Once the Hangmen were dealt with, and when the contract they had entered into expired . . . war would ensue. It would be cartel against Klan. A fight to be the strongest power in the crime underworld. My stomach flipped at the thought. At the knowledge that the man I loved and my family, the only people I cared about in this world, would be intent on killing each other.
“Let me walk you to your suite,” Diego said as he got up from the table. He guided me up with his hand, and I let him lead me away. My father kissed my free hand as I passed. I smiled, but only for the sake of keeping up appearances.
As we approached the rooms I had as my own on my papa’s estate, Diego’s hand tightened in mine. He hurried us through the hallways, my father’s men stationed along the way for our protection. When we entered my suite, Diego spun me around and pushed me back against the wall. My heart raced. His eyes were wide and he licked his lips. He took hold of both my wrists and slowly raised them above my head. He moved in to my lips, but I turned my head away at the last minute. “Diego,” I whispered, clenching my eyes shut as I gathered my lost breath. “Not yet . . .”
His forehead fell against mine. He was pressed against me; his scent infused the air around us and I could smell the red wine on his breath. He had drunk a lot. “Adelita,” he murmured, frustrated. “Cariño . . .” I winced at the term of endearment. I didn’t want to be his cariño. I didn’t want to be anything to him. He moved one of his hands from my wrists and slid it down my hair, over my cheek, and down to my chest. I whimpered when he palmed my breast.
“Diego—”
“Shh.” His hand squeezed at the flesh until it bordered on painful.
“You’re hurting me.”
He smiled, and it wasn’t a smile I had ever received from him before. His attention on me had always been sweet, endearing . . . This smile was cold and cruel. The alcohol had clearly lowered his control over the dangerous man inside. He released my breast, but then his hand started traveling south. My thighs clenched together when his fingers passed over my torso. But it was no use trying to stop him. He was bigger and stronger than me. Diego was the most determined man I’d ever met.
“You’re a cocktease, cariño. Always have been.” I shook my head, but he shushed me again, the sound harsh and sharp. “A face made by God to torment we who walk with the devil.” His hand cupped me between my legs. I made a garbled sound and tried to push him off, but he didn’t move. I held my breath as his fingers ran along my panties. I felt him getting hard against my leg. My bottom lip started to shake in anger. But I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t let him see me cry. Men like Diego got off on seeing women cry.
Diego kissed up my neck and over my cheek. “But I like that you’re untouched. I like that you’re a virgin and I get to be the first cock your pussy will ever have.” He groaned. “The first and last.”
I sucked in a breath. It shook. I stopped breathing so he couldn’t tell he’d unnerved me. That his touch repulsed me. I shut my eyes as he worked his hand under my panties. I needed to shut him out. To take myself away from this moment.
Only one face came to mind, taking me back to that first day . . .
“Papa?”
“Adelita, is that you? Come here, princesa.” I walked into my father’s office. I had just arrived back from shopping with Carmen and wanted to show him the tie I had bought for him to go with his new suit. But when I walked into the room, a strange man was sitting at my father’s desk. That wasn’t new. He always had businessmen coming in and out.
“I didn’t realize you had company, Papa. I’ll leave you alone.” I went to turn, but I crashed into someone behind me. Strong hands steadied me, then immediately let me go. When I looked up, the biggest man I had ever seen was before me, dressed in a white shirt that clung to his muscled body, and blue jeans with black boots. He had tattoos all over his skin, and a shaved head. The tattoos crept up to his neck. It took me a minute to realize what the tattoos were. But their symbology quickly became apparent.
Nazi tattoos.
A stern look of superiority crossed his face. He folded his arms across his chest as he looked down at me.
“Adelita?” My papa’s voice made me turn. “These are our guests. They will be staying in the guest apartments while we conduct some business over the coming months. I expect you to be courteous to them when they are in our household.”
My skin prickled feeling the man’s eyes on me from behind. “This is William and Tanner Ayers. Father and son, from Texas.” I heard the tone in my father’s voice. They were here for business, but he didn’t trust them. If they were staying in the guest apartments and not in a nearby hotel it was so my father’s men could keep an eye on them, not because my father had a sudden need to play host. They were Ku Klux Klan. I had read the name on Tanner’s arm. The reason for my father’s distrust was obvious. The Klan and Nazis hated anyone who wasn’t white.
“You will need to show Tanner around soon, while his father and I talk business.”
My eyes widened. “Can’t Diego—?”
“Diego has gone away for a while. He will be away during most of their stay. He’ll be back toward the end.” On “family business,” no doubt. Something I wasn’t allowed to know anything about.
A warning flashed in my papa’s eyes. “It would be my pleasure,” I said, and gave Señor Ayers a forced smile. I turned, and I was immediately caught in Tanner Ayers’s harsh ice-blue stare. I could almost see the instant dislike for me dripping off him waves.
Tanner Ayers . . . The White Prince of the Ku Klux Klan. And me, Adelita Quintana, princesa of the Quintana cartel . . . this would be interesting . . .
“You’ll be so tight,” Diego said, cutting through the memory of that fated meeting. “And we’ll be married soon . . .” He sucked in a breath. “I’ll get to watch you bleed for me, cariño.”
For once, I let a slither of fear strike me. Because he wouldn’t. I had already given myself to a man—only one. Diego could never find that out.
He suddenly stopped, moved his hand from between my legs, then smacked his hand off the wall above me. “But not yet,” he said tightly. “As much as it frustrates me not to be inside you, I’m going to wait until we are married. I want this to be right, with you.” His hand dropped to my cheek and stroked it gently. “I’ve wanted you for too long not to have you the way you’re meant to be taken.”
Diego crushed his mouth to mine so hard it was almost bruising. He quickly pulled away, then turned and moved for the door. “If I don’t leave now, I’ll fuck you, cariño. I’ll take you to your bed and I’ll fuck you into the mattress.” His lip flicked up in amusement. “And as much as he loves me, I’m sure your father would have me killed for deflowering his little girl before she’s wed. He’s worked incredibly hard to keep you pure.”
He left, the door slamming behind him. I listened to twenty-six footsteps echoing on the marble floor of the hallway before I even dared breathe. I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t erase the feel of him from my body, his scent from my nose, or the taste of him from my mouth. I ran to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth so hard that the water ran red with the blood from my gums.