“She doesn’t know it’s you. Does she?”
“No. But then again, she hasn’t really woken up enough to understand what’s happened. I think she’s just sleeping. She seems utterly exhausted.”
“Danika says she barely sleeps more than a few hours at a time. The only time she’s ever known her to sleep through the night was—”
“With me.” I finished his sentence as a wave of guilt hit me. “I know.”
I knew Jayna’s history. The abuse she’d lived through and the nightmares that haunted her dreams. I’d promised to keep her safe and for a short time, I had.
I had a lot to make up for.
“Any word on who ordered the hits on Jayna?”
“According to Rey, he’s still tracking one of the sources, but the other is your idiot cousin, Hector.”
“That makes no sense. Why the fuck would Hector target Jayna? She’s no threat to him.”
“Hell if I know. Rey’s digging, and I’m sure Danika is doing her own search. All we know is that he made an unexpected visit to Tia Martha today.”
“That’s too damn coincidental.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
Hector was the illegitimate son of my Uncle Luis. Part of a family I hadn’t known existed outside of my parents for most of my life. It wasn’t until after Arin had adopted me and connected me to Tia Martha that I’d learned my history.
When my father, Antoni, left Puerto Rico with his sisters, he’d left behind a father, three brothers, and a very lucrative arms and drug syndicate. Through time and the nature of their business, the only living family members remaining to take over the Silva Familia were Hector and me. And out of the two of us, my grandfather, Victor Silva, had chosen me as his heir.
I never planned to live anywhere but in mainland USA. My life was in New York City, and no amount of status or money would change it. It wasn’t about the crux of the Silva business. As a King, I never walked the straight and narrow, and we worked daily with people who had their hands in everything, legal and illegal. It was about the family I had with Arin and my adoptive brothers, Nik, Rey, and Sam. That was a bond nothing could break.
I’d signed over my claim and inheritance, even going as far as to name Hector rightful head of the family. However, Victor had rejected my stance. In his eyes, I was the legitimate heir carrying the Silva name, and therefore owned everything.
It hadn’t mattered that Victor had raised Hector in the business from the moment he’d gasped his first breath or that Hector was as ruthless as Victor could ever have dreamed of being.
Fucking traditionalist.
Then, when Victor passed around the time Jayna and I married, I’d sent word to Hector that I wanted no part of the business and to have at it. I’d assumed it was the end of the issue.
But it seemed I was wrong.
“What did he want from Tia Martha?”
“She said he asked her about some of her cargo contacts and making introductions. He wasn’t happy when she told him to get lost. And before you say anything, we’ve added extra people on her.”
“Fucker is setting up to expand stateside.”
“Looks that way.”
“Where is he now?”
“Our eyes say he was waiting for a package at a private airfield. I can only assume it was Jay. When it didn’t arrive, he took a plane back to San Juan. It landed an hour ago.”
“What does he get by going after Jayna?”
“It makes me wonder if her moving to Miami has him suspicious that you’re alive.”
“It’s been over two years. Why would he wait until now to question it? Besides, her mother lives in Miami. It’s not a farfetched idea for Jayna to move near her.”
“She hired your cousins to manage her businesses. She even sent two of them up our way to oversee the NYC location. You have to admit, the kind of loyalty she garners from your family is pretty intense. She continued what you used to do.”
Jayna always drew people to her. She had a way about her that made everyone feel important. And she loved with a passion. Once you were in her inner circle, you were hers forever.
“Fuck.” I glanced over to the bed and muttered, “Jay, what have you been doing to get on Hector’s radar?”
I braced my palm on the marble vanity counter.
“That’s a question you’re going to have to get answered. Jayna has as many secrets as my wife does. Even more so since she came back from Greece.”
About a year ago, Greek billionaire Sylvia Thanos had decided Jayna needed a vacation and whisked her away to her island off the coast of Greece. Whatever Sylvia had done to Jayna, it had lit a fire in her. She decided to leave New York and went full force into expanding her businesses with a single-minded focus.
“The answers will have to wait until after she tries to gut me.”
“We all have to pay the piper at one point or another. You’re just lucky he held out as long as he did.”
“I hear you.”
“By the way, your contact said the scene was a mess and clearing it was a pain in the ass.”
“They’ll get over it,” I muttered. “I’ve helped them out enough times.”
“Are you going to confess those activities to your wife as well?”
“Yes. It’s time to put all the cards on the table and see where the chips land.”
“I suggest you get some sleep while my wife and Rey do their hacker work. You’re going to need all the rest you can get to deal with the wrath of Jayna.”
“Speaking of your wife, tell Dani that I’m sorry for putting her in the middle of this.”
“You tell her the next time you see her. I’m sure when Jayna finds out Danika knew and kept your secret, she’ll have to deal with her own shit.”
“My sins are catching up with me.”
“We’re all sinners. It’s how we repent that matters. Get some rest. I’ll report back in the morning.” Nik hung up.
Setting my phone on the counter, I leaned forward and studied my face. I’d come a long way from the man who couldn’t look at himself without cringing.
Men like me and my brothers, those forged by the streets, weren’t allowed to break. We pushed through every hurdle, ignored the pain, and pretended we had no weaknesses.
I knew I’d let them down. Hell, I’d let my wife down.
My brothers had forgiven me, and now I could only hope Jayna would as well.
I was the enforcer, the protector, the one sent in to make sure everyone followed the rules.
It was time to do my job. Jayna was in the path of enemies seen and unseen. I’d be dammed if I’d let anything happen to her again. I may not have been able to protect her after my wreck, but I sure as hell could now.
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I pulled off my shirt and shucked my pants.
I might as well take a shower and get some rest before the sleeping tigress woke and ate me for breakfast.
5
Kiran
“Yes. Right there.” I moaned and shifted, wanting more of the soothing, heavenly salve easing the pain constantly running up and down my skin.
Soft and delicate, light and gentle.