Locking eyes with Mateo, I reached under my desk and slid my gun out of its holster and curled my finger around the trigger. He knew the question sitting on my tongue. One laced with suspicion and doubt.
But he intercepted before I could ask it. “How did you know about the meeting, Vergara?”
Cristiano laughed. “I spent eighteen years of my life trying to please that man. If you don’t think I have at least one trusted contact inside the Sinners, you’re a fucking idiot.”
Mateo’s hand went for his gun, and I narrowed a sharp gaze at him. He didn’t pull it, but didn’t move his hand away either. The man was loyal, not stupid.
I had to think.
If Santiago found out about this, it could blow another lucrative deal. No way in hell was I going to share two ports with that Colombian motherfucker. I’d compromised enough.
But if what Vergara said was true, there was also no way I could allow Ronan to return to Chicago. Human trafficking was a financial food chain practice I strictly forbade. Just the thought of women and children boxed like trash and sold like cattle made my blood boil. Knowing that fat fuck had been running young girls through my territory made me want to go out into the courtyard and blow the back of his head off.
Instead, I’d bide my time and make a statement no one here would soon forget.
Leaning back in my chair, I released the tension I held on the trigger. “It looks as though we’ll be adding another guest to the wedding.”
Cristiano’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect that, which was precisely why I said it. “I don’t think that’s a good—”
“Nonsense,” I said, cutting him off. “You’re Adriana’s…friend.” My emphasis on the word wasn’t an accident. Brody might be a pain in my ass, but he was about to be family. Loyalty was loyalty, and he had mine. “Any friend of my sister’s is a guest of mine. It would be rude to reject my hospitality. Wouldn’t it, Mateo?”
Mateo smirked. “I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Fine,” Cristiano muttered. “Can’t wait.”
A long silence hung in the air. I stared. He stared. Brody stared. Mateo stared. Fuck, we all stared like a bunch of catty women. Still, I gave him credit; not many men had the balls to go head to head with me. He wouldn’t win, of course, but I respected bravery.
To a point.
Offering him a self-righteous smirk, I nodded toward my first lieutenant. “Show Mr. Vergara to the courtyard. He’ll be joining us tonight.”
Brody shot off the wall like a cannon. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Is there a problem, lieutenant?” Lifting my gun from my lap, I set it on my desk, my hand still wrapped around the grip and my finger still resting on the trigger.
Brody clenched his teeth so hard I could hear them grinding from across the room. “No,” he bit out. “I’d love to have my fiancée’s ex-fiancé attend our wedding. It’ll be the highlight of my year.”
My lip twitched. “No murder on your wedding day, Harcourt. My sister will kill me if you get blood on your tux.”
Brody stomped across the office, not bothering to wait and see if Vergara followed. Still, Cristiano rose, his steps slow and heavy. I had no doubt each one was leaded with the weight of his decision to come here. It could very well backfire on him, but his fate was none of my concern.
I had more important things to worry about.
Once their footsteps had faded away, Mateo cleared his throat. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to have him here?”
“Who? Vergara, Kelly, or Santiago?”
He shrugged. “All of the above.”
Leaving my gun on the desk, I retrieved my glass, raising it in a sadistic toast. “Haven’t you ever heard it’s important to keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”
“Haven’t you ever heard of digging your own grave?”
I settled a fixed stare at him. “Let’s get one thing straight, Mateo. There’s only one grave being dug tonight—an extra wide one—and in a few hours, it will be occupied with one less pain in my ass.”
“And the other one?”
“That depends on his fucking manners.”
“I don’t think he has any.”
“Then I have two shovels.” Amused with myself, I tipped the glass back before noticing the shitty look on his face. “What the fuck is that look for?”
He let out a troubled sigh. “This is supposed to be the start of an alliance, Val. A roomful of Santiago’s men, our men, the Russians, and the Sinners. What you’re proposing could make a statement, or—”
“Or what?” I challenged.
“Or it could start a war.”
“And what if it does? What will you do, Mateo?”
He didn’t hesitate. “I’ll fight beside you until my last breath.”
It was the answer I expected, but an assurance, nonetheless. In cartel life, betrayal never came from a charge from the front. It came from the supportive hand on the back.
“What about Adriana and Eden?” he added.
“Brody will inform Adriana of what’s going on. But my wife…” I shook my head, more confident than ever of my decision to protect her from all this. “I don’t want anything upsetting her this close to delivery. I’ll have to inform her about Santiago and his crew arriving; the woman has eyes, after all. But any details pertaining as to why or anything involving what was just discussed…” I shook my head more vehemently this time. “Eden can’t know.”
“I can’t know about what?”
Mateo and I both turned toward the door where a pair of light blue eyes drenched in question stared back at us. The dagger from before plunged a little deeper. Sliced a little sharper. Twisted a little harder until the burn exploded into one word.
“Eden.”
Chapter Five
Eden
Silence wasn’t linear. Eventually, it forked like a divining rod into one of two extremes.
Peace or chaos.
My father’s words of wisdom came back to haunt me as I stared at my husband and his most trusted confidante. Growing up, his cryptic warning meant little. However, after taking my place beside one of the two most hated men in the world, I understood them.
Life was never black and white, and words were never straightforward. Sometimes, basic survival hinged upon looking beyond pretty words to hear the ugly truth hiding behind them.
I’d learned survival.
And that’s why I didn’t miss the two sets of lips clamped together in quiet chaos.
Val’s jaw unclenched seconds before his lips parted in a slow, sinful smile. “Eden. I was hoping you’d find your way to me before the ceremony. You look good enough to eat.”
“Nice try, but I asked you a question.”
An icy chill skimmed across my bare arms as another deadly stillness thickened the air.
I was no stranger to fear or deceit. They were the very foundation of a cartel life I willingly accepted. Transparency was a luxury a Carrera couldn’t afford, and I got that. But this was me. This was us. Val and I were a team.
However, secrets and lies brought us together.