CHAPTER FIVE
“What do you mean, you had to move them?” Rodrigo Munoz stood at the window of the office his father once occupied and stared out across the garden.
He and his older brother, Alejandro Jr.—AJ to those who knew him well—had played in that garden as children.
The high walls of their family compound in Colombia had made it possible for the two of them to enjoy a somewhat carefree childhood oblivious to the danger that came with the world their father worked in.
That was long before his brother started using drugs and treating women like disposable playthings.
Alejandro Munoz Sr. had been the head of one of the most powerful and dangerous cartels in Colombia. It was understood that as the oldest, AJ would take over his empire.
Unfortunately, he’d squandered that opportunity and turned into a disgusting, vile piece of garbage who probably deserved what happened to him. But he was still Rodrigo’s brother, and no one killed a member of his family and lived.
“Things went smoothly when we grabbed the other girls, but everything went to shit when we went after that fuckin’ Calabretta kid.
With the cops digging into everything, we had no choice but to move the girls to a climate-controlled storage unit in the next town over.
” Just the sound of Tamarin Rios’s voice angered Rodrigo.
He’d been one of AJ’s sycophantic hangers-on. He was also a useful idiot whose only discernible skill was doing what he was told.
“Oh, and another thing: The kid’s brother is back in town, and it looks like he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m tellin’ you, Rodrigo, I think messin’ with that guy is a big mistake.”
Rios’s growing panic, along with his inability to secure the Calabretta girl, had reduced Rodrigo’s confidence in the man’s ability to complete the task assigned to him.
At least he’d manage to grab the four other girls, bringing them that much closer to their final goal of six—one for each person involved in his brother’s death, including Eddie Calabretta.
Rodrigo had something special in mind for the man who betrayed his brother.
“Move on to the next target,” Rodrigo said.
“But … getting to her—”
“I expect to hear from you soon with news of your success.” Rodrigo tapped his phone screen and ended the call. “Incompetent moron.” He slipped his phone into the inside pocket of his sport coat, swung open the French doors, and stepped out onto the patio.
His chest expanded as he filled his nose with the sweet smell of his father’s treasured orchids and Elena’s marmalade bushes.
Elena was his father’s first wife and his one and only true love.
A fact his father never tried to hide. From what Rodrigo had gleaned by listening at doorways—something he’d started doing at a very young age—she was murdered by a rival cartel shortly after giving birth to their baby girl.
Out of an abundance of caution, but mostly concerned she would be used as leverage against him, his father sent the infant to America to be raised by a couple loyal to him.
He then quickly married another woman, and they had two sons, two years apart. It had been more of a business arrangement than a marriage.
Rodrigo and his brother were products of that loveless union.
There’d been other hints as to the true nature of his parents’ relationship. They always had separate bedrooms, had zero shared interests—hell, they barely spoke to each other.
His mother was very vocal about her hatred for anything related to Elena, especially the garden.
She knew how much it meant to his father.
She’d brought up the topic of digging it all up and doing something “new and fresh,” and his father had flown into a rage.
It was the only time Rodrigo had ever seen a crack in his father’s steely composure.
After that happened, his mother began taking lengthy trips to a second home in Monaco owned by her family, where she spent a great deal of time with her “dear friend” Reynaldo.
As a young boy, Rodrigo had forced himself to deny what he saw and heard.
But when he was about thirteen, he’d been sheltered and naive, still thinking love was a part of marriage.
So he’d begun questioning how two people who so obviously don’t even like each other could’ve ever conceived two children.
He’d gotten his answer the day he overheard his father on the phone in his office.
Rodrigo had been eavesdropping from the hallway.
His father talked about the deal he’d made to marry his second wife.
He was to give her two children, and her family agreed to sign over their failing drug business to Rodrigo’s father.
To this day, he could close his eyes and still smell the scent of cinnamon coffee cake baking in the kitchen, hear the sound of a broom being swept over tile nearby, and feel the way his stomach dropped at hearing the truth.
Hearing that had been a watershed moment in Rodrigo’s life that dramatically changed his view of the world. He’d recognized how destructive emotions like jealousy, anger, and especially love could truly be.
He’d vowed to never get married. Ever. And even though AJ was expected to take over running his father’s empire, Rodrigo saw his brother’s downfall approaching like an out-of-control freight train.
So … he’d waited and prepared, knowing that one day, AJ’s ineptitude, selfishness, and depravity would catch up with him.
Rodrigo studied relentlessly in school and spent a great deal of time talking to his father about the family business. He went away to America to attend the prestigious Wharton School, where he received his MBA.
His father had just begun to appreciate Rodrigo’s contributions to the business when he died of a heart attack shortly after AJ was murdered.
Was there a connection between the two events?
Highly doubtful. Their father’s affection for his sons was no greater than it was for his wife.
Something else Rodrigo had come to learn and accept over the years.
The trigger for his father’s demise was more likely the lack of exercise, large quantities of tequila he drank daily, and the fatty meals he ate his entire life.
Just before he died, his father found out their family and business had been infiltrated by Eddie Calabretta, aka Eduardo Sanchez, which was the name he’d been using at the time.
He had wormed his way into AJ’s inner circle, then turned around and betrayed him.
His actions precipitated the murder of his brother by a group of covert operators.
Thanks to destroyed surveillance equipment, their identities remained unknown.
Even with all of Rodrigo’s influence and power, he’d yet to determine who they were.
He only knew there were six of them.
For now, his priority was destroying everything that mattered to Calabretta.
Starting with his family.