She jumped at the click of the sliding glass door but didn’t turn around. “Are you going to tell me what you tattled to my brother about?”
“Depends,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Are you going to tell me what the hell happened back there?”
She snorted, wrapping her arms tighter around her chest. “You’ve learned fast. Good for you.”
“Meaning?”
“It’s the cartel way. Answer a question with a question. Never give without getting. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Adriana brushed her chin over her shoulder, a distant smirk pulling at her lips. “Well played.”
I wanted to grab her and kiss that damn smirk off her face. Spending twenty-four hours a day with someone for almost a week stripped away all their plastic bullshit. I knew her well enough to recognize a stone wall when I saw one. Whatever happened with Rosita Vergara tore her apart, and now she’d built a shield around herself to keep me out.
“Well, I did get a crash course this week.”
She whipped around, her cheeks flushing blood red. The violent reaction confirmed my suspicions, and I almost pushed her just to see if I could get her to crack, but that was what she wanted. Provoking me, giving her justification and a clear conscience for shutting me out.
And I was done playing that game.
“They found Leo Pinellas.”
“Oh?”
“Official cause of death was self-inflicted gunshot wound.” She stiffened, but still didn’t turn around. Sighing, I pushed off the glass and stood beside her while staring out at the water. “It took so long to find him because he was listed as a John Doe in the morgue at Houston Methodist.” I turned to face her. “You dropped him off at the hospital?”
She shrugged. “Not personally. Leo had a full wallet. You’d be surprised what a few thugs will do for a couple hundred.”
“Why not just get rid of him?”
“Did you know my mother…?” She sighed. “…I mean Josefina. Did you know she shot herself?” When I shook my head, she glanced down at her feet, her voice losing its edge. “Right in front of me. Esteban was so shamed by it, he didn’t give her a funeral. He just cremated her and tossed her away like garbage. I couldn’t do that to him.”
Her confession was like a punch in the gut, and I couldn’t stop myself from curving my palm around her jaw. “Adriana…”
But the floodgates had opened, and words came spilling out in an avalanche of truth. “Do you know why I was in Leo’s office that day?”
“I have an idea.”
“No, you don’t,” she countered, pulling away. “There was a price on my head for something I didn’t do, so I came to Leo for information. When I heard him on the phone with you, I knew I could get him to tell me anything I wanted to know, and he did.” She let out a dry laugh, a rare breeze blowing her hair across her face. “Sang like the piece of shit canary he’d always been. When he told me you ruined my life just for Eden, that was when I knew I had you.”
The weight of her words sank in. “You were going to tell Val regardless of whether I helped you or not.” It wasn’t a question. “You were going to ruin me, and you didn’t even know me.”
“You didn’t know me either. That didn’t stop you.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“To let you off the hook. I still think what you did was shitty, but you can stop pretending to like me. No matter what happens, your secret dies with me.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Is this where I’m supposed to thank you? To be grateful that you’re so selfless to deny what I want?”
Chuckling, she brushed past me while walking into the house. “You don’t want me, Brody. What you want is redemption.”
I stopped her and turned her around. “Redemption for what?"
I saw the wall coming down moments before it slammed into place. “You think you failed Eden,” she hissed. “You’re convinced you failed Leighton and your niece because you couldn’t protect them from your batshit crazy mother. You have a damaged hero complex, and you think saving me will absolve you of your sins.” Anger tore through her as she shoved both hands against my chest. “News flash, counselor, I can’t be saved.”
“Jesus Christ, I’m not trying to save you, Adriana! I’m beating my head against the wall trying to help you, but you keep fighting me for no damn reason!”
“I’m fighting you because you won’t admit I’m exploiting your insatiable need to punish yourself, and you’re using me to make yourself feel better about it!”
Her words burrowed deep into a decayed part of my mind and detonated, severing the last thread of my self-control. My smile was not a gentle one as I stalked toward her. “Well, if you’re going to convict me without a fair trial, I might as well make good on what I’m being accused of.”
Adriana parted her lips, stumbling as she backed up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, if that’s all you think I’m doing, then I should use you to make myself feel better. Right here. Right now. Because I’ll feel good, Adriana. I’ll feel so fucking good.”
“Go fuck yourself!” she yelled, stepping back until there was nowhere left to go. She was trapped, her back pressed against a bookcase as tall as the ceiling. Her eyes lowered, and I wasn’t sure if she knew whether it was out of fear or anticipation.
“Look at me.”
She pushed her hand out in a weak attempt at stopping me. “Don’t.”
“I said, look at me.” She did, those damn gold flecks as electric as the sun. “No one decides what I want for me, Adriana. If I want these,” I pulled down the top of her shirt along with her bra and exposed her breasts, cupping them in my hands. “I’ll have them.” I ran my thumbs over her puckered nipples. She was so damn tempting. Leaning down, I took one in between my teeth, biting down gently as I sucked.
“Ah, shit!” Adriana went off like a firework, grabbing handfuls of my hair as she moaned.
But I wasn’t done. Dislodging her hold, I shifted her wrists into one hand and held them over her head. “If I want this,” I said, daring her to look away as I released the button on her shorts and dove a hand inside. “I’ll have it.” As soon as my finger slipped in between her wet folds, her mouth dropped open in a wordless whimper. I allowed a cruel smile just before sinking it deep inside her.
Jesus fuck, I was getting off just on the sounds she was making. She was up on her toes, grasping for purchase onto books and then tossing them off the shelf as her moans became more frantic. She begged for mercy, but I wasn’t letting up for shit. Her pleasure was mine, and I was taking it.
The minute she cried out my name, it was like a symphony in my ear. Tired of not seeing all of her, I pulled my hand out and tugged both her shorts and panties down her legs in one hard jerk. Her eyes went a little unfocused, and I watched curiously as she lifted a shaking hand toward my pants. My cock was hard enough to cut steel, but I was trying to prove a point, and coming in her hand didn’t support it.
I grabbed her wrist and held it between us. She blinked in surprise, but I didn’t waver. “Both hands on the shelf and don’t let go.” Once she reached behind her and held on, I soaked in the control I’d commanded, taking my time unzipping my pants. Her eyes followed my every move, so once I had them pushed over my hips along with my boxers, I stroked myself, letting her get a good look at what had already claimed her.
“If I want this inside you,” I growled, stroking harder. “I’ll fucking have it.”
She groaned and licked her lips.
“So don’t fucking tell me what I do or don’t want. I don’t take orders.” She expected me to take her against the bookshelf, but this was my show, and I was the goddamn ringmaster. Turning around slowly, I walked to the oversized chair in the corner and sat down. “I also don’t feel like chasing you tonight. So, if you want me, you’re going to have to come over here and work for it.”
I fully expected her to flip me off and walk away. To my surprise, she released the shelf and s
tumbled toward me, blinking as if not sure what to do next. The power fucked with my head, and I was half tempted to tell her to get on her knees and wrap those smartass lips around my dick, but that wasn’t what I really wanted.
I wanted her to own this fucked up thing between us.
“Tick tock, Adriana. Are you going to show me you know how to fuck a man, or do I do as you asked, and go fuck myself?”
A fire ignited in her eyes so intense I almost lost control. Adriana braced a hand on the arms of the chair and knelt on either side of my thighs. She didn’t say anything. She just held my gaze and reached between us, wrapping her hands around my cock and circling the head around her entrance until I thought my eyes were going to roll back into my head. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself not to grab her by the hips and impale her.
Sweat beaded across my forehead as she teased me by sliding down a few inches before lifting back up. I bit my lip so hard I drew blood, five seconds away from throwing her on the floor when she sank down slowly, and I slipped fully into her wet heat.
All the air sucked out of my lungs in one breath.
Holy fucking hell.
She shifted her hands, gripping the back of the chair behind my head as she lifted her body up and down so agonizingly slow, I swore I was losing my mind. We were nose to nose. My eyes dimmed. My hearing muddled. My insides twisted.
But damn, could I feel.
Adriana’s pace picked up, her body rising and falling with frantic speed. It wasn’t enough. Giving up, I dug my fingers into her hips and lifting her up, I pulled her down rough and hard on my cock. Over and over, we worked in tandem, her riding me on top as I pumped my hips from the bottom.
Faster. Harder. Deeper.
My balls tightened, and the pressure built to the point that I knew if we didn’t stop now, I’d come inside her again. I opened my mouth to tell her to slow down when she came.
Hard.
Her hands dove into my hair, her eyes squeezed shut, and her mouth dropped open as her body spasmed, wave after wave claiming her and dragging her under. The violent contraction gripped my dick like a vice, and I came with a roar, my hands holding her hips down until I had nothing left.
We sat there, stunned as we gasped for air. Adriana was still holding the back of my head when we opened our eyes. Her long eyelashes fluttered as we sat there, pressed together from our foreheads to our noses to our mouths.
Our open mouths.
Stealing breath and flirting with danger.
It would’ve been so easy to kiss her. I don’t think she would’ve stopped me. But she had rules, and rules weren’t made to be broken.
They were meant to be changed.
So, without breaking our connection, I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
* * *
I woke up the next morning, still exhausted.
Rolling over, I peered at the clock on the nightstand and groaned. Three hours of sleep wasn’t nearly enough, but I’d trade sleep for sex any day. I smiled, remembering how I took her three more times once we made it into bed, and how she’d fallen asleep curled up next to me.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept with a woman in my arms.
Whatever this was between us, I’d be damned if I’d let her shut me out again. We were going to talk about what happened at Rosita Vergara’s house and stop all this secretive shit.
“Adriana, baby, we have to get up.” Still half asleep, I flung my arm across the bed, only for it to fall on top of a cold sheet.
I ignored the rock settling in the pit of my stomach as I grabbed my discarded boxers off the floor before stumbling into the attached bathroom. “Adriana?”
It was silent.
A combination of dread and rage fueled me as I tore through the house, searching every empty room, the call of her name becoming angry shouts.
Then I looked out the window toward an empty driveway.
“Fuck!” I slammed my palm against the glass, trying hard to resist putting my fist through it.
If she wanted to have conversations behind my back, so could I. All Carrera vehicles were equipped with specialized with GPS. One call to Val and he’d track her down in five minutes.
Turning around, I stalked toward the living room and reached for the coffee table where I left my phone only to find it missing too.
“Son of a bitch!” Hurling a nearby lamp across the room, I cursed as it shattered against the wall into hundreds of irreparable pieces.
Chapter Thirty-One
Adriana
The longer I drove, the hollower the ache in my chest became. Why did selflessness hurt so damn bad? Having a taste of happiness last night made leaving him this morning the hardest thing I’d ever done.
Whereas most people hungered for light, I found solace in shadows. But last night, Brody stripped my defenses, and I let myself need someone. Want someone.
I almost kissed him.
His lips were right there. I wanted to kiss him. Something I’d never done. I’d fucked many men. I’d pleasured them with my mouth. But I’d never kissed one. However, last night, I was about to give the one thing I held the most sacred to the man who ripped my life apart. And then he pulled away.
I had my rules, and maybe he had his too. I needed the words to justify the kiss, and he needed the kiss to justify saying the words. But maybe kisses and words weren’t important when actions spoke louder.
Was what I felt love? Was it lust? I didn’t know. I’d never truly been in love before. But if it meant shielding me from gunfire in a crowded nightclub, or doing whatever it took to unlock the secrets to my past, or lying to a man who could end his life just to give me more time to figure out mine—then I guess that was exactly what it was.
But love didn’t invite danger. It met it head-on.
And that’s why I left him sleeping.
Love also knew when to walk away.
He never would’ve let me leave, or even worse, he would’ve tried to come with me. This was dangerous cartel territory. To these men, oaths meant nothing. Pledges meant nothing. Affiliations meant nothing. I would’ve never forgiven myself if something happened to him.
It took a little over an hour to get to the Tlajomulco de Zuñiga address Rosita gave me. The warehouse was hidden three miles down a secluded road. It was everything and nothing I expected it to be. Run-down, gray, plain, and boxy. It blended in as nothing special which was just what he wanted.
As soon as I stepped out of the car, a thick foreboding hung heavy in the air, and the quiet hum of destiny whispered in my ear. That’s when I felt it. That’s when I knew.
He’d been waiting for me.
I didn’t bother to knock. There was no use. I pushed the latch down and opened the door, knowing it wouldn’t be locked. A dank, musty smell hit me as soon as I walked in, a metallic rust that only lingered with the stain of blood. As much as it turned my stomach, I ignored it, keeping a blank face as the heavy door slammed behind me.
My eyes fought to adjust to the dim overhead lighting, scanning for hidden Muñoz soldiers, but there were none. Only a folding table with a metal chair and the bright glowing end of a lit cigar.
“Ignacio Vergara.” The words slithered past my lips.
He removed the cigar from his mouth, his voice echoing off the bare walls. “Marisol Muñoz.”
“It’s Adriana Carrera.” I squared my shoulders. “You’re a hard man to track down.”
His lips parted in a sadistic smile. “Invisibility is a learned skill. I’m good at it.”
“Well, I found you, so obviously, not that good.” Clasping my hands behind my back, I walked a strategic line parallel to the table. “Plus, I know who you are now, so I suppose the only question I have left is to ask what the hell you think you’re doing.”
“I told you before. I’m taking what’s owed to me.”
I paused and lifted an eyebrow. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”
I knew exactly what he meant, s
o I was shocked when abrasive belligerence came out of nowhere. I didn’t fear his aggression. I wanted it.
We locked eyes. “The Muñoz name,” he growled.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” Turning toward the middle of the table, I placed both palms down and leaned forward. “The Muñoz name died with Manuel. You’re not a Muñoz, Ignacio. You’re just Pablo’s bastard son, and Esteban’s little bitch.”
I barely saw him lift the back of his hand before my head snapped over my shoulder. “I would be careful what I said if I were you.”
I should’ve walked away. I should’ve run out that door, got in the car, and never looked back. But I was done running, and I refused to spend the time I had left looking over my shoulder. So even though every bone in my face ached, I faced him.
“Was being accepted by a brother who hated you worth killing two innocent women? Destroying a family? Ruining a child?”
“You know nothing.”
“I know he lied to you. Esteban used you to satisfy his vindictive jealousy then sold you out. He never had any intention of giving you a rank. That would’ve forced him to acknowledge his family’s dirty little secret.”
Ignacio raised his hand again, and damn it, I flinched. A sick smile broke across his face as he traced my face with the back of his hand. “Little Marisol. Never fear the knife to your throat as much as the one in your back.”
I knocked his arm away. “I didn’t escape before. You let me go.”
He laughed. “Why chase a rat when you can set the kitten free and wait for her to drop it at your feet?” Pulling the cigar back to his mouth, he took a long puff, blowing out the smoke in a cloudy haze. “You think this is about you? Puta, you’re nothing but my puppet. I barely did any work. I just stole a few Carrera shipments and put your name out there. You and your new boyfriend, Brody did the rest.” The orange end of his cigar zigzagged as he pointed it at me. “Gotta admit, that one took me by surprise.”
“You set me up.”
Tucking one hand in the pocket of his dirty black pants, he rounded the desk with a confident swagger. “I simply put cheese on a plate. You’re the one who gobbled it up and got your fucking neck snapped. You did exactly what I thought you’d do, which was to try to save your ass by selling mine out.” We stood face-to-face, the low laugh he let out slithering down my spine. “You thought you were so smart, getting revenge on Brody Harcourt and shutting me down, all while using that new name to work your way into the Carrera family. What you didn’t count on is that was exactly what I wanted you to do.”
Drawn Blue Lines: A Carrera Cartel Novel Page 24