Well, shit. If I knew describing our hypothetical deaths in graphic detail would shut her up, I would’ve done it a long time ago.
“With pleasure.” After Tia returned with our drinks, I took a much-needed sip and placed it in the chair’s drink holder. Folding my arms behind my head, I stretched out and enjoyed the first moment of peace I’d had all week.
As if pulled by some unknown force, my gaze wandered back to Adriana. She still sat as rigid as before, except the cup of water in her hand shook so hard, droplets spilled over the edge and scattered across the leather. I assumed air sickness had struck again. I had no idea how to comfort an ally, much less an enemy. Normal emotion wasn’t something I felt anymore.
The only thing that felt natural was sarcasm, but just as I opened my mouth to insult her, I noticed her face. It was no longer green but pale. So pale, if she wasn’t almost panting, I’d wonder if she was breathing at all.
“Adriana…”
She cut a sharp stare at me, immediately setting down her cup and clasping her hands together. “So, what kind of shit show am I walking into?”
I motioned toward her tight grip. “Are you sure you’re—”
“I assume when you convinced Val to let you bring me to Mexico City, you conveniently left out the reason you’d suddenly joined Team Adriana.” Her face tightened, either in pain or in anger. Whatever the cause, the message written across it clearly said back off.
So, I did.
I rattled the ice in my glass. “As far as Val knows, my concern for the cartel outweighs any risk you might pose.”
“And?”
“And I told him I believed you were sincere.”
“And he believes it?”
“Mm-hmm,” I mumbled, around a mouthful of scotch.
Adriana’s pale lips twisted in suspicion. She had every right to doubt me. The conversation wasn’t quite that cut and dry. I left out the part where Val more or less threatened to castrate me.
“This is not a time for a family reunion, Harcourt. In case you forgot, Adriana had my wife’s brother tortured and killed. I put you in charge of Houston for a damn reason. If you can’t handle the job, then maybe I should—”
“I can handle it. Look, I know there’s bad blood with Eden, 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.”
“And you’re just now informing me. Hijo de tu puta madre.” Son of a bitch.
“Val, I’m not a moron. I 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.”
“Force the name out of her. When did you become such a pussy?”
“Yet again, she won’t tell me. And nobody has the balls to employ torture techniques on the boss’s sister.”
“You’re a resourceful man. Figure something out.”
“I ripped the floor out from underneath her, Val. She wouldn’t trust me with her drink order, much less valuable information.”
“Dios mío. Fine. I’ll have Walker prep the jet. But, Brody?”
“Yeah?”
“She’s your responsibility.”
As usual, with Val the real threat lay more in what he didn’t say rather than what he did. He agreed to open his home to us, pull back the veil and bare a vulnerability few ever witnessed. However, reward never came without risk. I swore on my life his family would be safe. I personally guaranteed Adriana would prove both her loyalty to him and herself worthy of the Carrera name.
She had to.
Because if she failed, we would both die.
And I wasn’t so sure Val would be the Carrera to pull the trigger.
Chapter Twelve
Brody
Mexico City, Mexico
I whistled as we approached the opulent excess of the Carrera mansion. “So, this is how the other half lives.”
Adriana paused on the first step, her bag sliding down her arm. “What are you talking about? You grew up in a mansion.”
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I swiveled around on my heels to face her. “Well, if it isn’t the pot calling the kettle black. For your information, I grew up in a modest three-bedroom house until my dad died. It wasn’t until my mom remarried that we shot up into an obscene tax bracket.”
“But you’ve been to Val’s estate before, right?”
“Meetings in Mexico, yes. House, no.” I fought a smirk as Adriana’s brow furrowed. As fun as it was to toy with her, I had no desire to encourage more of her questions. “Look, you grew up in this life. You know better than anyone that the people in a man’s business inner circle aren’t necessarily the ones in his personal one. Val has a wife and a son to protect. I get that.”
“But you’re his second in command,” she argued. “Besides, regardless of what happened between you and Eden in the past, you said it yourself. She’s his wife, and you saved her life.”
I shrugged. “Sometimes a person’s mistakes will always haunt them and overshadow any good they’ll ever do.”
“That’s depressing,” she huffed, turning to climb toward the front steps.
Chuckling, I followed behind her. “That’s life, kid.”
As we both stood outside the enormous archway that framed the front door, our limo driver held out his hand, preventing us from moving any closer.
“What?” I asked, almost barreling into him. “Is there a password?”
He grunted and turned his palm up. “Guns.”
Adriana’s eyes narrowed, and before she could make this worse, I clarified things for the idiot. “I’m Brody Harcourt.”
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re Santa Muerte. No guns.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Adriana nodded toward the estate. “And what about their guns? I suppose if we use the wrong fork they’re allowed to shoot us in the face?”
Jesus Christ.
“Adriana!”
“What?”
“Shut up and give him your gun.”
She shot me a wry look. “I don’t have a gun.”
As much as I understood her reluctance, I also knew this guy had orders, and they stated the line stopped here. We didn’t cross unless we caved.
“Adriana…” The word was her name, but the warning was clear.
This is what you wanted.
“Oh, fine, here.” Reaching under her skirt, she unclipped a thigh holster and slammed a small revolver into the man’s hand, glaring at me the whole time. “Happy?”
Handing over my own gun to the man’s waiting hand, I smirked. “Ecstatic.”
As soon as we crossed the threshold into the house, I whistled again, ignoring Adriana’s glare. The Carrera estate made the elaborate display of wealth I spent my high school years living in look like a run-down backwoods shack. Intricate framework, brushed gold, museum quality artwork, and enough square footage to house a small neighborhood closed in on me, tightening the already snug tie around my neck.
Pulling on my collar, I leaned close to Adriana. “Maybe this is a bad time. We should go.”
“But you just got here.” The commanding and authoritative voice slithered down my back, and as if we’d been struck by lightning, Adriana and I spun around to find the source.
Like a panther watching its prey from a higher vantage point, Valentin Carrera nodded, acknowledging our presence from halfway up the winding staircase, then slowly and meticulously descended, his predatory eyes watching me the entire time. He exuded confidence. It poured out of him, coating the very floor the man stood on. He was danger wrapped in a designer suit, and intimidation masked as an ordinary thirty-one-year-old man.
But there was nothing ordinary about Val Carrera. From his slicked back black hair to his heavier-than-normal beard, the kingpin of the Carrera Cartel wielded power most men could never fathom. With a simple nod, he decided who lived, who died, and who suffered until madness took whatever remained.
And if that weren’t enough, trailing behind him was the second most feared man in Mexico. Val’s most trusted confidante. The prince who’d become king should Val’s enemies ever succeed in taking him out.
Mateo Cortes.
A man who’d both killed for Val and nearly died for him. His family was the cartel. His loyalty knew no bounds. He was younger and more impulsive, but just as deadly.
He was also my brother-in-law.
“Val.” I nodded in return, watching him just as carefully. Then I turned my head. “Mateo.”
Mateo dipped his chin. “Brody.”
Adriana stood motionless beside me as Val made his way toward us. I followed his gaze, identical eyes meeting for the first time in over a year.
“Marisol.” He spoke the name slowly, as if tasting the word on his tongue.
“Adriana,” she corrected, not an ounce of fear in her tone. I didn’t particularly like the woman, but I had to admit, hearing her talk back to Val Carrera did something to me.
Something that, if I didn’t get under control, would embarrass all of us real soon.
Instead of launching into his usual tirade about respect and authority, the corners of Val’s mouth curled in the barest hint of a smile. “Of course. Adriana. My mistake.”
“Where’s Eden?”
Fuck.
Yeah, I thought it, but I sure as hell didn’t mean to say it. The words just slipped out, and as soon as they did, I wanted to stuff them back down my throat.
Mateo raised a questioning eyebrow, and if looks could kill, Val’s narrowed stare would’ve incinerated me to dust.
“My wife is out.”
I heard the meaning behind the words loud and clear.
Stay away from her, asshole.
“Besides, I thought it would be best that Eden not be here when she arrived,” he added, nodding toward Adriana.
Adriana opened her mouth to object, but I stomped on the toe of her high heel, causing her to swallow a muffled groan instead.
“Of course,” I answered for her.
While Adriana shot me death glares, Val headed into a sitting area to our right and straight for the fully stocked bar nestled in the corner of the room. Filling a stem glass full of what I knew to be Añejo tequila, he placed one hand on the marble and drank leisurely before saying a word.
“So, Adriana, I suppose I should welcome you home.”
I glanced at Mateo who simply shrugged. This whole situation was a grenade waiting to explode, and at any moment, either Carrera sibling could pull the pin. To prevent a disaster, I did the only thing I knew she couldn’t resist. I stared hard into her gold-flecked eyes and dared her to play his game.
Adriana Carrera never backed down from a challenge.
And judging by her defiant stare, it was game on.
She turned a brittle smile Val’s way. “Thank you for having us.”
We stood in silence for a moment, each of us staring at the other, unsure of what to do or what to say. Finally, Val offered her a curt nod and motioned for us all to sit, breaking the tension.
“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to catch up later, but Brody tells me that we have pressing business to discuss. My men have heard rumblings of a new leader attempting to reassemble the Muñoz Cartel, but no one has managed to gather useful intel on him. I believe you have some information for me.”
Her hands tightened by her side. “Yes. I have the name of the man in charge of restructuring them.”
“I’m all ears.”
He wasn’t the only one. Since returning from Chicago, I’d waited to hear the name of the man who stole my shipment and set this whole thing in motion. The man who’d made enemies of two powerful crime syndicates then opened the door for the woman who stood beside me to hold my life in the palm of her hand.
“His name is Ignacio.”
Taking a slow drink of tequila, Val studied her while running a thumb over his beard. “Ignacio…what?”
“That’s all I know.”
Val cocked his chin toward me, a smug smile twisting his lips. “That’s all she knows.”
I whipped my head around, clenching my fists just to keep from wrapping them around her neck. “You lied to me?”
“Brody, I—”
“You told me you had inside information Val had to know in person. I put my reputation, not to mention my life on the line for you!”
Her cheeks flushed. “If you would just listen to me for a damn—”
A low chuckle from across the room caused us both to turn just as Val set his empty glass on the bar. “Well, this has been enlightening, but if you two will excuse us, Mateo and I have real intel to find before shit gets out of control.”
“Val,” I called after him.
He paused at the entrance to the sitting room. Tipping his chin over his shoulder, he leveled a hard stare at Adriana. “Brody will make sure you get back to Houston safely.”
“You need me.”
“Adriana!” I was going to fucking kill her.
Provided she didn’t get me killed first.
Val held up his hand. “No, let her speak, Brody. I’m intrigued.” Taking a few steps back into the room, he locked his hands behind his back. “And why would I need you?”
I’d seen grown men fall to their knees under the predatorial hunt of Val Carrera. He stalked, they retreated. However, Adriana didn’t back down. She lifted her chin and met him eye to eye.
Carrera to Carrera.
“I’m the only one who knows the inner workings of the Muñoz Cartel and how they operate. To find Ignacio—to figure out who he is and stop him—you need me. If you send me back to Houston this little scavenger hunt of yours will take three times as long.”
Little scavenger hunt.
Mateo and I locked eyes across the room, and this time it was my turn to shrug. I had no idea what she thought she was doing. I wasn’t a pussy. I’d walked into massacres unarmed. I’d taken more lives than I could remember. I’d outsmarted some of the world’s most sophisticated criminals. But not once had I mocked a cartel boss to his face.
And even though I knew allowing the repercussions for her actions to play out would solve most of my problems, I found myself standing in front of her.
I made myself a goddamn human shield.
For Adriana fucking Carrera.
“She doesn’t mean that.”
Adriana shoved her way around me. “Don’t answer for me like I don’t have a brain. I meant every word of it. He needs me, and he knows it. The three of you can stand around here congratulating yourselves on how big your dicks are, or you can go on the offensive and strike first. It’s your choice.”
If and when we made it back to Houston, I’d kill her myself.
Slowly.
“Val,” I started, raising a hand. “Call your driver. I’ll take care of this myself and make sure she never—”
“She’s right.”
“What?” I whipped my head around sure I’d heard him wrong.
“She’s right,” he repeated. “By the time I tracked this pinche cabrón down, the damage he might inflict on us could cripple our distribution channels and our infrastructure. We need to end him, and we need to do it now.”
Mateo raked a hand over his long hair and let out a harsh breath. “So, what do we do?”
Val never took his eyes off Adriana. “We strike first.”
Unbelievable.
Adriana managed to do something very few ever accomplished. She forced her way into the inner circle of two cartels and dragged me along with her. If she succeeded in drawing out the Muñoz organizer, my position within the cartel would be solidified.
If she failed…
Well, I didn’t care to think about that.
Adriana fought a smirk as she dipped her chin. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
A glint flashed in Val’s eyes. “Do you mean that?”
I didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Something felt off. L
ike a sizzle running along an invisible current. Adriana was too confident, and Val was too agreeable. A combination as natural as oil and water.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“Muy bien. Then I want you to go to Guadalajara.”
“What?”
Val smiled. “This is where you heard this Ignacio name in the first place, yes?”
“Well, yes, but you can’t expect me to—”
“Good,” he said, cutting her off. “Then it’s settled. You’ll leave first thing in the morning. You grew up there. You know the area better than anyone. Find out what you can and report back.”
“What will walking into enemy territory prove? That I’m suicidal?”
“No, that you have no lingering Muñoz loyalty, and you’re completely invested in keeping the Carreras in power.”
I couldn’t blame him. It was a dick maneuver, but a shrewd one. Besides, at least with Adriana gone, I didn’t have the black cloud of her threat hanging over my head.
“Fine.” The word crawled out of her throat like a beast trying to claw free from her chest. Pushing past me, she stomped toward the front door. “Whatever it takes, brother.”
“Adriana…” Hearing Val call her by her given name, she froze, her hands fisting by her sides. “I’m not a stupid man. While I’m willing to give you a chance due to the blood we share, I’d be foolish to trust you because of the same reason. Our mother gave love unconditionally, while our father used it as a weapon. Where your genetics fall remains to be seen, and until then, I can’t put anything past you, especially betrayal.”
“So, what are you going to do?” she taunted, popping a hand on her hip. “Send a group of spies to report back to you?”
“Close. I’m sending Brody.”
Chapter Thirteen
Adriana
I spun around so fast the room blurred. “I’m not going anywhere with him.” To make my point clearer, I flung an arm in Brody’s general direction.
“Over my dead…” A low grunt broke his protest as the back of my hand slammed against his chest, “…body.”
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