“Hello, Eden.”
The moment Eden’s eyes adjusted to the shock of the light, they settled right on me as if in a daze. She recognized me, but her fatigued brain couldn’t put the pieces in correct order.
She would soon enough.
“How do you know me?”
“Marisol, this is Valentin Carrera’s whore.” Manuel motioned dramatically from me and then back to Eden, giving her a wink. “Eden Lachey, meet the beauty and brains of this operation—Marisol Muñoz, my sister.”
Landing a heavy boot to her stomach, Manuel flipped her onto her back then jerked her to her feet. “Get up. We’ve got a party waiting for you downstairs.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Money, darling. Valentin Carrera has it; I want it. You think I spent years studying with my nose in a book at the University of Guadalajara to be stuck in an office somewhere?” My high-pitched laugh bounced off the walls. “Hell, no. What this cartel has lacked since my father’s death has been intelligent direction. No offense, dear brother.”
Manuel shrugged and raised a quick eyebrow in my direction before snapping Eden’s arm toward a closed door.
“The Muñoz Cartel could never overtake Alejandro Carrera because it lacked strategic planning and intricate follow-through—something that required the long-term patience of a woman. You understand, right, Eden?”
“Sure,” she replied, rolling her eyes in the dark.
“The men in my family want everything now, now, now. But I told them, ‘bide your time and watch Carrera. He’s not as inhuman as you think. Eventually, we’ll find his weakness. When we do, take it. Carrera will come to us.’ You’re his weakness, Eden. We women are powerful creatures. In our lifetime, there will always be one man who will die for us.” I stared at her and ran a painted red nail down her tangled hair. “No man is immune to our power—even the almighty El Muerte. Congratulations on being the woman who brought down the giant.”
Present Day
It all seemed like a lifetime ago. In some ways, it was. The woman who took pleasure in inflicting pain didn’t exist anymore. Marisol Muñoz was dead, but I wasn’t sure anything I said or did would convince her.
“We’ve all made mistakes,” I said, blotting away the memory.
“And some of us have yet to pay for them.”
“You’ve misjudged my intentions.”
“And you’ve clearly underestimated mine.” Her words coiled around the tension in her body. “So let me be clear, I told you to stay away from my son, and I meant it. My only purpose in life is to protect my family from any and all threats.”
I steeled my jaw at her insinuation. “And that’s me.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Is it? You gave the order to have my brother killed in front of me. If you think I’m letting you get anywhere near my son, you’re wrong. Family is the most important thing to Val, and he desperately wants to believe you. He spent his life believing you were dead, and now all he wants is a chance to have his sister by his side. I hope for his sake that you’re being truthful with him.” Eden crowded into me, the corner of her mouth curling up. “Because if I find out otherwise, I’ll show you what kind of puta I really am.”
Stalking toward the crib, she scooped Santiago in her arms and stormed out of the nursery.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Brody
It was too late for la comida, so we all sat around the table for la cena which was like appetizers on steroids. It felt as comfortable as jumping into a lion’s den wearing a ribeye tied around my neck. Eden stared at Adriana. Adriana stared at her plate. I stared at Adriana, then stared at Leighton because she kept staring at me staring at Adriana. Mateo stared at Val, and Val…well, Val fucking stared at everybody.
There was so much staring going on, no one talked. Thank God for scotch because booze was the only thing that kept me from flipping the table and walking away. I needed to either get Adriana alone and fuck this tension out of my system or get Val alone and talk it out. At this point, I didn’t care which one, but something had to give.
My choice was made for me when Leighton stood, hoisting my sauce drenched niece onto her hip. “If you’ll excuse me, this one needs to be hosed down.”
Adriana jumped up so fast, the silverware rattled. “I’ll help.”
My sister cast a suspicious eye between us. “Are you sure?”
By the time she nodded, Adriana was already halfway up the stairs. “Definitely. Let’s go.”
Val leaned back into his chair, watching with a strained curiosity while rubbing the dark hair on his chin.
Mateo just smirked, raising an eyebrow at his boss. “Want me to stay?”
Val waved his hand. “It’s messy upstairs.”
Mateo’s smirk widened. “It’s about to get messier down here.”
Gold flecks ignited in familiar dark eyes that settled hard on the Carrera underboss. “Mateo.”
Any time Valentin Carrera spoke, people obeyed, but there was a certain unmistakable tone that he reserved as a snap threat. Like that moment when you stretched a rubber band to its absolute threshold, and you knew you had seconds before it snapped. That was Val’s voice. It was low and clipped, and usually just one or two words that, if not heeded, led to chaos.
Snap threat.
And Mateo heard it loud and clear.
“Right,” he said, pushing away from the table. “I’ll just go help two grown-ass adults give one small girl a bath.”
Even I caught the sarcasm. Mateo respected Val, but he wasn’t a pussy.
Val picked up his glass and stood, motioning toward the sitting room. “Let’s have a talk, Harcourt.”
Gripping my glass, I followed him into the same room we last met in. Val didn’t sit, going straight to the bar to fill up his glass. When I didn’t follow, he glanced over his shoulder, cocking a slanted eyebrow. “I’m not a fucking bartender. If you want a drink, get it yourself.”
Meeting him at the marble bar, I accepted the expensive bottle of scotch he offered with a low whistle. “Macallan 1926. You don’t play around.”
He tipped his glass back, his gaze unwavering. “There are three things a man should never compromise quality for cost. Liquor, women…” He trailed off to take another drink so, I finished his trifecta.
“Cars?”
“Condoms,” he said, lowering the glass.
I coughed, the mouthful of scotch I just took spraying everywhere. Val calmly took a napkin from the bar and brushed it down the front of his shirt before helping himself to a refill. He said nothing, but it felt like I had a flashing neon light attached to my forehead.
I fucked your sister. Blink, blink, blink. A lot. Blink, blink, blink.
At least I had to come clean about my job. I owed him that much after the shit I’d pulled lately.
“I wanted to debrief you on what we uncovered,” I started, but Val had other ideas.
“Likewise,” he said, holding my eye. “And since this is my house, I’ll go first.” He let a brief pause hang in the air, no doubt for effect, or just to be an ass. “My men haven’t found Cristiano Vergara yet, but we did find out something that should interest you.”