Chapter 14 #2
But she’d seen my ridiculous regression into a caveman-like state, using aggression to make my point.
Yes, that’s what I was used to doing without worrying about being seen or any consequences.
So why did it matter in the least at this point?
Because she wasn’t like anyone else I’d allowed into my life. That was potentially damning.
The yin and yang of my personality. Good versus evil.
And she had every reason to hate both.
“Yes, sir.” Enzo looked sheepish.
“Now what the fuck was so goddamn important you left?”
“I got a call from an informant who said he had a lead on Vincent’s identity.”
At least he’d perked up my senses. “Then who the fuck is he?”
He continued rubbing his neck while eying me warily, likely worried I would lash out again once he offered the news.
Sighing, I placed my hands on my hips and took a step away. Now I needed to provide assurances that I wasn’t going to fly off the handle unexpectedly again. “Just tell me.” I won’t get angry. Even if I’d reassured him with the words, he wouldn’t have believed me.
Not now.
“His name is Vincent Santos.”
“Was.”
“Huh?”
“He’s dead. Remember?” Unless there was something else Enzo needed to confess.
“Yeah, very dead. Which could be a problem. You don’t recognize the name?”
All I needed to do was to take a single step forward to put the fear of God into the man. “We work in a part of the country where such names are a fucking dime a dozen. Clients. Drug runners. Hell, every single supplier. It means nothing to me, Enzo. Talk to me or get out of my space.”
“Then let me refresh your memory. Las Riveras. And I’m not talking about the bikers who own the gun shop at that strip mall. Those dudes are like a franchise of the mother ship and she’s sporting nuclear weapons.”
I winced. I was growing weary of the game. “Go on.”
“You really don’t know. Vincent is… I mean was Dejandro Santos’ son. His firstborn son. The heir apparent.”
It took me a few seconds to put the pieces together. Exhaling, I fisted my hand. “Well, fuck.”
“Yeah, exactly. Fuck. Don’t feel bad. I didn’t recognize him either.
I did a quick study on him. Dejandro is making inroads through Texas into other parts of the country with drugs cut with some seriously dangerous shit.
My guess is that he’s made a fortune. Low key.
Even the real estate that I managed to discover is owned by Santos is a telling statement on his cutthroat business practices. ”
“Meaning?”
Enzo rubbed his throat. “He took over an abandoned prison. That’s his kingdom.”
This time I laughed in earnest. “Why didn’t we know who the hell he was?
” Turning my head, I quickly brought everything I knew about Dejandro into my mind.
He was a brutal dictator who ran the Las Riveras like a gang on steroids.
There was nothing sophisticated about them.
They slept with machine guns under their pillows.
Enzo’s description of them, while colorful and dramatic, was accurate.
Up until now, they’d seemed like a lowlife, unorganized cartel wannabe. They’d just announced their intentions of expanding. That wasn’t going to happen.
They had followers and chapters all over the world and in Mexico, but heavily centered in and around the southern part of the US, Texas their headquarters. While the chapter in New Orleans was dangerous, they were crude. Blunt force and nothing more.
“You got to remember, most people don’t know anything about the Santos family.
Dejandro has almost never been photographed and even then, it was a grainy photo from a distance.
The reason they are so successful is because of their anonymity.
They stay under the radar, but word on the street is that Santos is responsible for hijacking several ships out of Colombia.
They’re like pirates, ravaging everything of use and leaving no survivors. ”
True savages.
“What else did this informant tell you?” Santos had been testing the waters by stealing the single crate of product.
“He didn’t know shit other than that Vincent was in town to handle something for his father, but he thought whatever it was would rock the city.”
“Stealing from the Prince family would indeed have that reaction.”
Nodding, I could tell the entire situation unnerved him.
I glanced down at the fist he’d made. Maybe I was more of a dictator than I’d cared to admit to myself. “Keep your ear to the streets. I need to know how many of his soldiers came into town. We need to remain on high alert.”
“What about the guy from the coffee shop? Do you think he was one of them?”
“Possibly.” Maybe he’d simply come to enjoy a cup of coffee after discussing the takedown efforts with the adjunct members of the Santos gang at the gun shop. Or perhaps my lovely guest held some importance to Santos.
“My informant did mention all the members of the first family have the same tattoo, but in different colors.” Enzo shrugged.
“First family?”
He nodded. “That’s what Dejandro calls himself and his children.”
Snorting, I’d often thought my family had one too many ancient customs. How fucking ridiculous. “Do you happen to know what this tattoo looks like?”
“A scorpion.”
I thought about Vincent. He had a very colorful scorpion on his chest. “Keep the men on high alert. If anything suspicious happens, I need to know about it. Coordinate what you’re doing with Montgomery’s men. And Enzo. We have a mole. I want him found.”
His grin returned because if there was one thing he enjoyed, it was hunting down anyone traitorous to the organization. “Happy to do so, sir.”
My guest was still watching the interaction with my man; I could feel the crackle of electricity. Unfortunately for her, a shift had occurred in our untenable relationship given the knowledge of the man I’d killed. I’d need to try to keep some sense of distance with her.
The thought bit brutally, explosive heat shooting straight to my cock.
I rarely allowed my dick to do the thinking. Doing so now could be a problem. At least shutting down emotionally was my forte. Her defiance was impressive, but during her undetermined stay with me, she’d need to obey me at all times.
“Did you find anything useful on Ms. Samuels?”
“Nothing yet, boss. I’ll work on that right now.” His expression was sheepish, every muscle tensing in his body. He knew when it was necessary to appease me. What I couldn’t afford to do was to challenge Enzo’s loyalty because I was in a shitty mood.
“Dig deep on her. I need to know everything about her no matter how insignificant it might seem.”
“Of course.”
Indiana’s snort brought me back to the moment and I tried to soften the tone of my voice and my body language. “How was the game the other night?”
He smiled warily. “A damn good one. Came down to the buzzer but they won.”
“And the cheerleader?”
His laugh wasn’t what I expected. “Nothing special after all.”
I lifted my eyes to the window once again.
Unlike the woman sitting locked away in my room. She certainly wasn’t fragile like the women I was used to, most unable to meet my gaze for longer than a few seconds. Josette not only defied me, she’d pushed every chance she had, ignoring every rule presented even at the risk of facing danger.
Or death.
What do you know, my little liar? What are you hiding from me?
She’d seen more of the man under the mask, the fleeting looks I’d gotten limited. And I certainly hadn’t seen a tattoo. However, all efforts at forcing her into remembering would fail. She didn’t surrender to violence or intimidation easily. If at all.
That much I admired about her.
“Have extra security placed on our warehouses and on Indulgence, but be careful to ensure the business isn’t interrupted at the shops, club, or restaurant. It must be business as usual.” Showing any weakness including extra security would leave Santos licking his lips.
“What if your sister asks what is going on?”
“Just tell her to call me.” If what he’d told me was true, in killing Dejandro’s son, I’d started a war. We’d maintained peace with most of our enemies over the years, including with the Italians and Russians, but the Las Riveras were as unpredictable as they were dangerous.
To incite a war, even by mistake, wasn’t in our best interest.
Things were about to get dicey and the sooner I understood the breadth of her knowledge, the better. Only at this point, it would be next to impossible to let her go.
For several reasons including her protection. Hunger surfaced again, yet I shoved it aside at least for now. I’d helped build my family’s empire on absolute control and losing it now would cost lives. That didn’t mean I’d be a choir boy. Quite the opposite.
“Enzo. Have four guards standing by for later.”
“Are you going somewhere, boss?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Do you think that’s wise? It won’t be long until Dejandro figures out his son is missing.”
Laughing, I yanked the knot on my tie. “Let the bastard come for me. He’ll soon learn that attempting to invade our territory will be the last mistake he’ll ever make.”