His nose is crooked from the encounter I gave him with the floor earlier, and the blood is dripping from his face.
“Oh, there is that Reyes tool. Took you long enough, Reign.”
“Shut up, Franklin,” Reign grates out.
“Franklin,” Callie echoes. Her head snaps back to Franklin. “Reign, this is your brother?!” she exclaims.
Thirty-Six
Callie
Present day
He’s tall, handsome, and has quite the appearance. His black coat perfectly fits his muscular body, and his dark brown hair is casually styled on his head. I glance back at Reign before moving my focus back to him, noticing their obvious resemblance with the same razor-sharp jaw and mesmerizing green eyes.
“Reign, this is your brother?!” I exclaim with widened eyes. “The oldest? The king?”
Franklin chuckles in response, even though the joy in his laughter doesn’t match the look in his eyes.
“Well, at least she’s up to date,” Franklin says before his eyes move back to Kane.
“He’s hardly a king,” Kane mutters in response before tugging me back into his side.
I roll my eyes at his jealous words, reprimanding him by punching him in the stomach.
“Fuck,” he huffs, gripping his ribs.
“You’re feisty, aren’t you?” Franklin gives me a look of approval while Reign moves in to give his brother a hug.
“You have no idea,” Reign agrees, slapping his brother on the back. “Thanks, man.”
“Yeah, I can see what all the fuss was about.” He gives me a pointed look, and I respond with my own. I feel slightly uneasy around him, so I’m glad when his attention goes back to Reign. “Do whatever you do, just make sure you don’t let that piece of shit walk out. Got it?” He points at Junior, who’s being placed in the same chair Kane was previously in.
“Not a chance.”
We watch Franklin and his men walk out the warehouse, leaving us alone with the Carrillo men and the leftover Reyes men standing against the wall. I look around the room, noticing Mateo sauntering towards us. I cautiously wrap my arms in front of my body, not entirely sure what his role is in this situation is, as he walks towards Reign who offers him his hand.
“Thanks, man,” Reign says, showing him a genuine smile.
“Thank you. He needs to be stopped.”
“Wait, you were in on it?” I look at Mateo before looking at Reign.
Reign nods before letting go of his hand.
“What do you want to do with those?” Reign points his head to the last of the Reyes men waiting for their verdict.
“They are paid mercenaries, nothing more. Let me take them home,” Mateo suggests.
He looks tired, but I can still see the kind eyes that used to save me from my brother.
Reign looks at Kane, silently asking him for permission. Instead of replying, Kane looks at me. “It’s up to you, baby girl.”
My head turns back to Mateo, a warm feeling settling inside me now that I realize he was on my side the entire time. I wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly against my body.
“Gracias por todo, Mateo,” I whisper in his ear, closing my eyes.
He answers my hug by squeezing me tight before leaving a kiss on my cheek.
“De nada, cariño. Kill the pendejo, si?”
I move my body back, my hands resting on his arms before I give him a small smile.
“Take them home,” I tell him, referring to the rest of his men.
“Thank you, Callie girl.” He lets go of me to shake Reign’s hand in goodbye, then he starts shouting commands to the Reyes men in rapid Spanish. Without any hesitation, they all follow him outside, their heads hanging low, facing the floor. I watch them walk out before my eyes roam the entire warehouse. The smell of gunpowder mixed with blood is unavoidable as I glance at what is at least a dozen dead men around the room, realizing this could have ended very differently.
An evil laugh sounds through the hollow space, and I snap my head towards Junior. Liam is slowly walking back to Reign and Kane, but I plan to do the complete opposite.
I should just walk away.
I shouldn’t even give him another second of my attention.
But I can’t resist.
I grab the gun that is tugged in the back of Kane’s jeans before strutting to the psychopath who has always been the bane of my existence.
Every step closer is filled with more determination, ready to finally cut the invisible cord.
I bend down on my haunches in front of him, looking slightly up at him so I can look into his devilish eyes before giving him a coy smile.
“You know what I don’t get? You were going to become a billionaire claiming my inheritance. Why would you want the Carrillo pipeline?” I cock my head, waiting for an answer.
The corner of his mouth curls into a wicked smile.
“A king doesn’t stop until he conquers the world. Your money would’ve been great. But I’m sick of hearing the name Carrillo everywhere. It’s time for a new king.”
“Right,” I chuckle, getting back up. “I guess the world has to wait a little longer for a new king, huh? I bet it sucks to realize that no matter what happens, it will never be a Reyes on top. Whatever legacy you were trying to create, you are the last of the Reyes line. And we all sure as fuck know you won’t be king. Was it worth it, hermano?”
“Am I, though?”
I want to slap the grin off his face as his words linger in my head until I realize he’s talking about Cristina.
“Why set me up with Ronnie?”
“I knew the guido had a thing for you, trying to bag you long before Boston Boy over there swept you off your precious feet. I needed my men focused on taking down those pendejos.” He jerks his head towards Liam and Kane. “I needed to know exactly where you were at all times. Couldn’t let my paycheck disappear on me. I knew that Distucci would force you to be his own if he got the chance. Making sure I knew exactly where to find you. Cristina just did the groundwork, being loyal to the Reyes family.”
My blood boils inside me as I grind my teeth together in anger.
“Where is she?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Callie girl. She will find you.” He lets out a malicious belly laugh, then suddenly stops, glaring right at me. “I guess everything comes back full circle, now doesn’t it?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, annoyed with his cryptic answers.
“Did your boyfriend find out what happened to your real papa? How he was found, tortured, and murdered in a warehouse in Montana?” His eyes are glowing as the words leave his lips.
I clench my jaw together, pissed off at the enjoyment I see in his eyes.
This is what he lives for, tormenting every living soul he can find.
“Oh,” he pouts, attempting to look sad, “you didn’t know? You are standing on the very spot where my father shot a bullet through your father’s head.”
I don’t want to look, but I can’t help letting my eyes glance at the floor around me, wondering if anything he says contains some truth.
“Why?”
“Because your mother was a traitorous puta like you.”
My eyes widen in confusion.
“Oh, yeah,” he continues, “you see, Dimitri Kulakov and Frank Reyes were partners. Dimitri funded their operation to find oil in the east of Russia. My father led the operation, risking his life out in the middle of nowhere while freezing his ass off because they’d agreed to split the profits fifty-fifty. He was out there for five months until finally he found a field in West-Siberia. By this point, there were rumors going around that Kulakov wasn’t planning on splitting anything with anyone, so my father refused to tell him the location. Their friendship cooled down, but my father had a thing for your whore of a mother. Don’t ask me why, I never liked the bitch.”
Without thinking, I knock his head to the side with the gun I’m holding in my hand.
His tongue darts out to catch th
e blood that’s dripping from the corner of his mouth.
“You hit harder than you did when we were young.”
“I’m also a better shot,” I growl, placing the barrel of the gun on his forehead.
The muscles in his face stiffen a little before he lets out another chuckle.
“Don’t be so moody, Hermanita. Always so sensitive. I’m telling a story. Escuchas, your mother pretended to be in love with mi papa, squeezing every single detail out of him like a useless wet towel. Because that’s what love does, doesn’t it, Liam? It makes you a damn pussy.”
I turn my head at Liam, whose face reddens with anger. He takes a step forward, but Kane places his palm on his chest, locking his eyes with me.
“Then what?” I ask, snapping my head back to Junior.
“Well, Kulakov found the field, claimed it, and he became a fucking billionaire.”
My jaw tenses as the dots finally begin to connect in my head.
“You see, Callie girl,” he spits out my name in a mocking tone. “That money isn’t yours in the first place. Its Reyes dinero, and all I did was take back what was mine.”
“Why would your father marry my mother after she betrayed him?”
“Payback.” He shrugs. “She never found out that my father knew about her betrayal because when your father found out that we knew she used mi papa for information, we killed him. Right before he could warn her. Dragged him all the way out here, made him confess how he set us up, and then used his girl to get the location of the oil field by torturing him for days and then ran a bullet through his head. It was marvelous. The first time I saw someone die other than mi madre, and it was a spectacle. I was six, but boy did I have fun!”
I gasp, disgusted by his words but trying to keep a straight face. I know Junior Reyes. I know how his brain works. The only reason he keeps talking is because he wants to torture me with the truth, assuming he will be able to get under my skin and terrorize me even more with his words. It’s the only reason I’m giving him any reaction at all instead of blowing his brains out.
To keep him talking.
“So when Papa realized Dimitri left all the money in the name of the unborn child, he weaseled his way back into your mother’s life, taking care of the grieving widow. And the puta was stupid enough to believe every word he said.”
“Why kill her after all those years?” I whisper, unable to mask the fatigue in my voice; so fucking tired of hearing this. Of hearing the sound of this lunatic’s voice.
“They divorced because she found out we killed Dimitri. He let her walk, threatening to kill you if she ever told you. Plus, he was protected by the fact that he’d legally adopted you. But when you turned eighteen, she apparently grew a pair of balls because she went to see a lawyer, filing a case of illegitimate adoption. What she didn’t know is that we had someone shadowing the two of you the entire time.”
“So he killed her,” I state, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“No,” Junior chuckles before his eyes darken, searing me with their intensity. “I did.”
My lips form a thin line, furious as I maintain his menacing gaze.
“I’m the last face she saw while I waited until she took her last breath. You know, retaliation for what your father did to my mother,” he whispers like the devil that he is.
“Dimitri killed your mother?”
He nods in agreement.
“Kukalov said it was a message for my father. Told her that since he couldn’t find Papa, she was the only option. ‘You’re better off without her, son. I’m doing you a favor,’ he said after he found me hidden under the table where I’d watched him slice her neck with a kitchen knife. I think it’s only fair I returned the favor with his only daughter,” he smirks.
I close my eyes, holding the gun in a painful grip while my other hand balls into a fist.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
When I open my eyes again, a calmness washes over my body as I look at the sociopath who helped make me who I am. He fucked me over like no one else could. He betrayed my trust in the worst way, making me believe he was my family. That he was a part of me. That we shared the same DNA, and no matter how fucked up, we were connected.
Every single bad memory I have—Junior is part of it.
He tried to break me.
He tried to destroy me.
But he never could.
“You know, I owe you two things, Junior.” I squat back down, looking up into his beat-up face.
The tone in my voice is calm and controlled, determined to not waste an ounce of emotion on the son of a bitch any longer.
“Yeah, what’s that?” he sneers.
“One,” - I hold up a finger - “thank you. Thank you for forcing me to always hold my own against you as a brother. Thank you for giving me experiences that made me who I am today. Thank you for selling me to Vernon Walt, giving me Reign.” I glance over my shoulder, looking into Reign’s green eyes peering at me before I move my gaze to Kane’s piercing blues. I shoot him a small smile before turning back to Junior.
“Thank you for having the ridiculous ambition of wanting to be on top, giving me Kane. Thank you for making me stronger. I couldn’t have done it without you.” My tone is mocking and sarcastic, but part of me means every word I’m saying. In the end, he definitely has influenced every part of who I am right now, and I wouldn’t change anything, even if I could.
I narrow my eyes at him with an evil grin, and I can see the fear creeping into his eyes, realizing his time is coming to an end. Realizing this is my final speech. His pupils grow bigger when he realizes I have flipped a switch.
“You don’t have it in you to kill,” he huffs, calling my bluff with a daring scowl, even though his eyes tell me he doesn’t believe a word he’s saying. “Which one of your boyfriends is it going to be? You always needed men cleaning up your shit. Are you going to tell your boys to hang me on Plaza de España with a Carrillo mark on my head?” He spits on my shoes before moving his head back to me.
I stand back up, a wide grin stretching my cheeks as I place the barrel under his chin.
“You thought that was them? Newsflash, brother.” I bring my mouth close to his ear. “That was me,” I whisper against the shell of his ear. “I told him I wanted to let the whole world know that nobody fucks with Callie Reyes, and the psychotic fucks who do, like you, I would brand them with a perfect C on their forehead. Marked like nothing more than livestock, just the way you like your women. You see, I may not be as sadistic as you are, but I did learn from the best.” I give him a wink, before glancing over my shoulder.
“I’m guessing you guys still want a go at him?” My eyes flicker back and forth between all three men, expecting Jeremy to appear with that black briefcase filled with all kinds of shit to torture someone with, but instead, they all shake their heads at me.
I casually wave my gun in front of Junior’s head.
“Well? Liam?”
“He’s all yours, Red.”
Surprised by his answer, I move my gaze to Reign.
“He’s your demon, Angel. You chase him away.” He winks with that boyish grin on his face.
“Kane?” I ask, knowing exactly what his answer will be.
He crosses his arms in front of his body, showing off his muscled arms.
“Do whatever you want to do with him.”
I direct my attention back to the man who was supposed to be my brother.
That I always thought was my brother.
That I always saw as my big brother.
But now all I see is a nuisance. A sick mind, nothing more than a waste of space.
His eyes widen with terror when I place the cold metal of his gun on his forehead.
“Callie,” he pleads. “We grew up together.”
“You know,” I whisper, looking him straight in the eyes, bringing my face close to his, “I don’t have to torture you. I don’t have to display
you on Plaza de España, using you as a display of retaliation. No, I’ll do worse.”
His lips part while his eyebrows slightly raise up.
“You thought killing Papa made you king? The next Gitano king, ready to take over the world? That the Gitanos would find your body somewhere in Seville with a C on your head, ready to give you a grand burial as though you were a legend? Hell, maybe there would even be a few loyal soldiers that would avenge your death?”
He grinds his teeth in annoyance, probably irritated that I know him better than he’d like.
“Think again,” I continue. “When I’m done with you. I’m going to let Reign make Junior Reyes vanish from this earth. Poof. Gone.” I splay my fingers to emphasize the words while the last piece of his confidence comes crashing down. “It will be as if Junior Reyes was never born. Nothing more than a distant memory with no proof he ever existed.”
“You puta!” he yelps, jerking his body to make a last effort to get out of his dire position.
“Do you know what the last thing is that I owe you?” I ask, feeling any bit of leftover emotion leave my body right then and there.
Ready to finally close this chapter.
He frantically shakes his head while a single tear runs down his cheek, making a wide grin tilt my lips.
“Callie, please, please—“
“A bullet through your head.”
“Callie, no, pl—” Before he can finish his last plea, my finger squeezes the trigger, and his words are muffled by the deafening sound of the bullet leaving the gun, piercing the flesh between his eyes.
And then, all there is left is silence.
My face is covered in his blood, reminding me that I will never have to wonder again if I have the same blood running through my veins.
His head has flopped back, and I can’t seem to stop looking at his lifeless body. Sucking in a few deep breaths, I continue aiming the gun at him, kind of expecting him to move his head back and scare the shit out of me.
Catching Fire (The Fire Duet Book 2) Page 22