Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ileft her. And ever since, all I’ve wanted to do is go back and fucking get her.
She’s not happy. She also won’t fucking message me back.
It’s been two days. I know she’ll reply eventually.
She returned the fifty million I put in her bank, so I had no choice but to double it again.
She hasn’t said anything about that yet, but I know she won’t be able to stop herself from cursing me out when she finally notices.
I look forward to it.
Until then, I’m going to straighten shit out as much as I can. I need it to be safe enough to bring Evie home. She can think we’re through but we are far from it. We’re never going to be done. Not even death will keep her from being mine.
“Jefe, you good?” Paz asks from beside me.
We’re standing outside one of our factories, about to do a walk-through.
I’ve been gone too long and these assholes need to know I’m still around, that my word is still fucking law.
There hasn’t been too much trouble since I cleaned house a few weeks ago, but you never know when cockroaches will want to come out of hiding again.
I’ve made it my mission to instill more fear than ever into the people within my organization over the last couple of days.
The more they fear me, the less likely they’re going to be to try to go against me.
I’ve been using a different tactic on the civilians.
I want them to adore me. I want them to want to please me.
This is why I’ve been donating an obscene amount of money to schools, charities, etc.
It will work. People around here won’t bite the hand that feeds them. And right now, that hand is mine. I might be the devil, the thing nightmares are made of, but when money is involved, they tend to overlook the horns.
“Yep,” I tell Paz, pocketing my phone.
I was watching Evie. She’s at home, looking fucking miserable.
I want to call her but she’s not answering.
I have Enrique stationed in one of the houses next to hers, keeping an eye on her from a distance.
She didn’t like it when she noticed he was around yesterday, but I’m not leaving her without protection.
I meant what I told my mother. I can’t live without this woman. I won’t. I have no doubt the heartbreak I felt when I lost Laura will be nothing compared to losing Evie. I don’t plan on fucking finding out either.
I open the door and am immediately hit by the smell of sweat. The heat is fucking ridiculous. The warehouse is set out with four rows of long tables, workers lining each side, weighing and packing product. As soon as my presence is felt, everyone freezes.
“Continue,” I grunt, waving a hand in the air as I walk right down the middle of the rows.
I search every table, looking for any inconsistency that I could use as a teachable moment for these fuckers. I have a lot of frustration to get out, and my fists are exactly how I’ve been doing that over the last couple of days.
I wanted Evie to tell me what had happened to her.
I needed to know. And when she did, it was worse than even my imagination could have conjured up.
I figured something happened in her sleep, and that’s why she doesn’t sleep now.
But what she told me, what those fucking assholes did to her…
it’s kept me fucking awake at night too.
Evie thinks she’s broken, scarred, damaged beyond repair. I think she’s fucking perfect. I just need to find a way to get her to see herself the way I do. As a strong, fiercely independent woman.
I stop in the middle of the warehouse and look around. Everything appears fine. Everyone is working while trying to ignore my presence, which I can understand isn’t an easy feat.
I turn to Paz. “Think this is all going to be ready for the next shipment going out?”
“It will be,” he says.
With Louie doubling his order, and another buyer wanting more, we need to increase production without dropping the quality. “I want it all tested before it gets packed up,” I tell Paz.
“Already got it covered.” He nods.
“Let’s get out of here.” I turn to leave and spot a man on the far side of the room staring right at me. It’s not out of curiosity either. I walk towards him and his stare doesn’t waver, nor does his obvious disdain for me.
Paz follows right behind me and barks out, “Who the fuck are you?”
The guy’s attention moves from me to Paz. “Carlos,” he replies.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Paz asks while stepping up next to me.
I tilt my head to the side. I don’t know what’s up with this guy, but I don’t like it. I also don’t need it.
“No problem.” Carlos shakes his head, but his face betrays him again. He also looks somewhat familiar.
“Do I know you?” I’m already reaching for my pistol.
“You killed my cousin. Jenna,” the asshole spits out. Big fucking mistake.
“I thought you looked familiar. Family resemblance, I guess.” I smile, leaning forward to get closer to his face before that smile widens. “I enjoyed every fucking minute that bitch suffered.”
“Fuck you,” he hisses.
“Sure, you can try to fuck me… when we meet again in hell.” My fist wraps around the collar of his shirt. The barrel of my pistol presses into the skin under his neck. “You really didn’t think this one through,” I tell him before pulling the trigger.
I let go of his shirt and shove his body backwards. The guy next to him quickly jumps out of the way.
“I want Jenna’s entire fucking bloodline erased by the end of the week,” I tell Paz.
Fucking bitch is haunting me from the pits of hell. I don’t need any more cocky assholes thinking they can get revenge for their dead relatives. That’s not how this fucking works.
I have the CCTV footage of Evie’s house on my computer.
I’m currently in a meeting with my top enforcers.
Alejandro Cru and Los Cuervos. I want the fuckers who touched Evie to pay.
And I want to be the one doing it. I also don’t have time to just go out and round them all up, which is where these men come in.
“I want her mother picked up. She knows who and she knows when,” I tell them. I haven’t explained exactly what Evie suffered, but these guys aren’t stupid. They know the evils that lurk in the darkness. “I want a list of names.”
I turn towards my screen. Evie’s lying on her sofa reading a book. She looks fucking sad. I’ve had a package sent to her. I’m hoping it will bring a small smile to her face when she receives it.
“There’s a doctor. Her mother will know who he is. I want that fucking asshole too,” I add.
Alejandro raises a brow but nods in agreement. “We will get the list and the doctor, jefe.”
“These sick fucks preyed on an innocent girl. They’re going to pay for it,” I grunt.
I can’t even begin to imagine what Evie went through at sixteen, finding out she was pregnant while knowing she’d never willingly had sex. And then waking up after an abortion was performed, without her consent. That’s fucked up, and I’ve seen some fucked-up shit in my time.
“Contact Paz when you have them. I want to be the first to talk to this doctor,” I tell them. “Keep the mother alive. For now.”
As much as I want to kill the woman for what she’s done to her daughter, what she let happen, I won’t unless Evie asks me to do it. I can’t risk pushing her farther away.
My attention returns to the screen. Evie’s walking towards her front door. I smile.
“That will be all.” I dismiss my men, then watch as Evie opens the door and takes the delivery of tall red roses.
The delivery guy hands her a box next. Evie smiles politely and shuts the door. She places the vase on the ground and picks up the box before she steps into her kitchen and sets it on the counter.
It’s a gift that will keep on giving. But it’s her face when she opens it that I wanted to see the most. After cutting the box open, Evie pulls out the card.
A small laugh escapes her lips. She quickly stops herself and frowns at the contents.
She hesitates, hovering the box over the trash can until she finally decides to let it drop.
I swipe up my phone and send her a message.
Me:
Pleasuring you is my favorite thing to do. Just because I can’t be there doesn’t mean I can’t give you pleasure. Wear the gift, Evie.