Tomorrow we’d return to Mexico City, and everything would change.
Which was why I hoped Brody could only translate the first part of my confession. Even if he asked me to explain the part he didn’t understand, I’d refuse.
It’d be a blessing when I turned the only ones he did to ash.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Adriana
Mexico City, Mexico
We were three hours into the seven-hour drive back to Mexico City the next day when Brody turned to me, a deep line sinking between his eyebrows. “You’re quiet.”
I drummed my nails against my armrest. “Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“What I’m going to tell Val.”
He reached across the console, gently tilting my chin toward him. “You mean what we’re going to tell Val.”
I shook my head and faced my window. “This isn’t your problem, Brody. I’m the one who chased a ghost. I’m the one who dragged you to a club and put you in the middle of a massacre. I’m the one who convinced you to hold up a bank. I’m the one who harassed an eighty-year old woman. And I’m the one who went off to see Ignacio alone. I’m not letting you take the fall for my mistakes. Past, present, or future.”
Dios mío, just saying it all out loud turned my stomach. Was this the person I’d been all my life—selfish without a shred of compassion for anyone but herself? There was no wonder everyone believed me to be the root of all evil.
That was all I’d ever been.
Brody sighed, running a hand through his unruly blond hair, the front of it flopping defiantly over one eye. “Adriana, you’re Val’s sister. He’s not going to kill you for acting like a Carrera.”
Amidst all the lies, my watery smile was genuine.
Because the irony was too poetic.
He wouldn’t kill me for acting like a Carrera. He was going to kill me for acting like a Muñoz.
“Besides,” he said, pulling the car over as he spotted the food cart he’d been looking for. “This isn’t over. Val’s soldiers are searching for Cristiano. Plus, I have another connection looking into it. Once we find him, we’ll shut both of them down.”
I twisted my fingers together as he pulled off the side of the road, my stomach roiling at the thought of food.
No, it wasn’t over. Just not the way he thought. The decision I had to make wasn’t whether to fall on my sword and protect Brody or to risk Val’s wrath and be a united front. It was whether to fall in line and protect myself or risk Ignacio’s wrath and be a ticking time bomb.
“Come on, Carrera. These pambazos aren’t going to eat themselves.”
I climbed out of the car, trying not to throw up as Brody led me toward the crowded food cart.
One thing was for sure. I should’ve never kissed him.
We arrived in Mexico City early that evening. I planned to corner Val for some preemptive damage control, but he wasn’t home. According to Leighton, he and Mateo had urgent cartel business and had been gone most of the day.
So, Brody and I spent the rest of the night pretending each other didn’t exist. Not an easy task when just the mention of his name sent my pulse racing and my hormones into overdrive.
Considering where we were and the way we left things, we thought it would be best to keep this new development private for the time being. Besides, who would believe us anyway?
I spent my time alone, waiting for Val to return, lost in my own head until Ignacio invaded it. His gravelly voice echoed as I wandered the halls of the Carrera estate, the war waging inside of me tearing me apart.
“Val kneels for no one.”
“He would for his son.”
The walls closed in, moments away from crushing me.
“You’re nothing but an afterthought. A useless inconvenience. Reclaim who you really are and stop pretending to be this pathetic shell of a queen.”
I stumbled as the floor tilted, slamming me against the wall.
“I have a task for you. Don’t fuck it up, or I’ll kill you. But first, I’ll make you watch everyone you love suffer—including Brody Harcourt.”
I gripped the wall, tears streaming down my face.
“I’ll put you back on top and make sure you live to see it.”
It’d be so easy to fall into old habits. I could never trust Ignacio, but he needed the Carrera name, at least for now. And he offered something no one else had.
Time.
But I couldn’t walk down this path and expect Brody to stand by my side. I’d never be his princesa. I’d be his enemy. A pariah.
There was no way out for me. If I yielded to Ignacio’s demands, I’d lose Brody and destroy Val. If I refused him, I’d still lose Brody and destroy Val. The only difference between the two was with Ignacio, the people I’d come to care about lived.
A gurgle stopped me in my tracks, and wiping my eyes, I peeked inside the cracked door. A white crib sat against a pale blue wall, and a navy-blue hand-painted crown spanned the area above it. Right below the crown was written, once upon a time, there was a little prince.
Santiago’s nursery.
I couldn’t stop myself. I went inside and leaned over the crib. Santiago lay on his back, his tiny hands reaching for the moon and stars mobile hanging above him. As if sensing my presence, his dark eyes turned toward me, and he smiled.
Leaning down, I smiled back and rubbed his soft cheek. I traced his full lips, the sharp slant of his nose, and his angled jawline. Maybe I just refused to see them before, but they were there.
Strong Carrera features.
I saw my own face in this tiny baby. This innocent child whose blood ran in my veins. My nephew. Santiago knew nothing of my past. He was my chance to start fresh without any scars or memories. He was a child whose fate rested in my hands.
The truth hit me so hard, I gripped the edge of the crib to keep my balance. I was right. Life had come full circle. What was once ruined, now had the power to rectify. Twenty-four years ago, Ignacio was given a choice, and he changed the course of my life. Now, faced with the same one, I had the power to break the cycle or fall victim to it.
“Familia,” I whispered.
“My familia, considering he’s the only blood relative I have left, thanks to you.”
I flinched but didn’t turn around. “I’m not the same person I was back then, Eden.”
I heard her step farther into the room, and I closed my eyes.
“Neither am I. Back then, I was just some stupid bartender who watched her brother get murdered in front of her own eyes. I had moments where I wanted to die too. I was weak. But I made a choice when I followed Val to Mexico, and I left that woman behind. Now, I’m a cartel kingpin’s wife.”
I twisted around, meeting her hardened stare. “You hate me.”
“Can you blame me?” she asked, silence engulfing the room as she crossed her arms over her long cherry-red hair. “You took great pleasure in telling me how you used me from the beginning to hurt Val. Or don’t you remember?”
I remembered. I just wished I didn’t.
Houston, Texas
One year ago