22. Lafe #2
He glanced at the phone then picked it up. After a few curt words, he hung up and glanced at us. “Matías is here.”
He rarely came here. Only when he absolutely had to.
We’d grown up at the mansion together, but with the amount of time we’d spent together, we may as well had been on different continents. He was in a special family wing with his mother, while we were in another less flashy part.
When we did interact, he always regarded us as lesser.
Staring at us with cold eyes that were exact replicas of Vicente’s.
It didn’t help that Valentina and Matías were always Vicente’s pride and joy.
They were doted on and spoiled very publicly while we were ignored.
We weren’t orphans, not for most of our childhoods, but we might as well have been.
Any time our mothers tried to show us any type of love, Vicente would punish them. He said it would make us weak. That it was a danger to us to believe in anything even close to love.
The only one who got away with it at all was Pilar. But she was his favored concubine. She was also sneakier than most. She showed us as much motherly affection as she could, but at the same time, it was apparent Andre was the only one who meant anything to her.
“Tell him to fuck off. He’s appearing way too much lately,” Grey said as he dropped his head back against the couch.
“Let him through.” Parker grinned. “Let’s see what he has to say. After he made an appearance at the dinner party, I think he’s up to something. We’ll never figure out what it is if we don’t let him in.”
Andre studied Parker, then nodded. I almost fell over. Andre never took Parker’s advice. Where Parker was risky and reckless, Andre was thoughtful and cautious.
He sent a quick text, then dropped his phone in his lap. “They’re searching him. He has two guards, and they’ll stay with his chopper.”
Then we waited. Our men were efficient; even with an escort, he made it to Andre’s door in record time.
When he knocked, I got up to answer it. I hadn’t seen Matías since we took Amorette back.
I wouldn’t share with my brothers, but I wanted to know why he was here too.
I couldn’t help but think it had something to do with a small, dark-haired vigilante killer.
“Matías.” I bared my teeth at him, affecting the persona I wore so well outside the compound. Here, I let my guard down. I relaxed. Out there, among the snakes and con artists, I was a threat to be taken seriously. And sometimes an instigator.
“Lafe,” he dipped his head, the corners of his lips turning down.
He didn’t say anything else, and after a few seconds, I stepped back so he could come inside.
Matías closed the door, twisting the lock.
We walked side by side back into the living room.
I didn’t feel comfortable with him at my back, and already I was itching for the canister I’d dropped in my kitchen drawer.
I also wanted to see his face when he saw our brothers and Amorette.
I doubted I’d be able to discern any tells. He was a master at masking his emotions—if he felt them at all. But I wanted the chance regardless.
With barely any subtlety, I turned my head toward him as we entered. I knew what he’d see. His brothers, all having a nightcap with the girl we’d taken under our wing. It was cozy. Familiar.
And he was very much on the outside. Not that he’d ever cared.
His gaze swept over the room, and when he landed on Amorette, his mouth softened just a hair. Fuck…
Matías dipped his head in greeting and stared directly at Andre.
Andre had always set himself up as the leader of us, and sometimes it rankled that others viewed him as such. Especially when he’d made decisions in the past that he had no right to make.
My thoughts threatened to spiral, but I forced them down.
The here and now were important. Whatever Matías was up to was important.
The past could fuck the hell off.
“Vicente just found out about Tony,” he said in almost a monosyllabic voice as his gaze briefly touched on Grey.
Tony… He was Maikel’s man, although he occasionally dabbled for Vicente and my legitimate siblings.
No wonder Grey didn’t question it when Amorette said he’d taken her.
It made so much sense. But there were still missing pieces.
If Amorette had seen Tony outside the courtroom, he’d have known who she was.
He’d have known she was an up-and-coming attorney.
She wasn’t anywhere close to the typical steals Maikel usually made.
Grey smirked, not giving one fuck about Tony. “And?”
Matías didn’t seem too fucked up over it, either. “He could have let the slight go if you’d taken care of him privately, but you beat him to death in your club, on the main floor.” The disapproval dripping from Matías’ words had no effect on my brothers or me.
Amorette didn’t even seem to mind, but I was still concerned. She could say she was happy all she wanted, but death wasn’t a part of her life. This would hit her at some point.
“I think you’re overstepping, Matías.” Andre stood up, setting his glass on the table. They faced each other in a ridiculous posturing contest.
“I’m not the enemy,” Matías fired off.
“You’re not family either,” Andre returned.
Amorette watched with a confused expression as she moved back and forth between Andre and Matías.
I wished I would have asked her about her time with him now.
I hadn’t wanted to know before, but with them in the room together, she wasn’t projecting the hate for him the way she had for us in the beginning.
Why?
“I’m trying to help you, damn it,” Matías snapped. “I have information you need. Or are you going to kick me out to spite yourself?”
“I don’t hear you spouting off useful intel, Matías,” Parker said slowly as he raised a foot and braced it on the coffee table. He rested his forearm on his knee as he regarded Matías like a bug under a microscope. “All I hear is accusations on how stupid Grey was.”
Grey growled.
“I’m trying,” Matías gritted out and stepped closer to the group. I stepped with him. His face contorted into disbelief as he watched me.
He was a threat here. There was no way around it. We let him in to see what he would do. That was all. He had to know that.
“Fine. Vicente is livid. He can’t let it go that you killed the man he brought to the fights. He’s going to come at you all hard and fast. I’m warning you so you can get ahead of it.”
“You aren’t telling us anything we didn’t know.” Andre cracked his neck on one side then the other. “In fact, you’ve always been so far up Vicente’s ass. You could be here on his orders. As a decoy.”
“Like hell! I’ve tried to survive the same as you four.” His tight composure started to crack as his voice rose and his accent thickened. Then he looked at Amorette. We all tensed, preparing to move if he threatened her. “Tell them, Amorette. I’m not the villain here.”
She glanced at Matías, then at each of us.
The wheels were turning so fast in her head, I was surprised her eyes weren’t shaking.
When she brought her attention solely back to Matías, she shook her head slightly.
“What I say doesn’t matter here. There’s a history between you all that’s none of my business. ”
Matías stiffened then straightened to his full height, which was an inch taller than me. “I helped you get back to them, did I not? I kept you safe, and I didn’t touch you. I fed you and gave you free run of the house.”
Amorette’s top lip curled. “I also asked to call them every day. Any of them. And you refused. You taking care of me was never about me .” She met each of our stares. “I’m starting to think it was about them.”
“Hardly,” Matías shot back, even as his lips pressed into a thin white line.
“I think we’re done here,” Parker said too happily as he stood up and clapped his hands together. “If you have any actual information that would be helpful, give us a ring. Otherwise, you can sit on your thumb and spin. I take it you know the way back to your chopper?”
So much blood rushed to Matías’ face that I expected it to explode. He eventually nodded and stiffly dipped his head. “Fine. I’ll see myself out.”
He left without any issues, even closing the door softly.
“Shouldn’t someone walk him to his helicopter?” Amorette asked.
“The guard that brought him here is still in the hall,” Andre answered her as he poured a little more liquor into his glass. He was the only one drinking at this point. I wasn’t sure why he even bothered. He wasn’t much of a drinker, anyway.
Our conversation dwindled, and it wasn’t long until we all parted to head to our own apartments. Amorette going with Grey.
“You’re still staring,” Parker whispered as he passed me. I shoved his shoulder and he cackled while righting himself.
“Fuck off,” I warned, then opened my own door.
It would be another restless night, and once again, my thoughts were consumed with Amorette.
She took our side. I hadn’t expected her to take Matías’, but I also hadn’t expected her to so clearly draw a line in the sand either.
Had she really asked to talk to me when she was with him? I needed to know, and I didn’t think I’d sleep until then.
I laid down anyway. Tomorrow, I’d corner her. I’d find out all the answers I hadn’t wanted to know before.
Tomorrow.