The darkened hallway.
I paused, surveying my surroundings and absorbing the unusual dimness. I had to admit it was a little bizarre. The rest of the cantina had plenty of windows scattered along the perimeter, and the sun was probably almost directly overhead by now. Not that the lack of light bothered me. I felt more at home in the dark. At least in the shadows, I knew what to expect.
Pain. Shame. Hate. Betrayal.
Emotions as familiar as my own skin.
It was the uncertainty of the light that terrified me. Fear of being stripped of my armor and revealed to be what I’d always fought to never become.
Weak.
The air in the narrow hallway seemed to thicken, and with every breath, I felt my lungs fill with water. Dropping the bag on the floor by my feet, I forced myself to calm down. This wasn’t a shitty warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Within these walls, I was no longer just a girl dealt a shitty hand in life. I was Adriana Carrera. An heiress. Sister to one of the most powerful men in the world.
And that made the light my bitch.
So instead of drowning in the past, I floated in the present, and swam toward the future. Only one person stood in my way and maneuvering around him wouldn’t be easy.
Brody and I had a river of bad blood between us. We’d toyed with each other’s lives not for the love or hate of each other, but for the love and hate of other people. I forced him to set up a man I was groomed to hate, and he unsealed records for a woman he loved enough to let go. The nobility of each act depended on who you asked. Was a motive driven by revenge any more honorable than one driven by hope?
You tell me.
Brody let everyone believe he gave Saint Eden my birth records so she’d get off her self-righteous throne and follow Val to Mexico. He was praised for swallowing his pride and urging her to wave stolen papers in Val’s face, so he’d fall at her feet in gratitude and they’d live happily ever after.
Please.
Anyone who bought his act was a fool. Humans weren’t wired for self-sacrifice, and I doubted my dear brother believed in his pure intentions any more than I did. Brody may have spent years studying the art of persuasion and even longer practicing it in a court of law, but Val and I grew up in the court of the cartel. Listening to what was said around us gave us power while finding out the things that weren’t kept us alive.
However, I had to remind myself that trust wasn’t given freely in either world. It was earned, and so far, I hadn’t given Brody much to work with. To get what I wanted, I needed him amiable and compliant. In the last forty-eight hours, I’d killed his ally, threatened him, blackmailed him, and then topped it all off by stealing his wallet and his phone.
Not exactly winning any popularity contests here.
I suppose making a few concessions wouldn’t kill me. Technically, I was early. Maybe I could knock on his office door and offer an apology for walking in earlier while he was, um…busy relaxing from all the stress and tension from the…
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Fine, I’d apologize for barging in while he was beating his dick like it stole something.
Although it went against my every instinct, I bit the bullet and stepped forward just as Brody’s heated voice carried into the hallway from a small opening where his office door was ajar.
“Don’t you think I know that? I’ve tried everything I can think of, Val! Reasoning with that woman is like trying to herd cats.”
As soon as I hear Val’s name, I knew “that woman” was me, and I didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended. I didn’t come here to be his bestie, so I had no idea why the insult bothered me so much. To be honest, he wasn’t wrong. I was unreasonable.
But then I realized he’d delayed his conversation with Val, which was why he wanted me to stay away an extra hour. And exactly why I didn’t.
I strained to hear more, but as the lunch crowd began to arrive, their incessantly boisterous chatter caused Brody’s voice to become muffled.
Glaring at them over my shoulder, I willed them to burst into flames. “Inbred assholes.” I’d just have to move closer.
Just as I took another step forward, the toe of my high heel caught under something huge and heavy. My arms windmilled in a valiant effort to delay the inevitable, but it was useless. With my feet anchored to the ground, gravity took over, and my knees slammed against the top of the box right before my body propelled into the wall.
“Ooooof.”
“Hold on a minute, boss.”
I froze, my hands planted against the stucco wall and glass rattling under my knees as the sound of his footsteps moved toward me. Shit. Adding eavesdropping on top of all my other infringements wouldn’t bode well in winning over a king.
Thankfully, at that same moment, all hell broke loose in the kitchen. Glass shattered, men shouted, and multiple mothers were insulted. I held my breath as Brody stood right outside the door. One more step and I’d be up close and personal with a part of him I’d already seen way too much of. Thankfully, he grumbled and kicked the door shut.
Exhaling hard, I dislodged my foot and tip-toed toward his door until I could press against it. With the war going on in the kitchen, it made it almost impossible to hear, but I didn’t give up so easily.
As gently as possible, I gripped the doorknob and gave it a slight twist. With minimal effort, the door pushed open no more than a fourth of an inch.
Just enough to hear the end of an important conversation.
“I know it’s not a good time, but let’s be honest, is there ever a good time to meet one’s dead sister?”
Balling my fist, I gritted my teeth.
“Of course, you’re right. Look, I know Eden’s worried, and you both have a lot going on, but I wouldn’t bring her if I didn’t think this threat was real. It’s not the first I’ve heard of Muñoz reconstruction and infiltration.” I caught a quick glimpse of him as he paced across the office. “No, I’m not hiding anything from you, Val. I’m not a damn moron. I just didn’t want to come to you until I had full recon and intel. Adriana has the name of the man leading the charge. It’s foolish not to hear her out.”
For a moment, I almost believed the shit he was shoveling. Then I remembered he was so desperate to hide his Chicago dealings and indiscretions, he’d sell his sick grandmother beachfront property in Colorado if it meant saving his own ass.
Hypothetically speaking, provided he had any family left.
Which he did not.
“Yet again, she won’t tell me.” I cocked an eyebrow at his tone. It bordered on mocking, a dangerous line to walk for a man in his position. I suppose he knew it too because he returned to his chair and slumped down. “I ripped the floor out from underneath her, Val. She wouldn’t trust me with her drink order, much less valuable information.”
That’s true.
“No, she won’t be here for at least another forty-five minutes.”
I laughed to myself. That’s what he thought.
After a long stretch of silence, Brody let out a relieved sigh. “Perfect. I’ll have the pilot on standby.”
Pilot?
Clamping a hand over my mouth, I crept over to where I’d dropped my bag. Collecting my belongings, I quickly slipped inside the ladies’ room before being discovered. Once inside, I leaned against the tiled wall, the bag falling from my shoulder again. This time, I didn’t care. All I could do was stare at my reflection in the blurry mirror, the reality of what I’d heard finally sinking in.