by K. H. Kate
"I haven't. You know why?" I let him wonder as I lean in to make myself clear. "Because we all know the story. Pedro’s daughter? She is dead along with her mother. Dante pulled in some favors to make sure they stay dead. Perhaps your father missed that information.”
"You don't get it! She is real! I know she is. She had someone blow up the old warehouse with my father in it.” For the first time we've arrived I see his eyes flash in anger. And they show just what he's feeling. That bastard is ready to take my blood to get what he wants. What a fool. "Out in the world, she might become a pawn to ruin all of us. You think you have everything but what if it's gone with just a blink? You have a family just as I have mine. They mean a lot to us, women, children, warriors...you think you'll be able to live with their death on your shoulder?"
I can't.
Even the thought of it makes my heart stop. Ares, Spade, my men....mama. But he's just a paranoid fool.
"You think Pedro’s girl is out to ruin us, then where is she? Why hasn’t she come forward to take her birthright as you said?" The ridiculous accusation makes me laugh again. "Maybe you had too much to drink?"
"I'm absolutely fine, Mr. Martinez." He snaps. "It's you that I'm worried about. Do you even know your men go missing at the night to meet with people from my cartel? They share information too. One of them is the red-haired beauty locked in your manor-"
I don't register the fact that the gun is pointed at his smug face. I don't even hear the click of the safety going off. Fuck! Merida! She wasn't supposed to be seen anywhere but the club.
Guess he doesn't understand how close I am to pull the trigger as he still continues. "I want your woman to find mine. Girls trust girls.”
This puto actually wants to make a deal with me concerning...her.
"No." The click assures him that the safety is off. "She's out of any deal you want to make. She's my property, mine to broken. Not yours. So stay the fuck away if you know what's good for you."
I may be the one dying to play her, but there's no saying if Elijah can handle my rules. So, fuck if I am ready to let her go yet.
"What? Do you want to kill me? Don't like the truth? I didn't page you to be an ignorant fool." He snorts, staring me down with a raised eyebrow.
Ignorant fool? I will show him what an ignorant fool really looks like.
My gaze turns to his men before I set my sight on one of the crumbled pictures over his desk. Babyface, striking brunette hair, too innocent for this world. My smile widens. I make sure the safety is on before the gun lowers until it almost grazes my thigh.
In a morbid sense, I've found my next pawn.
"What the fuck are you smiling about?" He looks at me skeptically when I don't answer. But when I do he doesn't even bother to hide the anger in his eyes.
"It will be such a pity if that girl turns up dead somewhere around the city, no?"
His nostrils flare. Taking a dangerous step around me, his words lash out in the open. "Don't even dare to think about-"
"Then again if you want, I can send the body pieces one by one for you to mourn or give a funeral. I might be the uninvited guest though, don't mind me then."
His men curses, taking out their weapon but by the time they've raised their ammo, my men already have theirs drawn out and all aimed towards their boss. I know they won't shoot. Their wary glance at their boss just proves that. I can't hide the bitter chuckle.
What a bunch of pussies.
"Don't ever tell me what to do or think." I stand up with a scowl. For fuck’s sake, he is just wasting my time. "I wanted to buy some contacts for a job but after you so easily tried to sabotage the La Eme, we have no farther deal."
He opens his mouth to spurt something out but I’m not done yet. "Let my men go, and triple the money you stole from me. Or I can't promise where my hands will go."
Fury paints his face as he snarls. "I wanted something good for all of us. But you...you are worse than your father."
My eyes narrow but even I can't hide the smirk. "I'll take that as a compliment, Mr. Uren."
With that, we all leave. Though he could have hurt us, I know he won't. He's too scared, too paranoid to be punished for his father's sins. Unfortunately, that will be the reason for his quick downfall and when it happens...I will be there to pick every bit of territory he has ever built. So, it takes everything in me to not look back when his words reach my ears.
"If she ever comes back to take everything...I wish she makes you rot in hell."
A strangled laugh forces its way out of my lips as if I ever left the damn place...
CHAPTER 17
RAINE
I take one hesitant step.
Two.
Then three more.
I can feel the freedom. I can almost touch it. My heart drops in intense confusion, making it hard for me to catch my breath. Back in the club, there was always someone who had eyes on us, on me. And here Ace’s people. But not today. Today one more step and I'll be out of this misery.
I take the step but there's already footsteps near the door.
I halt in mid-step. What I imagined to be a six-foot-something man to march in. To look at me like I'm a fool who thought it was too easy to escape. To teach me some lessons. To taunt me of my hope to live again. So, I force myself to calm down. To not let him see how terrified I really am right now.
He doesn't deserve to see the fear in my eyes.
But the figure is too small, too thin. And I'm severely disappointed when instead of Ace, a woman emerges through the front door. Heels click on the floor as I notice her walking with a certain grace. At first glance, my stomach drops to see her beautiful face. She isn't marked, there's no scar on her body, no terrifying look on her face like mine. Is she his?
Does he look at her like he looks at me? Like he wanted to kill her?
The thought goes away just as fast it came. I've already seen her eyes. They are cold, calculated, and if I dare to say...predatory. Just like him. Still, there’s something about her…
"You are the girl?" She demands, her eyes boring into mine.
An embarrassing gasp leaves from my lips as I reply. "You look familiar."
"Familiar-" She pauses, glaring at me with an unwanted frown. Crossing her arms over her chest she looks at me as if I have said something completely out of the blue. "I don’t know you. Just tell me if you are the girl Ace has taken for himself. Yes or no?"
I ponder over lying. Being truthful didn't really work out for me in the past. But I end up delivering the wrong words. "W-Who is asking? Who are you?"
Her eyes narrow. When I'm starting to think that she'll provide no answer, she sighs. "I don’t get why my boys are always with the dumb ones. I'm Zenna, Ace's mama."
Memories return, more sinister than the other. Two men talking and then fighting. A mom who aimed a gun at his son’s head…She sees the fleeting fear in my eyes, maybe that's why a smile forms on her red ruby lips. "Now, are you the girl my boy collected for a debt, Raine?"
She makes me sound like an object you can sell or maybe throw away once used. But here, between these people...aren't I?
"Yes." I nod, croaking out against my better judgment. "I'm the woman."
"Who knew a girl would be the beginning of a region's downfall?" Her voice cuts through the silence. "It's good I caught up to you when Ace was not here. I'm afraid you and I need to talk about something important, chika."
He doesn't know.
The fact makes me more uneasy than relieved.
When I don't say a thing, she scoffs. "You know what my son does, yes? He rules the La Eme, some might even call him a King. But everyone has a weakness, even my son does. I'd like you to find what that is."
I can't breathe. Can't open my mouth to tell her off. She’s testing me. She had to be. It's pathetic to even think about her offer. Why would she want me to find his weakness?
"I-I don't-"
"I know it's a lot to take in." She nods like it's just another business deal.
"But it's time for the family to learn some lesson. He has to be taken down and don't you think you are the best person to do the job considering you're still alive? It means he trusts you. Otherwise, he would've killed you at first glance."
He could have, couldn't he? Funny thing is he still can.
"My brother is still missing. That's the only reason I'm alive. And finding Ace’s weakness..." I trail off shrugging. "That's never going to happen because he doesn’t have one. You have to do something else if you want him in prison."
I expect her to lash out. Even hit me with some choice words.
Like I didn't know what was good for me.
Silly little girls don't talk back.
Make one mistake, Barbie...
"You thought I want him in prison?" I don't expect the laughter following her words. Hahaha. A sick part of me wants Ace to interrupt this madness. A man like him will definitely get rid of her just to enjoy my reaction.
Frowning, I can't help the retort. "Then what did you mean by taking him down?"
"I want him dead."
Dead. She wants her son dead. Something slips from my lips. A gasp? A sigh of relief? I don't have enough time to wonder.
"I know my son. He is...Ace is no different to violence, he’s every bit of cruel, just like his father. Don't you want to kill him? Just end his life and guaranty your freedom? I can give you that."
Freedom.
I wanted to be free from this life. But is this the only way? Can I-
I don't register the sound at first. By the time I feel the need to turn around, there’s already a heavy body behind me. And it knocks the air from my chest only by hearing their voice. They have come back.
"What the fuck do you want?"
The demand falls in deaf ears. The woman in front of me doesn't even flinch when I have to dig my nails over his arms to stop the hysteria from rising. He's too close, too intimidating, too...worried.
"What do you think?" Her lips part with a smile. She has that face again. The calm before the storm one. The one she had used right before she told me that she wants Ace dead.
"Don't play games with me now, mama. Tell me why the fuck are you here!" I feel the fear rather than seeing it in his eyes. He's afraid of his mother. Why? Just why? I want answers but she's already turning on her heels.
"I will see you again, Ace and Raine...good luck."
She's gone. But I'm not.
So, I should tell him. Warn him about what his mother wants. How tempting it would be to make him run after his own mother. But when Ace turns me around for answers my only comfort is the words lingering behind her...
CHAPTER 18
ACE
I have never seen her so smug before.
She was the perfect daughter, a dedicated wife, and a loving mama. She was everything anyone could ever ask for...she was predictable. But not this smug little Zenna Martinez. I don't know her, quite likely never want to. This version of my mama is a mystery to me, she's unpredictable and a part of me doesn’t want to believe that she’s here to end everything for once and all. But then again...it's better if I learn the truth from the one person who was present here.
"Leave us!"
My voice makes the woman in my arms jump. She's been too occupied to stare at the door that the rage in my eyes went over her disoriented head. Sure enough, when all of them leave, her back stiffens more. She's afraid, aren't we all?
I have to grit my teeth to hide the anger. "What the fuck did she tell you?"
"I don't know what you are talking-"
"Ms. Taylor." I don't know why she flinches. I'm calm now, aren't I? I'm not even yelling. "Tell me."
She doesn't want to. Her face is pale as a ghost and she's wavering between two monsters. Who to trust? Me or my mama?
"She just came here to visit. I said you are not at home." How easily the lies fall from her lips. How easily she thinks she can fool me. I want to laugh, to choke her until all she's seeing is nothing yet all I end up doing is swipe the same lie from her lips.
"Came to visit. That's all she said?"
She stops to think for a second. Then her voice is crushing all the illusion of lies. "She doesn't seem to like you that much. Did something happened-"
"None of your business." I can't argue that I am the one who brought the subject but she's not playing her role. She should be silent by now. I should be questioning her again. Either way, I'm not prepared when she continues her wondering thoughts aloud. And such terrible thoughts they are.
"Something happened." She says with a distracted nod, her red hair flying everywhere. "Something must have happened for her to look at you like that. Like-Like she despises you. More than I do."
It's a bad idea to entertain her thoughts. My fingers flex, mierda. Now! Throw her in her room now! My mind screams. My hands raise to just do that but it's in the opposite direction. Instead of forcing her to walk, I resort to seizing her hair hard to keep her closer, throwing her own words at her. There’s just no point. We will always come back to that ratto. Fucking always.
"You're one to talk. Trusting a fucking traitor."
Instead of flinching as I hoped, she smiles. It doesn't reach her eyes. That doesn't stop me either. "That ratto threw you at my feet just when he realized what was coming for him. Instead of taking you with him...he just sold you in a silver platter. I'd say he despises you too. More than I fucking do."
I find a reaction, all right. But it's all wrong. She shouldn't be frowning, her gaze shouldn't dart upon mine.
"Stop it-"
"Admit it, Ms. Taylor. He abandoned you when you needed him the most." The truth should sting. Not washed over with anger.
"Shut up! You are wrong."
"Am I?" The words are bitter. "Hell, I can't even look at you without wishing it was some other woman. At least they don’t bluntly lie to themselves. They don’t self-sabotage in the name of loyalty. No wonder everyone left you without looking back."
Her cheeks flame. Embarrassment? Hiding behind her equally red hair, she turns to look at the fireplace. Hot and warm. Just like her. I know she'd rather look at an object than at me. Objects don't say lies. They don't play vicious games.
And they certainly don't create scars.
"I lie to myself? What about you?" She sounds so damn sure of what she is saying. "You lie to yourself every time you use Nick as an excuse. Tell me, when the last time you tried to find my brother? I’m not a mindless doll, Ace. I hear things, I know you told your men to stop looking for him before that girl showed up.”
Fuck. She’s firing off wrong questions today. I have to flash a cocky grin to mask the irritation. “You have no idea what you are talking about.”
“You know what I think?” No, if she’s suddenly bold enough to think that I’ve let go of a betrayal…but fuck knows why I don’t stop her. “You don’t want me to go, at the same time, you can’t accept me.”
"Do you want me to?" It's a dangerous game we are playing. There's no rules, no limits...
She tilts her head, showing me the grim acceptation in her eyes. "I shouldn't."
"Good."
Her breath hitches. In tension? My fingers creep over her trembling lips. She doesn't stop me. Even when her eyes are wide with anticipation, my hands are shaking for the wrong reasons. It's a dangerous territory. Should I walk in or trace my steps back to where I came from?
"Tell me what mama said." If she's surprised by the sudden change of conversation, she doesn't let it on. And I can't either when there's more than an answer on her lips. It's on me. Desperate, hesitant, with fucking hope. And just like that, my mind shatters.
She'd rather kiss me than ever delivering the truth...
CHAPTER 19
RAINE
Lie, pretend but never say the truth.
Thirteen years of the same routine might have broken down to nothing now but some things never change. I'm still saving a traitor...still a liar. In fact so much that I'd rather touch the rigid figure than t
elling the truth.
And the worse thing is he can't even receive the poor me with gratitude.
"Raine!"
He shoves me away with a curse. Deep down I know it's the right thing to do. It's like he knows this. He told me so himself. But my body has other ideas. My chest tightens, I'm drowning in desperation while he looks like he wants to sprint.
I can't even look at you without wishing it was some other woman.
Rejected. Funny thing is, he was not lying either. I'm torn between laughing or crying. God, it hurts to even see the look on his face.
"Boss, there's a call for you." Someone yells from the other side of the manor. He doesn't wait for another call. He's already leaving before I can grasp what just happened. Not a minute later, there's another man at his place though. I’ve seen him here before. His face isn't as terrifying as the former. But they still make me step back in caution.
"Ms. Taylor?" If he sees the way my breath hitches, he doesn't let it show. "I'm Bosco. I know we haven’t talked before but I work for Mrs. Martinez. If you want her help or have any questions, you come to me and I'll take you to her-"
"Does he know?"
There's no reason for Bosco to not understand who I am talking about. If his mother has sent a man in here...isn't he going to suspect anything?
"Of course not." He says it like I should have known better. "I've worked for the familia for years, Ms. Taylor. I know what I am doing."
I try to say something but the man creeping behind Bosco makes me speechless. Did he hear what we talked about? I stare at his eyes but they aren't showing anger. They are as blank as the day I first saw him.
"Bosco?" His voice makes me flinch but the man in question doesn't even show fear. He turns around only to give a respected nod.