by Logan Fox
“Javier deserved to die,” she said in a low monotone. “If I could have made him suffer more, I would have.”
Holy shit, she was one cold-hearted bitch.
“I have a feeling that’s probably the only thing we’ll ever agree on,” Neo said calmly.
Cora perked up at that but, almost immediately, her eyes narrowed and her mouth thinned. “Why?”
Heat grew inside Neo’s chest. He clenched his hands in fists, digging them into his armpits so he wouldn’t slam them into the wall.
When he spoke, his voice wavered like a candle flame in a draft.
“Because he fed my mother to his fucking pet, that’s why.”
Saying the words out loud churned a bitter anger inside him. The anger itself wasn’t unexpected; its extent was.
He’d loved his mother, but he never could have thought her death would affect him so much. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t ever expected her to die.
Cora’s face went blank. She blinked, long and slow, and then turned slightly toward the gray-eyed man with the tattoos.
“Bailey…” she murmured, holding out a hand to him.
Neo glanced across and then did a double-take.
Bailey had gone white.
“What?” Neo asked, turning back to Cora. But her attention was on Bailey, not him. “What?” his voice was too loud in this confined space.
A hand touched his shoulder just as Bailey stormed from the conference room. Lars didn’t even stop him—he took two hurried steps back and lifted his hands as if in surrender when Bailey strode past.
Santino whispered, “He worked for your father at—”
But the door slammed, cutting him off.
“At?” Neo demanded, spinning to face Santino.
“Bailey was a spy,” Cora said calmly, drawing Neo’s attention back to her. “He worked for Javier.” She paused, lifted her chin, and added, “And Gabriella.”
Neo’s heart pounded. Not from the announcement, but from what he’d recognized on Bailey’s face.
Shock.
He felt it too.
Why the hell was Bailey working for Cora now?
“Your mother. Do you have proof?” Milo asked. His rough voice made Neo look up.
He gave the man a mute nod, swallowed hard, and said, “They made me watch.”
At this, Santino slunk back against the wall. He tried his best not to glance at the man, but he couldn’t stop himself.
Santino looked at the floor, refusing eye contact with Neo.
He couldn’t blame Santino; the man had been following Javier’s direct order. And perhaps it was better he had been the one holding the back of Neo’s neck while Eddy hacked off his mother’s head. She’d been alive but gagged. It had barely muffled her scream. A scream that still echoed in his ears after Eddy had tossed her head into the lion’s enclosure.
That was all there’d been time for him to watch; Neo had a wedding to get to. And Santino had made sure he’d gotten into his tuxedo before heading back to the lion enclosure.
As soon as Neo had emptied his stomach, he’d stumbled downstairs, into the park, and onto the altar. Like a dream, everything afterwards happened to someone else.
Until Javier had fallen to his knees, and he’d seen blood staining his tuxedo.
He had Cora to thank for that.
Just as he had Cora to thank for his mother’s gruesome execution.
Neo rose to his feet in a rush. “I’ll always be grateful to you for killing him,” he said, his fingertips on the table again. “But you could go on your knees and suck my dick every day for the next ten years and you’ll never make up for what happened to my mother.”
Milo surged forward, but Cora lifted a hand almost absently. The beast of a man froze, but the intensity in his eyes only sharpened.
“I won’t even try,” Cora said. She pointed at the chair, for all the world like he was a fucking dog and expected him to sit. “Now, let’s discuss—”
“Fuck you!” Neo spun around, throwing the chair out of his way when his leg caught against its edge.
“Neo!” Cora yelled after him, but he didn’t stop.
As he walked past Lars, the man gave him a lecherous grin. “You can suck my dick, if you want,” Lars said. “Maybe I’ll put in a good word for you with La Sombra.”
Neo slammed open the door, giving his head a hard shake as he stepped out into the villa’s corridor. The door closed quietly behind him, but he was already halfway down the hallway.
If a man who’d been spying for both Javier and his mother had turned to Cora’s side, what chance did he have of retaining anyone’s loyalty?
He flicked his hand, and Santino hurried to catch him up. “You have Javier’s contacts, right?”
“Yes,” Santino said warily.
“Bring them to me.” Neo narrowed his eyes and rubbed his palm against his chest. His lungs burned like the furious blaze at the end of a match. “I want to know who’s still loyal to the Martin name.”
3
The Mafia
As soon as Lars closed the door behind Neo, Cora clapped her hands over her eyes. Scorching tears squeezed their way out of her lids, despite how hard she tried to keep them back.
“It’s good you didn’t show emotion,” Finn said, his voice moving as he came to sit beside her in Neo’s chair. “Weakness will always be exploited.”
“Weakness?” Cora tugged her hands away, giving Finn an incredulous glare. “He fed—” her voice broke “—he fed her to some animal.”
“Pretty sure it was a lion,” Lars said, taking the seat to the left of Cora.
Her gaze switched to him, now wide eyed with shock. “How…how do you—”
“He overheard Gabriella and Bailey talking,” Finn said. “They were in Javier’s zoo.”
“Should you still call it a zoo if there was only one animal?” Lars asked, and then crossed his arms over his chest when Finn threw him a glare. “Jesus, just asking.”
Cora wiped her eyes with the heels of her palms and sat back in her chair. “So that went well,” she muttered.
When her men had suggested this meeting with Neo, she’d known it would end in a shouting match. From the few brief encounters she’d had with Neo, she knew he was far from a gracious man, but she hadn’t expected his overwhelming anger.
“He blames me,” she murmured.
“He should blame Javier,” Finn said, reaching for her hand.
“But I killed him.” She moved her hand away. “Now there isn’t anyone else to be pissed at.”
“I’m more worried about the fact he made it pretty fucking clear he’s going to fight her for control of the cartel,” Lars said, directing the comment at Finn.
“Which puts us in a tight spot,” Finn replied, looking straight at Lars. “If he refuses to annul the—”
“I’m down here,” she said coldly, glancing first at Finn, and then Lars.
The men looked at her. Lars had the decency to look abashed, but Finn just regarded her with that speculative look he’d been wearing around her lately.
“Look, it’s all about trust, right?” Lars said, drawing her eyes reluctantly back to him. He gave her a small shrug. “You gotta figure out who you can trust.”
“And Neo shouldn’t be on that list,” Finn said.
“Which is something I’ll decide,” Cora said, giving Finn a curt, thin-lipped glance. “But you’re right—I don’t trust him.”
“And Bailey?” Finn asked quietly.
“You know the answer to that,” she murmured, looking down at her hands as she twisted her fingers together.
“Was it your heart or your head that decided that?” Lars asked.
“Both,” she said, glancing at him. “He did what he had to, to protect the people he loved.”
“And now he loves you, apparently,” Finn said.
There was venom on that last word. Turning, she grabbed Finn’s hand and squeezed it until he stared her in the eyes.
&
nbsp; “Javier’s gone,” she said.
Finn’s blue eyes narrowed a little, but he remained silent.
“Which means you can leave any time you want to.”
A flinch touched his face, and his lips thinned.
“I won’t tolerate jealousy. Not from you—” she turned and looked at Lars “—or from you.”
She sat back, hugged herself, and glanced between the two men. “I don’t want you to leave, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay, either.”
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the aquarium bubbling behind her. Lars stared at it, but Finn’s eyes were fixed on her. When she turned to him, she expected anger. Or, at least, nothing short of frustration. After all, she was asking him to share her with two other guys. One was his best friend—and she wasn’t sure if that made it better or worse—and the other pretty much an enemy. And, if not an enemy, then definitely a stranger.
But how could she explain to them what she felt? How her heart sang when she looked at Finn, filled with warmth whenever Lars was around, and felt ready to burst when Bailey held her?
She’d like to think this was all some small recompense for everything she’d suffered as a child. Hell…maybe there was more suffering to come in payment for these hedonistic desires.
But if she’d learned anything in the past two months of her life, it was that death was as close to anyone as their own shadow, and it followed them as religiously, ready to claim them when the last light trickled from their lives.
“I don’t expect an answer now,” Cora said, when neither man looked willing to speak. “But I need you to know where I stand.” She tilted her head toward Lars. “And thank you. I think I finally got what you were saying about…taking charge.”
“That was you?” Finn said, his voice tight.
Lars grinned, but it had a forced look to it. “Did you want Cora to start whipping us in the bedroom too?”
Finn made an unhappy sound in the back of his throat, but didn’t argue.
Cora stared at him, her lips parting. “You don’t think I’ve got it in me, do you?”
Finn sighed heavily, and rubbed his eyelids with his fingers. “Cora, I—”
“You think I’ll fuck this up.”
“Language, young lady,” Lars murmured, but he sounded as if he was enjoying the fact that her attention had turned back to Finn. She gave him the finger without looking away from Finn.
“Be honest, Finn. You think I can’t handle being capo.”
When Finn took his fingers away from his eyes, he looked tired. Worn down. Almost resigned. “I’ll stay at your side, no matter—”
“Answer me!” She got to her feet, taking a step closer to him. “You just said I have to figure out who to trust. How can I trust you if you don’t believe in me?”
His face hardened. Slowly, he rose, which meant she had to crane her head to look up at him. It wasn’t his fault—he was just huge—but it felt like he’d done it on purpose.
Trying to look down your nose at someone didn’t work when they were more than a foot taller than you.
“If you’d asked me two days ago, I would have said no.”
Her stomach grew tight. Her mouth opened, ready with a retort, but Finn slid his fingers around the back of her neck and brushed the pad of his thumb over her lips.
“But that was before you stabbed that motherfucker through the heart on your own wedding day. And then sliced his throat.”
“Don’t forget about the eye,” Lars added. “She had that knife through his eyeball like a Margarita olive on a toothpick.”
Relief washed through her like a warm champagne wave. Her lips trembled into a smile, and she nestled her head into Finn’s cupped hand.
“So yes, Dona Cora,” Finn murmured. “I believe in you.”
Her vision became blurry, but she blinked away her tears before they could fall. Her chest was so tight, it felt as if it would split open. She tried saying something, but her throat had closed.
Finn must have noticed—he kissed her.
She swooned against him, sliding her hands up his chest and gripping his shoulders. He hoisted her up, urging her legs around his waist, and moved his lips to her ear.
“But just because I believe in you doesn’t mean I’ll always agree with you,” he whispered.
She drew back, glaring at him. “But I’m—”
“Quit while you’re ahead,” Lars chimed in.
She glanced over her shoulder. He’d come up behind her, but stood a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest.
“But you said—” Cora began.
“You make the decisions,” Lars cut in, “but at least let us advise you. We’ve got a few years on you, bunny.”
She should have reprimanded him for calling her that, but she could feel pride coming off him in waves. So she smiled and reached for him. Finn shifted her weight, keeping her hoisted with one meaty arm as he held out the other for Lars.
A cocky grin sprang up on his face. “Aw, you guys!” He charged forward, gripping them in a fierce embrace that made Cora squeal.
He pressed his lips to Finn’s and then ducked his head to kiss her too.
The door opened, and they all three turned to it.
Bailey’s silhouette stood outlined against the late afternoon sun filtering into the villa’s garden. The hand he’d used to push open the door dropped to his side.
“I’ll come back later,” he said in a thick voice.
“What? No.” Cora wriggled until Finn let her slide to the ground. She went around him and headed for Bailey, who was already drawing the door closed behind him. She caught it with her hand and pulled it open again.
He had his face turned away, but there was a deep sadness etched in his eyes and on the unhappy curve of his mouth.
“Hey…are you okay?” She grabbed his arm, trying to keep him from walking away.
He paused and then looked back at her. “I thought I was interrupting.”
“You’re not.” She gave him a small smile. “Come inside.” Taking a step back, she held out her hand to him.
Bailey’s eyes flickered over her face, and then behind her. His lips twitched as if he was biting the inside of his bottom lip, and then he looked back at her. “I can come back la—”
“No. There’s a lot we need to sort out. Come on.” She took hold of his wrist and guided him back inside the conference room, closing the door behind him.
Lars and Finn had taken their seats on either side of the head of the table. As she led Bailey back inside, Lars pulled out a chair beside him and waved graciously toward it, giving Bailey a shark-like smile.
“Ignore him,” Cora said, glaring at Lars. “His bark’s worse that his bite.”
Lars shot her an offended look, and rocked back on his chair so he could rest his ankles on the table.
She took her seat and put her hands flat on the table in front of her. Bailey took the chair beside Lars and gave her a small frown when she turned her attention to him.
“How well did you know Gabriella?” she asked.
It took Bailey a few seconds to respond. At first, his frown deepened, but then he smoothed his face and cast a glance at Finn and Lars. “She was like a sister to me.”
Cora’s eyebrows shot up before she could control her expression. She dropped her gaze and murmured, “Oh,” while she tried to sort out suddenly muddled thoughts.
It would explain Bailey’s reaction to Neo’s news.
A cold weight settled in Cora’s stomach. She swallowed hard, pressed her palms down, and forced herself to look Bailey in the eyes.
“It’s my fault she’s dead,” Cora said.
Finn growled, and Lars hissed out a sigh as his head sank into his raised hand.
“I mean it,” she said, raising her voice as she shot the two men an angry stare. Then she turned back to Bailey. “It was because of the tracker, wasn’t it?”
Bailey shrugged, and then nodded reluctantly. “That�
��s all I can think.” He cleared his throat, his hands clasped together and dangling between his legs as he sat forward. “When you came back from shopping, Javier found the tracker on her car. That’s the last time I saw her.” And then he frowned at her again. “But that wasn’t your fault. How could you possibly—?”
“Because I should have told Javier where it came from.” She looked down, rubbing a finger down the bridge of her nose. “I was going to…but…”
“You threw up, hit your head, and passed out,” Lars said.
When her gaze shot to him, he shrugged and pointed to Bailey. “Hey, that’s what he said.”
“Well…I didn’t say anything,” Cora muttered. “And now—”
“Where did it come from?” Finn cut in.
She turned to him, taking a deep breath before replying. “I saw someone put it on her car.”
Obviously, something was wrong with her. The man she suspected of putting the tracker on Gabriella’s car—hi handsome face haunted her at night. But what should have been a nightmare, transformed into an erotic fantasy she never wanted to end. Each a teasingly lucid dream where he pinned her against the wall, his hand over her throat, vowing to do abominable things to her while she squirmed and yelled at him to stop.
She always woke up wet—from sweat and arousal—knowing she’d been lying. She wanted him to do all of those things to her…that and more.
Cora pushed away the thought, shifting in her chair. “There was a man, in the restaurant.” She lifted her fingers, glancing at Finn. “We stopped to eat after shopping. Some Italian place down the road.” Then she turned back to Bailey. “One of the customers, he kept staring at us.”
At her. He’d kept staring at her.
“He left before us. It was raining hard outside, but…” She ran a hand over her hair. “I think I saw him put that tracker on Gabriella’s car.”
Where she’d expected a thousand questions, she was met with utter silence. She looked at each of them, and moved her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “I know I should have said something sooner, but then it was the wedding, and—”
“It’s not your fault,” Bailey said quietly.
Her eyes were on Finn when Bailey spoke, and he must have seen the relief on her face because something changed in his expression.