18. Parker
PARKER
W hat the fuck?
“You’ve got to be joking. You’re saying that our island, the one we’ve built from the ground up, where we house the families of our men—that island—is compromised?” I couldn’t believe it. This fucker actually thought we were morons.
“Park—” Lafe tried to chime in, but I waved him away.
“No. Fuck no. I want to hear what this pendejo has to say. How would you know if our island was compromised, and why tell us?” I had a sneaking suspicion that this was the information that Dae had tried to warn us about before he got called away.
I played it off to Andre that it was no big deal, and it wasn’t. Not really. Dae wasn’t one to be held accountable to anyone but himself. Ever. But I was fucking incensed that he hadn’t taken the time to text me and say, Oh, yeah. I’m busy, but here’s what you need to know .
We’d exchange words the next time I saw him.
Matías tipped his head back and muttered a prayer to the ceiling. “It’s a good thing we were never close as children. I’d have bashed your heads in because you four are so infuriating.”
“Matías,” Andre growled, but it sounded strangled. “Get to the point. If you believe Vicente has infiltrated our island, I’ll need proof. And details.”
He turned to Andre and nodded. “I’ll do you one better. Then, hopefully, you’ll see that I’m not who you think I am.”
On the other couch, Amorette’s head was whipping between all of us. We’d switched to Spanish at some point, and her little sponge of a brain was trying to keep up.
“In English,” I ordered. She glanced at me, and I could tell she wanted to say thank you, but her petty pride stopped her.
Why do you hate me so much, Little Love? You won’t be able to resist me for too long…
“This conversation isn’t going to be in English, or it would give too much away,” Matías said in English as he pulled out his phone.
No one argued the point with him since he had a plan.
And I agreed. If he was calling someone, demanding to discuss whatever he felt was so vital for us to know in English would be a glaring red flag that he wasn’t alone.
Only one person needed conversations in English, and Vicente was very aware of who that was.
“Son,” Vicente drawled on the other end of the line. “I’ve called you twice . Tell me why I shouldn’t add to your bruises for the disrespect.”
Andre and Lafe shifted in their seats, taken aback at the turn of the situation. I wasn’t surprised. I just hadn’t known he’d call Vicente per se, but his evidence had to be very compelling to keep us here and not bring the war to his doorstep.
“Father,” he sneered. I’d never called Vicente that, and I’d never wanted to, yet a streak of jealousy burned down the back of my throat for some reason.
If I were to study it, I was sure it was because I was denied something that should have been mine, no matter that I didn’t want it.
“Why do you believe I would take your call after you had your man bludgeon me? I needed a few days to lick my wounds.”
“You brought this on yourself. If you hadn’t let that little bitch leave your possession, I wouldn’t have had to discipline you for it.”
“Yes, you’re right. My brothers broke in and stole her away—that was my fault. Not to mention that was more than a few weeks ago, and you’ve already seen her in their care since then. Why discipline me over a bitch who doesn’t matter now?” Matías widened his one good eye at Andre.
We didn’t need to know that answer. Vicente wouldn’t admit it, but we already knew. He was throwing a tantrum that Lafe and Amorette had been saved. His fun was cut short, and he retaliated in a way that made him feel better.
Fuck, that sounded familiar. I shook my head at my idiocy.
“Because this is when I had the fucking time. I’ve been trying to prepare you to step into my shoes uncontested for years, and you’ve failed each and every time to make it work for you.”
Now that …that was interesting.
“If you would bring me in at the ground level, I wouldn’t fuck it up.
You didn’t tell me you were taking that slut until you delivered her to my doorstep.
You also didn’t tell me you planned for me to save your sorry-assed bastards until you’d already put bounties on their heads.
If that’s how you wanted to set me up for power, you should have told me.
There’s no love lost. They don’t, and won’t, trust me.
Not now when you’re breathing down their necks. ”
Andre shot up from the couch but didn’t move closer. Grey was eerily still with his gaze locked on the phone, and Lafe was about ready to claw out of his skin.
Me? I was livid; I hadn’t realized this was Vicente’s play. It still didn’t make sense. But nothing that psychopath did was logical.
“Oh, please. You’re giving those half-witted twits more credit than they deserve.
You’re their brother. The first chance you show them that you want the relationship, they’ll jump at the chance.
That’s how their mothers tainted them. They think a sibling bond means something.
But if there’s one thing I’ve taught you, blood is a tool.
They’ll be the best weapons at your disposal if they’re loyal. ”
“Like you’ve earned their loyalty?” Matías asked laconically.
Vicente laughed, and the rich sound was full of unfettered amusement. “Me? No. I didn’t have to. I rule with fear. But as much as I tried to beat it into you, you never learned. I’m trying to secure your way to reign in a more practical method.”
Matías sighed. “Then I’m going to need something to work with, because they shut me out when I saved them from the parade. They will believe I'm your man if I don’t give them an olive branch.”
“Of course, son. You’re right. Although why they would accept your help that day, knowing that no one breathes without my eyes on them, I’ll never understand. They’re my bastards, but they should have been smarter than that.”
My face tingled from the heat sweeping over it, and I bent forward, ready to spring. Was this a trick to get us here? The thought of another taste of humiliation was more than I could bear. And I’d take it out on the good side of Matías’ face if I didn’t like how the rest of the conversation went.
“Father…”
“I already told you, there’s a plant in their precious compound. She was never useful anyway, so you can give her up. That will buy you into their good graces.”
“I can’t take that information to them if I don’t have a name,” he reasoned patiently.
Vicente sighed like this entire phone call was putting him out. “If that’s really so important to you, hold on. Let me look through my notes.” Of course, he kept notes like a psychopath.
Glancing at Amorette, I worked out exactly who the plant was in two seconds. I didn’t need a name. One look at Andre said he didn’t need one either. Amorette was going to break into a million fucking pieces when she found out. Vicente was slashing all my plans one by one.
This time, he wasn’t even aware he was doing it.
How was this one small girl supposed to be the glue between us when she was shattered?
The sound of a door slamming echoed over the line. “Blanca. Her name is Blanca.”
Deafening silence stretched over the room except for Little Love. She flicked her gaze from man to man. Even with the language barrier, she realized something was wrong and that something centered around Blanca.
“I’ll work on it. I’ll let you know my progress at the end of the week.” The call disconnected, and his body tensed like he was waiting for us to attack.
One by one, we all stood up. Andre wanted to be the ringmaster of this circus. Fine, let him decide how we handled this, but if Matías wanted to sway us to trust him, that was not the conversation to do it.
Vicente wanted us to trust him, to bring him into our circle. And anything Vicente wanted, was on my kill list.
“You’re playing us?” Andre asked in English as he reached behind his back. He wouldn’t actually shoot Matías. He’d be more likely to turn him over to the Feds. Although, in a rare moment of brotherly bonding, he’d shared his favorite fed had gone missing. Strange that.
Matías grimaced more than smiled, yet I had a feeling that was more to do with the bruises than genuine regret. “Everyone gets played for various reasons. I’m sure you’ve played me, and would play me again to get what you wanted. I’m simply trying to break the cycle.”
Grey took a step toward him, every inch of his body coiled and ready to make Matías a non-issue. Matías didn’t appear fazed by it at all.
“Give us one good reason you’d want to go against Vicente?” Lafe’s eyes were too wide as he struggled hard to get a grasp on his newfound sobriety.
Matías did a full body sweep over Lafe, and his look caught on to his shaking hands, then his bunched shoulders, finally stopping on his too-pale face. The road to recovery would be long and hard, but Little Love wasn’t wrong. Lafe needed this.
“Because as much as Vicente favored me, I was still just a possession to him. Not a person, an object.” He dropped his head and stared at his feet.
“I envy you four. You had each other. You were allowed to live your lives, even in a limited manner, without Vicente breathing down your necks. It was a curse to be so close to him. Not a privilege. Certainly not a blessing.”
Little Love was eating this up, now that our conversation was solely in her native tongue.
And she was sympathizing with this fucker.
I snickered in disgust. You never took people at their word.
The only reason we believed her was because, one, we had her completely locked down.
Two, she’d come from a world where this kind of deceit was reserved for the dregs of society.
“Uh-uh, Little Love,” I tutted when she tried to walk toward him. Her bleeding heart was bursting with the need to hug the outcast brother. She wanted to bring him into the fold, show him what it meant to be loved.