Carrera Cartel: The Collection

by Kenborn, Cora

  “Did you hear me?”

  I blinked him back into focus. “Huh?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I said, what the fuck did you do with Leo Pinellas?”

  “Who?”

  Brody shifted forward, the hard planes of his chest crushing my lace bodice. “Don’t play innocent, Adriana. It doesn’t suit you. After I read your little love note, I had one of my men go to the Mexican Embassy to check on him. He never returned from his lunch break, so I told them to check his apartment. I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you he wasn’t there either.”

  I set my drink down with a shrug. “Why are you asking me? Isn’t he your stool pigeon?”

  Brody’s eyes turned black, and an inhuman sound rumbled in his throat. Before I could process what was happening, one hand from the table buried in my hair. Tightening his grip, he jerked my head back and forced me to look up at him.

  “You don’t understand what’s at stake here.” His fingers twisted tighter around the strands. “I need him. Tell me where he is!”

  Dios mío. Why the hell was I turned on? In one show of dominance, my heart raced, and an unbearable ache hit hard between my legs. What was wrong with me? The man was seconds away from putting a bullet in my head, not his dick in my vagina.

  I had to get it together.

  Curling my fingers around the edge of the table, I gripped the wood tightly. “Oh, I understand a lot more than you think I do, counselor.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Instead of swinging your dick around, you should be thanking me.”

  He let out a dry laugh. “For killing my informant?”

  “For saving your ass!” I yelled, the truth barreling into me like a hurricane. Me. Adriana Carrera did something unselfish. Something that didn’t directly benefit me. Maybe I did take too many punches to the head in that warehouse. “Leo Pinellas was playing both sides—a game I believe you know quite well, if I remember.” I smiled as he shot me a look that said he wanted to tie me to a concrete block and toss me into a river. “It blows my mind you couldn’t see what was right in front of your face.”

  A rogue piece of blond hair fell across his eyebrow as he leaned over me. “Bullshit.”

  “Pinellas was reporting to the men trying to frame me, you idiot! How you ended up in charge of US operations, I will never know. Dios mío, you’re gullible. Do you still believe in Santa Claus too?”

  “How do I know you’re not lying? You were once leader of the Muñoz Cartel yourself. Why would you suddenly turn against them?”

  That was just it. He didn’t know I wasn’t lying, and it was the reason he was wound tighter than a nun’s asshole. The biggest sacrifice anyone could make in life was trusting a proven enemy. It was the ultimate gamble. You either walked away with everything, or you didn’t walk away at all.

  Checkmate.

  “Shipment for seventeen million, right? Disappeared near the Chicago port?” He didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. “Brody, open your eyes. Every contact you have is being turned. You can’t trust anyone. Not your friends, not your contacts, and certainly not your informants.”

  That damn condescending smirk returned. “Not even you?”

  “Especially not me,” I shot back, letting go of the table and shoving my hands hard against his chest. The sudden move knocked him off balance enough that he released my hair, and I slipped around him. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”

  I spun around and faced him, ready to do battle. Instead, I met with sculptured lips that twitched with obvious unwelcome amusement.

  Or it could’ve been anger.

  Or lust.

  Or hate.

  The gamut of emotions we ran through in the span of ten minutes exhausted me. Or maybe it was the scotch. Both were extremely bad for me.

  “So, why bother? I exposed your real identity, Adriana. I turned your life into a nightmare. Your words, remember?” he accused, pointing a finger at me. “I should be the last person you’d want to help. You should want to strike a match, watch me burn, then dance in the ashes. So, again, why? There has to be something in it for you, other than clearing your name and taking down the Muñozes, or you wouldn’t be here.”

  “There is,” I admitted, hating the slight wobble in my voice. “I want you to convince Val to accept me into the Carrera family.”

  “And I’d like to have my dick sucked by a Victoria’s Secret model every day of the week. We don’t always get what we want, princesa.”

  Of course. I let down my guard for one minute and got slapped in the face.

  I sighed. “Can you take something seriously for five minutes, please?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the table. “Yes, if I really thought you wanted to be his sister, but I’m not a moron. I see what you’re doing.”

  “And what am I doing, exactly?”

  “You lost control of the Muñoz Cartel, and now they’re restructuring. You don’t give a shit about Val. You want what comes with the Carrera name, and you’re using this situation to get it. I took your crown, so you want to take his.”

  “Are you done?”

  “For now.”

  The rational side of my brain pleaded with me to not even dignify that with an answer. However, the batshit crazy side screamed at me to shove his words down his throat and make him choke on them.

  Guess who won?

  “Let’s get something straight, counselor,” I hissed, my hands fisted by my side. “I don’t give a shit about wearing a crown or sitting on some goddamn blood throne. I was tortured by the same men who used to bow at my feet. If you don’t think I know how easily loyalty can fade, then you can go to hell. You have no idea what I’ve been through. Loyalty is only a word, Brody. Anyone can say it, but only actions prove its worth.”

  Were those fucking tears in my eyes?

  Adriana Carrera did not cry. I didn’t cry when my own men sank a blade into my flesh, and I wouldn’t cry over a few stupid words. Especially in front of him.

  “I didn’t know,” he said softly.

  I blinked until my eyes cleared. “Well, now you do. Things at first glance are rarely what they seem. Dig deeper, and you’ll find the truth lies more in what you don’t see than what you do. Arrogance is the eye’s worst enemy, Brody. Men always make the mistake of looking at what’s in front of them instead of watching out for what’s behind them.”

  Thankfully, Brody let the subject die, redirecting his focus back to the subject at hand. “Still, even if I thought about humoring you, which I’m not, approaching Val is something that has to be eased into. Just flying to Mexico City and playing house like you didn’t try to kill him a year ago isn’t going to happen.”

  Ouch.

  “I don’t want to play house, and I’m not looking for instant absolution. I’m looking for a chance to prove myself by warning him.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Ah, yes. About this infamous man of mystery.”

  Here it was. Time to show my hand.

  “When I was being held captive, there was a man who seemed to be in charge. I barely saw him for the first day or so, but then he came to taunt me. He never told me his name, but he knew things about me. Things no one should know. He offered me a place in the new Muñoz Cartel if I’d turn Val over to him.”

  “Wait, this is your argument for me to take you to Val?” I glared at him, and he rolled his eyes. “Fine, continue. Let me guess, you told him no.”

  “What? Hell, no. I couldn’t agree fast enough.” Brody’s lips thinned, and his eyebrows drew together. “Oh, don’t look so constipated. It was my only way out of there. Do you think if I had refused they would’ve said, ‘Oh, bummer, well, look us up sometime, we’ll do lunch.’ They would’ve slit my throat right then and there. I did what I had to do to secure my freedom.”

  “Then you came here to…do what?” He asked, throwing his arms out wide. “Warn Val about the impending threat?”

  “Exactly.”
>
  He dropped his arms by his side with a slap. “Well, mission accomplished, sweetheart. You’ve told me, and I can relay the message. No need for you to go anywhere.”

  “There is if you want to know his name.”

  Like I said, checkmate.

  “Sweetheart, you don’t know his name.” His burst of arrogance caught me off guard, but before I could come back at him, he reached forward and pinched my lips shut. “That’s what the hell I mean. Like most women, you don’t know when to stop talking.”

  With his fingers holding my face in a vice grip, I channeled the words trapped in my mouth into a glare that could plow through plaster. In response, a slow, purposeful smile crept across his lips as he brushed them against the shell of my ear.

  “You just said yourself he never told you his name.”

  It took everything I had in me not to knee his nuts halfway up his throat.

  Jerking away from him, I forced this deplorable union of hate and desire into a mask of control. “I said he wouldn’t tell me his name. I never said I didn’t overhear it from another sicario.”

  He stepped forward, his eyes blazing. Something primal lurked in them. An innate need to dominate and control. “Tell me.”

  “No,” I repeated, standing my ground. “I tell Val, or I tell no one.”

  “I don’t take well to threats, princesa.”

  “Well, maybe it’s time you start, considering I know all about your dirty little Chicago deal.”

  There was nothing but silence. Brody’s body went completely still. He didn’t move. He didn’t blink. I almost wondered if he was even breathing. But unlike before, this time, his silence didn’t mean acquiescence.

  It was just the calm before the storm.

  “Son of a bitch!” Coming out of his catatonic state, Brody whirled around and grabbed the scotch bottle from the table by the neck. Hitching his arm back, he pitched it across the room, his chest heaving as he watched it slam against the wall and shatter into pieces.

  “Well, that was a little—”

  He cut me off with another low growl, his disheveled hair brushing over his face, hiding all but one wild eye. “Fuck your ultimatums. I’m not going to be blackmailed into doing shit. I’ll tell Val about the impending threat, and he can handle it on his own. If there’s someone to be found, he’ll find him—without your help.” He stalked forward, his hands opening and closing by his side as if seeking more destruction. His moves were quick and efficient, and my heart slammed against my ribcage as he brushed past me in search of the doorknob.

  I did everything I could to avoid this.

  Despite what people thought of me, I wasn’t completely heartless. I’d attempted to exhaust every path before leading my enemy to slaughter. Damn it, I’d even cracked a little for him. But Brody Harcourt was so damn stubborn, he wouldn’t recognize an olive branch if it was shoved up his ass.

  I had to get to the Carrera Compound, and unfortunately for Brody, I still had an ace up my sleeve.

  “Brody,” I called out, biting my tongue so hard I tasted blood.

  Spinning halfway around, he glared over his shoulder, rage etched all over his face. “What?”

  “You need to call Val tonight. We’ll want to fly out first thing tomorrow.”

  His mouth dropped open. “Did you not just hear a damn word I—”

  Before he could finish his rant, I moved toward him until we stood chest to chest. “Oh, I heard you, but none of it matters. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but you’ve certainly become a pompous blowhard since we last did business. The thing is, you don’t have a choice.” Lifting onto the toes of my high heels, I placed a hand on his shoulder, and mimicking his arrogant power play, I brushed my lips against the shell of his ear and whispered, “Because if I don’t get what I want, I’ll make sure Val knows the real reason you ruined my life.”

  Chapter Eight

  Brody

  I felt all the blood drain from my face. “What did you just say?”

  “You heard me.” Her dark, sensual voice sounded like a hushed prayer, whispered against my ear in a promise of desecration.

  I closed my eyes, forcing the sound out of my head. “Look, I don’t know what you think you know, but—”

  She shifted, her breathy chuckle skating across my neck. “Oh, qué chingados. You’re such a bad liar, Harcourt. Did you ever win a case when you worked for the DA’s office?”

  I should’ve been insulted. Hell, I should’ve been on my sharpest game. She just threw down the gauntlet—the woman who eighteen months ago used my sister to blackmail me into betraying Val Carrera—the man who was already blackmailing me. If that wasn’t some fucked-up shit, I didn’t know what was. Back then, she had an army behind her, but now, she was alone.

  Knowledge might be power, but both ended up being worthless without the credibility to sustain them. One of us was bluffing their influence, and it sure as hell wasn’t me.

  I jerked the door open. “I’m leaving.”

  Her toned arm snaked around my left side, and her palm connected with the door, slamming it closed. “Are you sure you want to do that? The way I see it, you’re out of options, counselor.”

  I dropped my chin and let out a low laugh. Not because I was entertained by the situation. Far from it. I laughed because if I didn’t, the rage boiling inside me would take over, and I’d turn around and swing. I’d never hit a woman in my life, and I didn’t plan on starting just because I let Adriana Carrera get under my skin.

  “I’m sorry, did I say something to amuse you?”

  Instead of punching her, I punched the door and plastered on a fake smile before facing her. “There’s always an option, princesa. I haven’t survived this long without having a backup plan. So, you go right ahead and think you have me cornered with your Hail Mary bullshit.”

  Adriana’s dark eyes searched mine in the dimly lit room, and her full lips twisted into a cocky smirk. “Lie to yourself all you want, Brody. Pretend your heart isn’t riddled with sin. Ignore the voices you hear with your own ears. Slam the door on what you know is the truth. Tell yourself whatever makes you sleep better at night, but know, when you wake up, nothing will have changed. I know what you’ve done, and I’d bet my life on the fact that Val doesn’t.”

  Pretend my heart isn’t riddled with sin?

  What the hell was that supposed to mean, and why did it sound so familiar?

  As her accusing glare entwined with mine, time tumbled backward. To a surprise meeting. To a heated exchange. To haunting words that came barreling back in a rush of unfortunate foreshadowing and impending ruin.

  “Yes, well, the eyes may be the window to the soul, but the heart is the doorway to sin.”

  The meaning of her words finally sank in, and I realized how screwed I was.

  Ignore the voices you hear with your own ears.

  “Is someone there?”

  Slam the door on what you know to be the truth.

  “Just my puta secretary who doesn’t know how to fucking knock.”

  My pulse pounded in my ears, and all the air rushed out of my chest in one breath. The minute I picked up that phone, Leo Pinellas was a man living on borrowed time, and when Adriana walked into my cantina, it was as judge, jury, and executioner.

  Since becoming entangled in cartel life, I’d memorized Marisol Muñoz’s playbook. Although merciless and at times, brutal, her methods were formulaic. Once she needled through her enemy’s defenses, she openly exploited their weaknesses until they caved to her demands. But Adriana Carrera’s innate Machiavellian nature rewrote the rules of the game.

  Not only had I met my match, but I might also have met my undoing.

  “That was your voice I heard in Leo’s office. The door slamming…he let you in. That’s how you knew.”

  I didn’t have to elaborate. The truth stared me in the face and shrugged.

  “As I’ve already told you, the man has been on the take for a while now. He’d sell out his own mot
her if the price was right.”

  “Where is he?”

  “If the whereabouts of a traitor is your main concern, we have bigger problems, counselor.”

  She was right. I shouldn’t give a fuck about Leo. He sold me out, and now she had me backed against the wall.

  But if I was going down, I was going down swinging.

  “You wouldn’t risk the fallout.”

  Of course, she would.

  “Admittedly, I’d prefer to avoid a scene.” She shrugged, and for the first time, I saw indecision on her face as worried lines darted across her forehead. “Ratting out his trusted lieutenant isn’t exactly the way to endear myself to my brother.” As soon as the brief moment of weakness broke through her shell, it disappeared. “But if you force my hand, Brody, I won’t hesitate to go to Mexico City myself and serve your head on a platter. Don’t think I forgot you were about to serve mine up for your Chicago bullshit.”

  “Then why come for me in the first place?”

  “Didn’t you just hear me? You’re his trusted lieutenant. If you bring me there and convince him I’m worthy of that same trust, things will go a lot faster.” She turned her back to me, walking away as she bit out her confession. “If I have to do it on my own, the walls I’ll have to tear down will take a lifetime.”

  “And blackmailing me is just an added perk, I suppose.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” she tossed out over her shoulder. “You’re just an insurance policy. I had a feeling you’d be resistant to my attempts at a reconciliation, so, as someone I know once said, ‘I haven’t survived this long without having a backup plan.’”

  “Throwing my own words back in my face, huh?”