He would spend the remainder of the evening in aftercare with the only woman he’d ever loved. She was the only good and pure thing he’d ever had. In their early days, it had taken her some time to accept that his brutal sexuality in no way undermined or betrayed the depth of his devotion to her. She was the perfect wife for him: fiercely independent in their daily life, and an impeccable sub in their private moments. She took whatever he needed to give her, no matter how hardcore his physical needs got -- and afterwards, no one could take better care of her than he could.
“Such a good girl. My good, good girl.” Her Master’s reassuring words sounded far away to her, beckoning her like a lighthouse leading a ship home. She nestled her head against his chest, lazily stroking her fingertips over the big hand that possessively cupped her breast.
She wondered idly if the man her husband had beaten today had survived, but she knew better than to ask. Antonio Wayne had done what had to be done, as he always did. The Colombian cartel was a brutal taskmaster. Only the strong survived.
Chapter Twelve
“What do you think your father did to the guard?” Caden asked Tony in a sleepy voice as she snuggled closer. She felt safe in his arms. Even though the Ramirez family was capable of unspeakable cruelty, she knew she was safer here, in his arms, than anywhere else in the world.
“I thought you were asleep, sweetheart.” He rubbed his fingertips lightly up and down the curve of her back as he held her close. “I don’t have to think about it. I know exactly what my father did. He had Uncle Antonio take the guard down to the interrogation room. He probably used a horse whip on him; that’s his favorite.”
She flinched when he said it so easily, like it was no big deal.
“You’re not like them.”
He chuckled then, as if a memory was being brought to the forefront of his mind.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because my mother says the same thing. My brother, Victor, is more like my father and my uncle.” He let out a deep breath as if readying himself to be the bearer of bad news. “In some ways, I think you know me better than anyone, Caden. But if I’m honest with myself, the truth is that you don’t know me, not really. Sometimes I wonder if I know myself, or if I even want to. There’s blood on my hands, and it isn’t just cartel blood. It’s the blood that drove me to come back home and go to work for my father.”
He leaned up on an elbow to say more, but his gaze was caught by the shards of porcelain scattered across the carpet by the closet door, all that remained of that fucking china cup Santiago had given her; the one with the sunflower on it. Caden must have thrown it against the wall after they found Alicia’s body in the barn. The maid would clean up the mess in the morning, but for now, the sight of it reassured him and reminded him of all that had changed in such a brief amount of time, and all that remained undone.
Tony slid over Caden until his body blanketed hers and they were eye to eye. The look he gave her was strangely detached and cold. “I’m going to kill Santiago. Not because he killed those women, but because he manipulated you, made you bond with him, and I can’t stand that. I want to cut his heart out and squeeze every memory of you out of it. I hate him—I hate him for loving you. Because in his own twisted way, he does -- at least, as much as that psycho’s capable of loving anyone. But he’ll never have you. Never. I’ve never been more consumed with a woman. You cast a spell on me when I first laid eyes on you. He hurt you, Caden, but I never will. I love you, beautiful.”
“You’ve got to stop talking like that, Tony. He’s not worth it and I don’t want you to go to prison…because I love you too.”
He pulled her closer and rested his forehead against hers. “Baby…” He pressed a kiss to her lips and continued solemnly. “You say I’m not like my uncle and my father, but I am, in my own way. I’m a plotter, a planner. I think through my revenge strategically. I find out what a person’s fear is and use it against them. Take Santiago, for example. He loves snakes, prides himself on his collection of rare ones, but do you know what he’s terrified of?”
She shook her head, reluctant to speak for fear it would break the mood. She finally had him confiding in her again.
“Spiders. Can you believe it?”
She started to laugh at the absurdity of a cartel boss being afraid of spiders, but then her face paled as she connected the dots. “So, that’s how you’ll kill him.”
Tony nodded, confirming her theory. “I want to hear him scream like a terrified little bitch when he has spiders crawling all over his body and knows there’s nothing he can do to save himself.”
A chill ran down her spine when she considered that Tony could be just as sadistic and dangerous as the other Ramirez men. “Wow, that may be the single most horrifying thing I’ve ever heard. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
“No worries, beautiful. Before I’m through with Santiago, I’ll know more about your fears than you do.”
The back of her neck tingled uncomfortably as she recognized the threat in his words. There was only one reason he would want to know something like that, and that was to use it if he ever needed to have an advantage over her.
“You’ll try to keep it from me, of course, but you won’t be able to,” he continued slowly. “I’ll slowly discover all the secrets you’ve kept hidden, and I won’t hesitate to use them against you if you ever dare to cross me.”
The words came out of his mouth, winding their way around her own mind. They were her new truth, no matter how much his words frightened her.
“You’re part of the cartel now, Caden. You’re under my protection. There’s no getting out—well, that’s not quite true. There are two ways to leave the cartel: death and prison. But even behind bars, the cartel rules.”
“I’ll die before I ever go to prison,” she whispered.
“Then there’s only one way out.”
Chapter Thirteen
Maria waited to make her move until she saw Brook make her way onto the main floor of the club. Maria was always up to something and today was no different. She sidled up next to Brook, pulling her over into a darkened corner for privacy. The walls had eyes and ears, and the gossip flowed freely in this establishment; each girl who worked there wanted to feel like she was ‘in the know’ to ensure a closeness with Diego and his woman, Brook. After all, it was always good to be on the boss’s good side. If his girlfriend liked you, then all the better.
She stepped closer to Brook, like she was about to share a sacred secret only she was privy to. “Brook, I know something you don’t know.” She sounded like a child on a playground, vying for attention from ‘the popular girl’ at school.
Brook looked her up and down, skeptical. “I’ll just bet you do.”
Brook knew Maria remained jealous of her relationship with Diego. The two women shared a love/hate relationship that couldn’t be denied. Regardless of personal grievances, though, there was an unbreakable bond between all the girls who worked at The Club. They needed to stick together against outside enemies.
“What is it, Maria?” she asked on a deep exhale, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Santiago’s. Back.”
That got Brook’s attention. Even though she knew she was safe with Diego, she still cringed every time Santiago’s name came up. He was crazy and she feared him. She’d been the one to put a bullet in his leg and she doubted he would ever get over it.
“Where’d you hear that?”
Maria ignored the question, not willing to give up her source of information just yet. “Rumor has it he killed that new girl, Alicia, but that’s not even the half of it.”
Maria was clearly enjoying having Brook’s undivided attention. Gossip was like a drug to Maria and if it held any element of truth it was even better. “Anyway…you’re not going to believe where he dumped her body.” She paused for effect, wanting to make the most of her newfound information.
“Just tell me already,” Brook spit out.
“He dumped the body at Tony Ramirez’s place—in the horse barn, no less.”
Brook slumped against the wall, trying to ward off a wave of nausea. Alicia was a sweet girl. How could anyone do that to her? Was the murder a warning? Was Santiago coming back to kill her?
“Where did you hear this?”
“Well, I accidently overheard the boss talking on the phone.”
Accidently, my ass, Brook thought as she pushed herself away from the wall. She was a woman on a mission as she stormed down the hall to Diego’s office. Why in the hell hadn’t he told her? She didn’t bother knocking, just pushed his door open, a little more forcefully than she had intended.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
Diego looked up from his desk where he was doing paperwork. He pulled his reading glasses off and leaned back, grimacing as he interlocked his fingers behind his neck. “I see Maria has been eavesdropping again. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry. You’re safe here. You’re safe with me. You don’t need to worry about such unpleasantness.”
“How do you know that? What makes you think he can’t get to me? He got to Alicia. I shot him, remember?! He isn’t going to let that go.”
He stood slowly, unfolding his tall frame from behind the desk and striding silently toward her. He didn’t say a word, just wrapped his arms around her and she immediately knew everything was going to be okay. She didn’t need to hear promises or threats of retribution toward a killer; his arms wrapped around her were enough. She knew how much Diego loved her. He didn’t need to speak empty words or make promises. To be without each other would be worse than death, and if anyone was going to die, it damn sure wouldn’t be a cartel member.
Chapter Fourteen
Click, clack, click, clack. Always the same, the sound of a whore’s stiletto heels hitting the pavement as she worked to earn the money that she thought would magically buy her a better life. The problem was they didn’t realize it took more than money to do that.
He had seen this one when he visited Caden at The Club, and couldn’t help but notice how this girl enjoyed stirring up trouble. Yeah, it took mental discipline to make big life changes; it took a sense of purpose and vision, and this bitch didn’t have either of those things. No one would miss her. But they’d sure notice when her brutalized body turned up outside the entrance to The Club.
Santiago watched the young woman with the bright blue hair as she sauntered across the parking lot to her car. She unlocked the door of her KIA Sol and got in, unaware that a serial killer was about to follow her home. For such a nosey, gossiping bitch, she wasn’t particularly intuitive or aware of her surroundings.
Presence of mind only belonged to women like his beautiful Caden. These stupid whores who danced to the same monotonous music every night didn’t have the brains to think their way out of their mundane existences. It’s what made Caden special, that she wanted more out of life than to end up as little more than a used-up whore. The only reason she was living with the Ramirez family was because she wanted a sense of purpose and they had deceived her into believing they could give that to her. That had to be it.
He would make the blue-haired bitch pay for their deception. That would strike close to home. And that bitch, Brook, who had shot him would know that her stupidity was what started this whole mess. It was all her fault. But until he could get to her, the blue-haired whore would have to do.
He couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever felt normal. Even as a child, twisting the neck of a dove and hearing its death cry, he had known something was wrong with him—really fucking wrong.
In the beginning, killing for the cartel had sated his bloodlust. Not anymore. He was getting worse, every kill more horrifying than the last. His head was so full of depraved fantasies that he could no longer push them to the back of his mind. He was losing control, and for the first time he worried that he was losing his mind. Urgency was upon him, pushing him to hurry up and get the help he needed. He was being backed into a corner, being tracked by both the Colombian and Sinaloan cartels. And even he knew there was nothing deadlier than a cornered animal.
The Ramirez family and their interference had fucked everything up. He needed to be with Caden so she could cleanse all the bad out of his soul. He wanted to be normal. He wanted to be with his savior, Caden. She could fix him and then all of this would go away.
He returned his attention to the Kia in front of him as they moved through light traffic. She pulled up in front of a high-rise apartment building. He hadn’t expected that. It was going to be more difficult than he’d initially thought. The bitch had security and a door man. He would need to catch her away from work and home, which would be more difficult than he had anticipated. An unexpected delay. Not good—not good at all.
With regret, he followed the action as the doorman opened the car door for her. She spoke to another uniformed man briefly and handed him some cash before he got into her car and pulled away to park it in the apartment’s underground parking garage.
There would be no killing this woman tonight. He had underestimated how hard this would be. Even he could tell he wasn’t at the top of his game. He was slipping. But the sense of urgency continued to press in on him, spurring him on. He needed Caden. She was his only hope.
Chapter Fifteen
“How are we doing on the purchase of the television station?” Ricardo asked his brother, who was seated on the other side of his desk, scowling. It was a time of great change for the cartel as they pursued more conventional business interests, and the brothers had adjourned to the study after dinner to catch each other up on recent events.
“The head honcho, Briggs, is still refusing to consider our offer.”
“That is unfortunate – for him. We have tried to play nice,” Ricardo said, shaking his head slowly. “We followed his process, submitted multiple bids. Good offers, too. Perhaps it is time we step up our efforts to convince him to see things our way. Is he saying why he won’t take our bid even though he’s considering other bids that are far lower than ours?”
“Seems he’s got some reservations about selling to the likes of us. You know, cartel. Oh, he also threw in something about us already having one television station—said he knew a takeover when he saw one and he wasn’t about to be the one to give us that kind of power.”
“I’m fucking offended,” Ricardo scoffed, a cruel grin twisting his lips. “He’s right about one thing though: we are fucking taking over. This deal is just a stepping stone, but an important one. We’ll be one step closer to buying the parent company with its more expanded line up of business interests. Now, that will give us the kind of media connections we need. It will also solidify our peace treaty with the Bratva. Glazov already has law enforcement in his pocket but fucking reporters are always sniffing around. This way, we’ll have something they need and respect: influence. When you control the media, you control the message.”
The thought of having an advantage over the East Coast cell of the Bratva – more specifically, over Alexander Glazov – pleased Ricardo. Glazov was one ice-cold son of a bitch and the only organized crime rival Ricardo regarded with any respect. The Colombian cartel and the Bratva had maintained an uneasy peace, and currently things were going smoothly between their organizations. But that could change at any time, so a little leverage could prove helpful.
“They don’t need us or anyone else,” Antonio Wayne sneered. “But I like the idea because it keeps us from needing them. I don’t want to be beholden to Alexander Glazov—that fucker’s crazy. Maybe even crazier than me. We need to send a message to that son of a bitch who won’t sell.”
“You, of all people, calling anybody crazy is hilarious,” Ricardo guffawed. “You’re the craziest person I know. We could pull a page from ‘The Godfather’ -- pay a visit to his horse stable and leave a horse head in his bed.” Ricardo laughed out loud at his own joke.
Antonio Wayne scowled at his brother. “I don’t hurt anim
als.”
“You’ll brutalize a human but won’t hurt an animal, go figure.”
“Damn straight, I will. If you send anybody to fuck up any of his animals, I’ll kill whoever it is myself.”
“Calm down. I’m an animal lover too,” Ricardo muttered. “Not to mention, Juanita would never forgive me if I did something to an animal. Trust me, you do not want that woman mad at you.”
“So, what’s this guy’s story? I need to know what we’re working with. Does he have a family? We just need to find out what is precious to him and use it against him,” Antonio Wayne mused aloud. “You want to take a page out of The Godfather? Then let’s make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
“I like it,” said Ricardo, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Caden stood at the bottom of the ladder as Tony installed another camera up in the rafters. She was so busy staring at his ass that she wasn’t paying much attention to anything else. “Over that way a little bit. C’mon, put your back into it, Tony,” she teased.
He didn’t need to look down at her to know she was checking him out. He liked Caden; she made everyday business enjoyable and helped him see the lighter side of life. “You are just way too busy looking at my ass. And what do you know about surveillance, anyway?”
“I know how to watch you do it, and that’s enough for me. But I do know an easier way for us to get to Santiago.” She hurried up before she lost her nerve because she knew he wasn’t going to like her idea. “I can get to him, Tony. Set up a meeting for me with him. Use me as bait.”
That got his attention. He glared down at her and snapped, “No way. I’m not using my woman as bait for a madman. Anyway, we have no way of getting in touch with him.”
“Trust me, I’m sure he has my contact information. Give me my phone back and I’d be willing to bet he’s already left me a message.”
Inevitable (Colombian Cartel Book 3) Page 6