Brody’s eyes turned black, and an inhuman sound rumbled in his throat. Before I could process what was happening, one hand from the table buried in my hair. Tightening his grip, he jerked my head back and forced me to look up at him.
“You don’t understand what’s at stake here.” His fingers twisted tighter around the strands. “I need him. Tell me where he is!”
Dios mío. Why the hell was I turned on? In one show of dominance, my heart raced, and an unbearable ache hit hard between my legs. What was wrong with me? The man was seconds away from putting a bullet in my head, not his dick in my vagina.
I had to get it together.
Curling my fingers around the edge of the table, I gripped the wood tightly. “Oh, I understand a lot more than you think I do, counselor.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Instead of swinging your dick around, you should be thanking me.”
He let out a dry laugh. “For killing my informant?”
“For saving your ass!” I yelled, the truth barreling into me like a hurricane. Me. Adriana Carrera did something unselfish. Something that didn’t directly benefit me. Maybe I did take too many punches to the head in that warehouse. “Leo Pinellas was playing both sides—a game I believe you know quite well, if I remember.” I smiled as he shot me a look that said he wanted to tie me to a concrete block and toss me into a river. “It blows my mind you couldn’t see what was right in front of your face.”
A rogue piece of blond hair fell across his eyebrow as he leaned over me. “Bullshit.”
“Pinellas was reporting to the men trying to frame me, you idiot! How you ended up in charge of US operations, I will never know. Dios mío, you’re gullible. Do you still believe in Santa Claus too?”
“How do I know you’re not lying? You were once leader of the Muñoz Cartel yourself. Why would you suddenly turn against them?”
That was just it. He didn’t know I wasn’t lying, and it was the reason he was wound tighter than a nun’s asshole. The biggest sacrifice anyone could make in life was trusting a proven enemy. It was the ultimate gamble. You either walked away with everything, or you didn’t walk away at all.
Checkmate.
“Shipment for seventeen million, right? Disappeared near the Chicago port?” He didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. “Brody, open your eyes. Every contact you have is being turned. You can’t trust anyone. Not your friends, not your contacts, and certainly not your informants.”
That damn condescending smirk returned. “Not even you?”
“Especially not me,” I shot back, letting go of the table and shoving my hands hard against his chest. The sudden move knocked him off balance enough that he released my hair, and I slipped around him. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”
I spun around and faced him, ready to do battle. Instead, I met with sculptured lips that twitched with obvious unwelcome amusement.
Or it could’ve been anger.
Or lust.
Or hate.
The gamut of emotions we ran through in the span of ten minutes exhausted me. Or maybe it was the scotch. Both were extremely bad for me.
“So, why bother? I exposed your real identity, Adriana. I turned your life into a nightmare. Your words, remember?” he accused, pointing a finger at me. “I should be the last person you’d want to help. You should want to strike a match, watch me burn, then dance in the ashes. So, again, why? There has to be something in it for you, other than clearing your name and taking down the Muñozes, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“There is,” I admitted, hating the slight wobble in my voice. “I want you to convince Val to accept me into the Carrera family.”
“And I’d like to have my dick sucked by a Victoria’s Secret model every day of the week. We don’t always get what we want, princesa.”
Of course. I let down my guard for one minute and got slapped in the face.
I sighed. “Can you take something seriously for five minutes, please?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the table. “Yes, if I really thought you wanted to be his sister, but I’m not a moron. I see what you’re doing.”
“And what am I doing, exactly?”
“You lost control of the Muñoz Cartel, and now they’re restructuring. You don’t give a shit about Val. You want what comes with the Carrera name, and you’re using this situation to get it. I took your crown, so you want to take his.”
“Are you done?”
“For now.”
The rational side of my brain pleaded with me to not even dignify that with an answer. However, the batshit crazy side screamed at me to shove his words down his throat and make him choke on them.
Guess who won?
“Let’s get something straight, counselor,” I hissed, my hands fisted by my side. “I don’t give a shit about wearing a crown or sitting on some goddamn blood throne. I was tortured by the same men who used to bow at my feet. If you don’t think I know how easily loyalty can fade, then you can go to hell. You have no idea what I’ve been through. Loyalty is only a word, Brody. Anyone can say it, but only actions prove its worth.”
Were those fucking tears in my eyes?
Adriana Carrera did not cry. I didn’t cry when my own men sank a blade into my flesh, and I wouldn’t cry over a few stupid words. Especially in front of him.
“I didn’t know,” he said softly.
I blinked until my eyes cleared. “Well, now you do. Things at first glance are rarely what they seem. Dig deeper, and you’ll find the truth lies more in what you don’t see than what you do. Arrogance is the eye’s worst enemy, Brody. Men always make the mistake of looking at what’s in front of them instead of watching out for what’s behind them.”
Thankfully, Brody let the subject die, redirecting his focus back to the subject at hand. “Still, even if I thought about humoring you, which I’m not, approaching Val is something that has to be eased into. Just flying to Mexico City and playing house like you didn’t try to kill him a year ago isn’t going to happen.”
Ouch.
“I don’t want to play house, and I’m not looking for instant absolution. I’m looking for a chance to prove myself by warning him.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Ah, yes. About this infamous man of mystery.”
Here it was. Time to show my hand.
“When I was being held captive, there was a man who seemed to be in charge. I barely saw him for the first day or so, but then he came to taunt me. He never told me his name, but he knew things about me. Things no one should know. He offered me a place in the new Muñoz Cartel if I’d turn Val over to him.”
“Wait, this is your argument for me to take you to Val?” I glared at him, and he rolled his eyes. “Fine, continue. Let me guess, you told him no.”
“What? Hell, no. I couldn’t agree fast enough.” Brody’s lips thinned, and his eyebrows drew together. “Oh, don’t look so constipated. It was my only way out of there. Do you think if I had refused they would’ve said, ‘Oh, bummer, well, look us up sometime, we’ll do lunch.’ They would’ve slit my throat right then and there. I did what I had to do to secure my freedom.”