All at once, Jorge stepped back from Chris, that kind—but fake—smile firmly back in place as he gestured at the car. “Safe travels to the hotel, amigo.”
Friend.
Right.
They wouldn’t ever be friends.
Chris didn’t reply, simply nodded to the man, and turned his back to him. The one and only time he would ever put his back to Jorge, all things considered. Rounding the car to get in the back with his father, he looked over the roof of the vehicle in just enough time to see Jorge head back through the gate.
He swallowed hard, realizing something.
Jorge would go to Valeria.
Chris could leave, but she could not. Her torment continued. What would happen to her tonight? Had his little trick of taking her on a walk caused her more pain?
The idea made his heart ache.
Fuck.
Feelings didn’t work well in business, or a job. It would be hard to turn off. He was human, after all.
So was she.
Yanking open the back passenger door, Chris climbed in the vehicle, and before he had even buckled up, tires squealed against the pavement. Next to him, his father looked his way.
“And what’s that about?” Gian asked.
“A pissing contest—what else?”
Gian made a noise under his breath. “If you think someone else might be better to do this job, then I am sure we can come up with a solution to make it happen, son.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
That, he understood for sure.
Not even a question.
At all.
7.
“Maria is still asleep, then?”
Valeria had expected no one else to be in the kitchen when she walked in, but at least it was just Samuel. He wasn’t as difficult to deal with as Jorge, but she also didn’t feel like she could trust him very much.
“She is—thought I should check because it’s been a long night,” she said.
Her brother-in-law nodded and lifted a bottle of wine. “A drink?”
“Sure.”
Not that she would say it, but that was why she had come down here. Once the late dinner, and party after, died down, the guests had left, and the servants went to their quarters for the night, Jorge disappeared, too. Valeria wasn’t sure where her husband went, but while she had the chance, she planned on taking advantage.
Or rather, five minutes alone.
Soon, Jorge would be back.
That was a guarantee.
Samuel grabbed two long-stemmed glasses from the cupboard and made quick work of uncorking the bottle of wine. Once he had the wine poured through a decanter he’d found under the kitchen island, he held a glass out for her to take.
“Here, chica.”
Valeria took the drink, and sipped, letting the heady flavors soak her palate. “Thanks.”
Samuel didn’t invite her for more conversation as he drank his wine, but Valeria didn’t mind, either. She had other things to worry about, and silence was better than the alternative for these men.
She was almost through her glass, enjoying the silence of the large mansion, when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. It wasn’t a good sensation, not when dread accompanied it, climbing up her spine with punishing steps.
That was how she knew Jorge was behind her.
Samuel confirmed it by looking over her shoulder and nodding at someone. His words only added to what she knew when he said, “Brother.”
“The Canadians left.”
“Hmm.”
“The deal is good, Samuel,” Jorge said, his voice coming closer to Valeria. She did her best to stay put, drink her wine, and hopefully, her husband would leave her alone for the night. Not that it had ever worked for her in the past, but she wasn’t about to give up hope just yet. “And once it’s done, we won’t need the fucking Garcías for shit.”
“And then what happens when the Garcías realize we fucked them over?”
“You’re asking pointless questions.”
“Or is it you don’t have the answers?”
The pregnant, loaded silence stretched on in the kitchen, making Valeria wish she was anywhere but there. It was rare for Samuel and Jorge to disagree about things, but especially with the cartel. When they did, however, it rarely ended well. She did not want to be the idiot in the middle.
“Who is running this operation?” Jorge asked.
He was right behind Valeria, now. She didn’t need to turn around to feel the heat of his body too close to hers, or the way it made her sick just from proximity alone.
So was her life.
“Papá,” Samuel replied.
“Wrong answer, brother.”
Samuel sighed. “Jorge—”
“He oversees details,” Jorge spat. “Says yes or no, or makes demands. He isn’t on the front lines. He isn’t making the money. I do all of that, and because this is the right choice, whether he likes it, then it is what we will do. The Canadian deal will get rid of our García issue, or at the least, it will negate the problem altogether. It’s a win-win.”
“Right,” Samuel replied, “a win-win.”
Satisfied with his brother conceding to his point, Jorge turned his attention on Valeria by stroking the back of her neck where she had pushed her hair over her right shoulder. It was a light graze of his fingertips along the ridge of her spine, almost daring to dip below the neckline of her dress. Nothing violent. Certainly not this man’s usual motives, and yet, it still burned.
She didn’t want his touch.
“Val,” Jorge murmured.
“Hmm?”
“Would you care to tell me what happened earlier with that man?”
She closed her eyes. Honestly, she had been waiting for this, but Jorge had incredible patience at times. Hadn’t six years of him chasing her taught her anything at all?
Apparently, not.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” she said, choosing her words carefully.
Again, his fingers drifted over her neck, along the line of her shoulder, and then he tucked in a few strands of her hair that had fallen out of place. He stepped in a little closer to her back, his mouth coming down to press a soft kiss to the side of her throat before he murmured, “You were outside alone with him.”
The lump came back in her throat.
Across the island, Samuel turned his gaze away from them. None of Jorge’s family ever cared to indulge his nonsense, but especially not with Valeria. She suspected because, if they did, they wouldn’t like what happened after.
Jorge and his lessons were infamous.
“I took a moment to breathe on the steps,” she said, keeping her tone level to not poke the monster. “He came out after and asked if I wouldn’t mind taking a walk around the pool. I didn’t want to be rude, and the guards watched.”
She figured that was important to point out to him. The guards had been watching—Valeria made sure. She understood how to play this game with her husband, and she was quick enough on her feet to make sure she didn’t step in any trouble with him. At least, none that would leave her with permanent damage.
Some other things, however, were unavoidable.
Jorge proved that time and time again.
Against her jaw, his lips curved into a sneer before he bit her. Not an easy bite—not even playful. His teeth cut into her skin, and she sucked in a sharp breath when his hand came up to grab the back of her neck with a rough grasp.