I go to hide them but pause, fuck, what’s the point? It’s not my secret to hide anyway. I’m not like Pedro who tried to find some form of his soul in letters, mine are already buried with my brothers.

  “He’s outside.” She wets her lips, nervous. “You seem less like an animal when you sleep. I can almost pretend that you are a human.”

  We’re playing again, I see. “Will that scare you any less?”

  “I'm not scared of you.” A frown mars her face. “I'm scared of your mind games. Which reminds me, what did you say in the car? Me..."

  "Me matas. You kill me." If only she knew how true that was.

  "You kill me...You sound like I'm the one have you captured." Anger drips into every word. "This isn't funny, Ace. How did you get there so quickly?"

  “Always so curious for your own good.” I snarl, standing up to face her. That anger I tried so hard to hide is out in the open now. “When the fuck were you going to tell me about those men touching you in the club?”

  Her eyes widen in a second and she steps back. But not in fear, oh, no, she’s furious. “Who told you that?”

  “Did you truly believe that I left you alone? People were monitoring you there, my people. Then there’s the thing that I can never seem to trust you.” I shouldn’t be angry about that one over everything but surprisingly I am. “Tell me, Barbie, why did you have to break your fucking skull open for me to know the truth?”

  “I did what you asked, I gave you information. What happens to me was never your concern.” It sounds so simple when she says it like that.

  I didn’t care, I don’t.

  “They shouldn’t have done it.” Dammit. Maybe once in a while, I can tell the truth. “You weren’t theirs to hurt.”

  Laughter reaches my ears. “So only you can hurt me, is that it? I need a new deal.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes are wide open but she never looked so fierce. “If you want me here, I demand respect. You don’t call me Barbie in front of people, you let me do this my way.”

  “And if I don’t agree?” I exhale, purging every bit of her smell. “Then what?”

  She almost stumbles, shoving past me to leave. But at the doorsteps she stops, only to spit the words with a teary smile.

  “Then I’ll stab you when you least expect it. Unlike the devil, humans can be killed.”

  CHAPTER 15

  RAINE

  I don't sleep.

  Most ghosts don't anyway.

  Nowadays I don't find any differences between both. I don't look at the men carrying dead bodies from the manor once in a while. I don't even say a word when Lou looks at me in pity. I only think about how to stop myself from going insane. From finally giving in to the devil’s game. My stomach clenches poorly at the thought. No, never!

  "You're awake." The familiar voice states. "Boss wants to meet you for some reason. He...um, told me to take you to him." He always talks in broken English. It's hard to understand at times but the word boss has me stand up without any struggle.

  After that day, Lou expects me to follow him unwillingly. But I’ve learned to play another game in his absence. No matter how many times Ace wants me to obey him…somewhere inside he wants the opposite. So, I obey
his every order.

  Every time he tells me to watch him when he deals with traitors.

  Every time when he disappears in that abandoned room only to come up with secrets only we both know.

  "Boss didn't tell me this but for your own sake...Just listen to him, Ok? Don't ask questions or-" The man beside me pauses with a sigh, he looks tired too. More than me even. "He went after the Outfits even when he was advised not to. That created a division between the familia. So you can guess the outcome if you say anything wrong."

  Lou doesn't have to remind me. I remember how he took those two lives so easily. No regret, no shame...no humanity in his eyes. Of course, he did it because they tried to hurt his toy, that’s the rational reason. Not because it meant anything. Not that I’ve completely honest with him either. I didn’t tell him about Nick.

  Is that because of my twisted loyalty to my brother?

  "We're here," Lou announces before I can gather myself. And he doesn’t even wait, he just leaves me to hell's doorsteps without any armor for me to take.

  "Enter…Ms. Taylor. Don't just hover there."

  I hear his voice call out and I can imagine how hard it’s for him to acknowledge me by my name. Ms. Taylor is the least he could come up with. Maybe that's why I enter the room with my breath coming in slow pants. My hands shake, the sweat on my forehead increasing the more I walk toward him.

  Ace.

  The devil's incarnate.

  He has yet to show his face. If his tensed back is anything to say by...I'd say he's more than pissed. He's looking for something to mess up. To destroy. And with a hollow chuckle, I realize what better to destroy than the little 'ol me?

  "Sit down, Ms. Taylor. I have a surprise for you." My foot almost slips. Almost. In the end, I just collapse in his thousand dollars chair to wait for the dreaded surprise.

  He finally turns and...I've never been so relieved. His eyes for once are not on me. It's over my shoulder. His face is unreadable as ever but at least he’s not snarling. I take the small victory with a sigh.

  "Get her." He orders someone. Her? Who is she? A new toy to be replaced?

  I'm in so much confusion that I almost miss the sounds of footsteps behind me. Not one. But two enters the room per the sounds reaching to my ears. Though I don't expect the next gasp that enters my ears. No, it's not me. It's a girly gasp, one you just do when you know you're about to meet someone dangerous. I turn around to finally look at who it is when the girl's eyes meet mine along with the man who took me in here. What was his name again?

  Yeah, Dario.

  He sneers with his teeth out like an animal when he notices me watching him, so instead, I look at her. Trying to make sense of why she is looking at me like this. If she sounded scared before now she looks terrified.

  But she is looking at-

  "Get her away from me!" She screams to my surprise. "G-Get her away. She looks like him. She looks like the bad man."

  I've to clench my fist hard to stop myself from bolting. What is this? What's this new game? My gaze ventures to the man in front of me for some answer. Only then I notice that there's a smile on Ace's face. No, no, no. Oh, God, no! What has he done?

  "Before I forget. This right is here is Ms. Collo." He jerks his chin toward the quivering girl on Dario's arms. "We found her in a ditch. I believe it's your brother that was responsible."

  My stomach drops at the same time the girl lunges for me. I should stop her. But oddly enough, I do nothing. If what the girl said was true-then Nick was about to kill her if she wasn't found. Even when he saw what happened to me…So, I let her have at me until Ace has to drag the hysterical girl away from my withering body. I'm on the floor. When did I end up on the floor? My vision blurs, I hear shouting.

  "He locked me in a cage for a year. I want him dead! I want the bastard dead!" The world shifts back and forth as her cry goes louder. More dangerous than the numbness of my red cheeks.

  "Tell me what you know, chicka. Or I will be the one slitting this pretty neck of yours." Is he talking to me? I think he does but when I part my lips to answer, there's already another girl answering for me.

  "H-He was nervous all the time. All he kept saying that it must be a mistake."

  Mistake?

  Ace is there to ask for me. "What mistake? Tell me!"

  "A man was there with him. Short, lean...he always wore masks. He said that everything is in place for Ace. T-That everything will be alright once she becomes his weakness...a pawn. I didn't see his face, please. Let me go."

  "Weakness?" Ace laughs as if the word doesn't exist in his world. Maybe it truly doesn't when he throws something at the wall. "You think Ace Martinez has a weakness? You foolish little girl. Dario, send her to the safe house with the other ones."

  I don't hear anything after that. Maybe they left, maybe they didn't. All I hear is a buzz in my ears until someone is there to drag me up.

  "Don't fucking stop walking. It's a warning." I don't have to look up to see who is taking me away. I can feel his harsh breath over my neck. All I want is to crawl into a bed and sleep. I will have nightmares...but at least they are not real.

  We are only halfway to the stairs when men rush into the house. Men of different ages, with different races but all of them has the same edge in their faces. And right now the man holding me has the decency to not shove me from the stairs to see what the commotion is about.

  "¿Qué?" He barks at his men.

  "Alguien llamó a la policía. Tenemos noticias de que son los Sinaloa."

  Whatever the man said has it’s an effect on Ace. His face reddens, the hold he has on me tightening for a second. Then he flashes them a dangerous smile, calling for the men who usually stay in here.

  "Preparen las armas!"

  They talk more, gathering weapons in a hurry to leave. And, I watch from the stairs. I watch with a bitter smile. After all, I've become such a ghost that they didn't think for a second to leave a guard for me. And the cruelest one? They left the door open for a bruised ghost to slip by...

  CHAPTER 16

  ACE

  Some people think power as a drug.

  A permanent one without a cure.

  I think it like a vine. The more you want to cut it off, the more it just wants to stubbornly grow. Like that woman in my manor. Like my enemies scattered around the world. Like this stupid man calling a war by testing my patience.

  Which is about to be snapped at any moment.

  So, no. I don't show my power by sending my best warriors to finish him. I don't fret, I don't think. I just inhale it so deep that there's no difference between the two of us. Power becomes Ace, Ace becomes power.

  Two parts of one wretched soul.

  "We're here," Dario mutters with a clenched fist.

  True to his words, it's like those bastards...the cartel already knew what was coming their way as we enter the house without any men stopping us. The gun in my waistband feels heavier as the more depth of warzone we go.

  Until I see the pathetic joke.

  Until I see him. The culprit for losing my men and shipment.

  My lips immediately curl into a sneer. "Elijah Uren."

  He certainly looks the part even if I have never seen him before. His feature contrasting with his father's, Ceaser. Where his father had the face of the devil and women at his feet like toys, Elijah has the face of a collective man who is devious enough to think of destroying La Eme.

  "Mr. Martinez." He gives me a sharp nod before jerking his chin toward the closed door. His men eye mine with disdain until they look away at his glare. "I believe we have some business to attend."

  "We have, haven't we?" I say, lifting my gaze to his tensed posture. At first glance, one might say that he is afraid. But I don't sense any fear in his eyes, uncertainty? Yes. But his desperation gives him away more than any fear he might have been feeling deep inside.

  His eyes harden.

  He's caught, I think with a snicker. "I wouldn't have gotten that far to f
orce you here if it wasn't important. I want to do nothing with you or your La Eme. No offense." The words are delivered as an insult, but I don't take it to the heart or with my fist. Dogs bark anyway.

  You just give those more to chew on.

  "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

  Dario looks at me with questions when we enter the said room. I know he's paranoid. All of them are. But they should know better not to when I am with them. I think that shows in my face as they all shrug away the wary posture and relaxes. Though not much.

  You can never be too comfortable in the wolves den.

  I take a deep breath. There we go. "So, want to humor me why my men are in the custody and my shipment is where it wasn't supposed to be?"

  He takes my harsh words with a roll of his shoulder. "Just as I said, I don't want a war between cartels and the La Eme. I'm not a fool to think that you are not thinking of any retaliation." Damn right, I am.

  "And what about my offers?" I turn to look around, deliberately making him sweat. "I've been trying to get in a word with you for months. You have been dodging my men."

  He nods, not denying it. "Yes, I have. Cause I thought we'd talk when it's time. But I was busy with something. Something that still is a problem. Look, I just want your help. And I knew mingling with your business will be the only way you'd show up."

  Help?

  I can't smother the chuckle. "You want my help!?"

  "Yes." After a wary glance at my men, he sighs. "You know I'm looking for Pedro’s girl but my men have yet to find her. And, I’d rather cut my head off than ask help from the Russians after what they did to my mother. I could have asked the Cammorras’, but something tells me they won’t deliver the girl alive. So you are my only option left."

  I grit my teeth so hard that I can feel the pain rushing to my head. "Do I look like a detective to you, Mr. Uren? Do you think I have time to talk about your stupid obsession over a silly little girl no one ever even seen before? I have my share of problems to take care-"

  "My cartel was almost destroyed. Why do you think I'm paranoid?" He’s lost it. There's no other way to describe the idiota as he mutters. "I have seen her with my father. If she goes to the wrong hand…I can’t even go there. And frankly speaking, the Mafia you have taken over is her birthright to take. If anything I hoped you'd be the one to find her by now."