Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
I’m not someone who scares easily. Right now, I’m fucking terrified.
I have everything I’ve ever wanted sitting right on top of me, and I’m terrified that one wrong fucking move is going to have her running for the door.
That fear doesn’t stop me, though. My hands dig into the flesh of her hips as I pull her hard against me.
Her pussy rubs along my dick, and I groan into her mouth as I devour every inch of her.
“Mmm, oh, shit,” Frankie moans. Her fingers run through my hair, pulling on the ends and tilting my head up so she can have control of this kiss. Her hips move, rubbing her pussy over my cock.
There’s a knock at the door before the handle jiggles. As if a bucket of ice water has been thrown over us, Frankie jumps off me, falling to the floor on her knees. When I look up to the doorway, I find my father trying to hide a smile.
“Found it.” She stands up, holding an earring. “I lost my earring.”
To my dad’s credit, he keeps a straight face. “I’d buy you a new pair anyway, princesa.”
“I know, but I like these,” Frankie tells him.
“How are you settling in?” Dad looks from me to Frankie, who has put as much space between us as possible. I’d get up but I have a raging boner that I won’t be able to hide if I stand.
“Good,” Frankie says.
“Let me know if you need anything.” My father looks to me. “I need you to go with Elias to pick something up.”
“Be right down.”
With a nod, my dad leaves the room but pushes the door wide open before he does. I can hear his laughter as he walks down the hall.
“Oh my god!” Frankie hisses.
“It’s fine,” I tell her.
“It’s not fine. I feel like I just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar, eating a delicious snack I’m not supposed to be eating.”
“You can snack on me anytime you want, babe.” I smirk. I make no attempt to hide the fact I have to adjust my pants to cater to my hard-on as I stand.
“I don’t want to know what you’re doing. But can you just… be careful. Don’t tease me with the appetizer before I get to taste the main dish,” Frankie says. “I need that main dish to come back in one edible piece.”
Taking hold of her hand, I pull her towards me. “I’ll be extra careful. See you later. Go and hang out with my mom or Eliana.”
“Your sister hates me, remember?”
“She doesn’t hate you. She just loves me more.” I laugh. “She’ll be fine. Promise.”
“Okay, I’ll go find her.”
“Just listen for the off-key singing,” I warn before kissing Frankie on the forehead and walking out.
I find Elias waiting for me by the front door. “You look like a lovesick puppy. You sure your head is in the game?”
“Fuck off. My head is always in the game,” I tell him.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
I follow my brother out the door and look around. There’re only two cars. “What are we doing?” I ask as I get in behind him.
“There’s a container being loaded down by the docks. Word on the street is some fucker is planning to hit it. We’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Great.” I roll my eyes. The amount of times we’ve turned up to oversee a container being loaded because people like to talk shit about someone making plans and nothing happening, well, it’s a fucking lot.
“Hopefully it’s nothing and we can get you back home to run around after Frankie like a lost puppy,” Elias says, as if reading my mind.
“Do you have a problem with Frankie being here?” I quirk a brow.
“I have a problem with the way she treats you. I have a problem with the way you’ve always done everything for the girl and she won’t give you the time of day.”
I get it. If I saw a woman treating any one of my brothers like that, I wouldn’t want them wasting their time either. But it’s different with Frankie. I’ve always known she’s felt the same way. I also understand why she’s so resistant.
“She doesn’t want to cause a rift between the families,” I remind him. “She’s scared that us being together will cause issues between our fathers.”
“Maybe it would have when you guys were sixteen. You’re not kids anymore. Her father can’t tell her who she can and can’t date just like ours can’t control who you date,” Elias says.
“Yeah? You gonna feel that way in a few years when Eliana is the age I am now? You really think Papa is going to just let her date anyone?”
“Fuck that. Eliana is never dating. That’s different. Frankie isn’t our sister,” Elias says.
“Thank fuck for that.” I laugh.
“Kissing cousins isn’t much better, brother.” Elias shakes his head at me.
“She’s not our actual cousin,” I tell him what he already knows.
“She calls our parents tío and aunt.”
“Yeah? And?”
“You really think she’s going to get over her hang-ups?” Elias presses.
“She came here with me, didn’t she?”
“She did.”
As soon as we pull into the dock, I’m switched on.
Although we expect there to be no trouble tonight, I’m not stupid enough to be complacent.
That’s how idiots get killed. Pulling out a pistol from my jacket, I jump out of the car and walk up to the container.
Elias next to me, ten soldiers behind us.
At first glance, everything appears fine. I step into the container that’s being loaded and look every man in the eye. That’s when I see the problem. One man refuses to look at me. He’s sweating as he loads the bricks into wooden crates, and his hands are shaking.
Having a Lopez turn up makes people nervous, but this guy’s more than just nervous. “You, Come here.” I point to him.
Everyone else makes a quick escape, walking out and leaving just me and the guy. I don’t know his name. I’ve never seen him before. But there are a lot of men who work for our family that I don’t fucking know.
“Who are you?” I ask, keeping my tone casual.
“Luis, my name is Luis,” he stutters out, not moving from behind the crate he’s standing by.
“You got a last name, Luis?” I tilt my head to the side, while keeping a firm eye on his hands and what he’s doing with them.
“Luis Flores,” he says.
“How long have you worked for us?”
“Not long. A month.”
“A month and they already have you stacking crates?” I raise a brow. That’s not normal. It takes a while before anyone is trusted enough to do this job. A brick goes missing here, and then we’re short on the delivery on the other end and that’s never a good look for business.
“Y-yes,” he says.
“Who told you to come here tonight?” I ask him.
“I don’t remember,” he says.
That’s when I see his hand move and a glint of metal right before the fucker gets a shot off.
I have my gun raised and a bullet fired that lands between his eyes.
Lucky for me, he’s a lousy fucking aim, and his shot grazed past my shoulder.
Fucking burns like a bitch, but I can tell it didn’t go through.
“You good?” Elias asks.
“Yep. Fucker was quick.”
“He was.” Elias turns around to all the other guys standing outside the container. “Who the fuck let this asshole in here?”
“I did.” One either brave or stupid asshole steps forward. “He was ready, had people vouch for him and all.”
“I want a list of names, everyone who vouched for him within the hour. And I want you to deliver it to me at the estate. Get someone to clean this mess up and replace the bloody bricks with clean ones. We’re not delivering messy shit,” Elias orders. “Right, now that that’s settled, I’m off.”
I follow Elias back to the car. I don’t utter a word until we’re sitting inside it. “You think he was working alone?” I ask.
“We’re about to find out,” Elias says. “Drive around the block, then park on the corner,” he tells the driver. “If anyone there was with him, they’re going to run and we’re going to watch them.”
I nod and smile. They will try to run. I look down at my arm. Blood drips down my jacket, which is now torn. “Fucker, this was a good fucking suit,” I curse.
“Pretty sure you can afford to replace it. Be glad he wasn’t a decent shot,” Elias says. “I never want to have to see Mom lose one of us.”
“Yeah, I don’t see that ending well for anyone,” I agree. Our mother would be destroyed, but our father? He’d turn this entire country red with blood.