22. Amorette
AMORETTE
M en were yelling and running outside when we descended the stairs in the commons.
Lafe grabbed my arm so he could go in front of me as we got to the bottom. Something was happening. I couldn’t tell yet if it was good or bad.
From the way Parker had raced up to the compound, it probably wasn’t good.
“Where’s Andre?” Lafe stopped a man rushing past. I didn’t recognize him, but I’d only gotten to know a handful so far.
And two of the three people I’d gotten to know the best were locked up in the birdcage wing.
“You just missed him. He and Parker went to his office,” the man shouted before he strolled away and followed the others out the front door. Like ants, they piled out, then headed in different directions once outside.
It was pandemonium.
Lafe took the lead, and the men parted for him as we raced toward the offices. All three brothers were there by the time we stepped through the door.
Andre’s mouth was set in a painful grimace, and Parker’s face was scathing as he glared at his phone. For once, Grey was cold. The quick temper was absent as he crossed his arms and scrutinized his brothers.
“What happened?” I asked, pushing around Lafe.
“Dae finally called back.” Parker flicked his gaze to me before dropping it back down to the phone.
“Then Matías called,” Andre bit out as he cracked his knuckles.
“We’re going to have to leave. It’s too risky to stay here,” Grey said.
“Tell us what the fuck happened!” Lafe snapped.
I twisted toward Lafe. His expression was just as irritated as his voice and a light tremble ran through his body. The unknown was bothering him, making him nervous.
“Fucking Dae knew about Blanca. That was what he called about the other day. He had heard she was a shit informant, so it wasn’t his priority to call me back when his own shit blew up.” Parker shook his head and laid his phone down on the desk.
Andre scowled where his knuckles brushed the glass but said nothing else.
One side of my brain wanted to replay my time here with Andre. The other part, working closely with my heart, focused on Parker’s words.
“Wait. So Blanca was telling the truth; she didn’t share anything. She didn’t want to be an informant. Not really.” I stepped forward.
“No,” Grey said, shaking his head when I turned to him.
His expression was glacial as he returned my stare.
Generally, whenever he looked at me, his eyes were always filled with heat, desire, anger.
Whatever he was feeling, even when he seemed not to want me, his gaze had been filled with warmth, whether good or bad.
Except now.
It had nothing to do with me, but it still sent chilling tingles down my back.
“No?” I returned quietly.
“This isn’t your fucking world anymore. Just because she might not have given valuable information to Vicente, doesn’t wash away the fact that she placed us in a dangerous position. Not just us, but you. When are you going to fucking get that?”
Each word branded me.
“You don’t think I know that?” I yelled.
He thought I was stupid. And there was nothing I could do to change his mind.
No matter how much I was changing, I still couldn’t bring myself to want to hurt the one friend I’d made here outside of the brothers.
“But there is a big fucking difference between someone who is out to kill you because they truly mean you harm and a woman who made a poor decision because she was desperate.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I said, “You didn’t see her in the bathroom that day at the restaurant.
I did.” I slapped my chest as my throat started closing in.
“She was so…” I pressed my hand to my forehead.
“She was so fucking disgusted with me. You all were her heroes. I was the one who had hurt her. You can’t blame her for trying to keep you all safe. ”
I was lying to myself; I didn’t even feel this way. But from everything I understood about their world, this wasn’t so fucking simple. They hadn’t said what would happen to her. I could be overreacting. Except, I couldn’t help but feel like her life was on the line.
An example to the rest of their people .
I couldn’t let that happen.
“Yes, we can,” Lafe whispered. He turned me around to face him and held my shoulders in a gentle yet firm grip.
“If she thought you were a danger, she should have spoken to Jorge. She should have told one of us. Not made a deal with our father. Everyone on the island knows he’s a threat to everything we’ve tried to create. ”
“He’s right, Little Love. She fucked up, and this kind of fuck up could have gotten hundreds of our people killed.
It still might. That wasn’t the only message Dae had.
” Parker acted like he was discussing vacation plans that were little more than irritating.
“Vicente is sending a few of his men to the island.”
I swallowed all of my pride to focus back on the important part of the conversation. “How does this guy know this?”
Parker lost some of his lackadaisical air. “He wouldn’t say.”
Andre raised a brow.
“All right. He said it was none of my fucking business but that it was solid information. As much as it pains me with how pissed I am with him, I trust him as a source. Whoever he got the information from, he would have vetted it.” His screen lit up, and he touched it, distracting himself.
“Now tell them what Matías said,” Grey said to Andre.
He sighed, swiping a hand down his face.
“I also trust Dae’s information, especially since Matías had something very similar to say.
Vicente’s getting impatient. He doesn’t like that it’s taking Matías so long to save us.
He’s nudging to push us in his direction.
Matías doesn’t know how he’s sending men, he just knows they’re coming. ”
“But he doesn’t want you all dead?” This man was a psycho. Who played games with people’s lives like this? Especially his own sons.
“That’s what Matías believed…” Andre drawled.
“Vicente said as much at the warehouse, but…” Lafe started.
“But?” Parker asked drily.
“But he also didn’t seem too cut up at the idea of us not making it.”
“It doesn’t matter if he’s sending people, right? You’ve restricted access to the island?” I gripped the back of the chair and moved my gaze from Lafe to Andre.
Another grim expression. “To an extent. We can fire on approaching planes and choppers. We can deny docking access to boats. But, there’s only so far that can go. Restricting movement is far more effective at keeping people on the island.” He glanced at Parker, who tensed.
“So we’re fucked if he really wants to hurt you all? What are the chances he’s changed his mind?” I asked.
Grey laughed, but it was choppy. “ Mamí , sometimes I think you’re too innocent for us.
” It didn’t sound like a compliment. “You’re trusting the source.
The first rule is, there is no absolute trust outside this room.
As much as Parker trusts Dae, he wouldn’t take him at face value without putting contingencies in place.
And we don’t trust Matías as far as we can fucking throw him.
We have to operate on the idea that Vicente does want us dead. Or, at the very least, doesn’t care.”
Lafe shot Grey a confused look. “Since when did you start getting so involved in these plans?”
Grey pointed at me. “Since you took her.”
Andre shook his head as his phone rang. He answered it and put it on speaker.
“Andre.” The voice sounded familiar. I thought it was Anton.
“We’ve got teams up by the marina as well as the landing strip.
Men are patrolling and ready to engage if needed.
We also have men watching surveillance. It’s quiet so far. ”
“Let me know if anything changes.”
“Where’s Jorge? We could really use his expertise.”
The brothers exchanged looks. “He’s indisposed right now.” Andre hung up.
His phone immediately started ringing. “Matías,” Andre ground out. “I told you I’d fucking call you back when I felt like it.”
Silence reigned for a few seconds. “Vicente wants to scare you. You’ve hurt his pride. Now, in addition to his ridiculous plan, he wants to fuck with you. You’re going to see a show of force in thirty minutes. If you want to save some of your people, get the fuck off the island.”
What. The. Fuck.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Andre snapped, but the fear and indecision on his face said he knew exactly what Matías meant.
“The only order the men have is not to kill you four . Nothing about your men, their families, or Amorette. If you’re not there, I can possibly save the island.
If you’re too stubborn for your own good, they’ll engage to make a statement.
Vicente’s forcing your hand whether you decide to play along with his plan that I’ve gained your loyalty or you’ve decided to go against him, in which case you’re dead anyway. ”
They stood motionless. It was eerie how quiet each of them became. Even Lafe.
I kept taking small steps backward and placed my fingers over my lips. I think it was an effort to hold in the screams. This was exactly what I’d feared when I decided I wanted to come back to the brothers.
Because of their evil father, they were a sinking ship.
And everyone around them was going to be collateral damage.
My back hit the wall, and I finally felt like I had some kind of support. The illusion, weak as it was, gave me courage.
“We have to leave.” My voice was strong, firm.
All the brothers turned to me.
“Perfect. I’m glad to see someone has their sense about them,” Matías said. “You can stay at my place. It will throw Vicente off.”
“We’ll call you back.” Andre hit the end button. “Is this what we’re doing? We’re going to leave the island?” He wasn’t on the verge of crying, but his voice was gruff. Just like Grey loved his hotel, this island seemed to be what Andre had worked so hard for and loved the most.
“We have to.” This was the only answer that made sense. “If we have thirty minutes to get off the island, we don’t even have time to pack.”
Shit. We didn’t have time for anything. I needed to go upstairs and let Blanca and Jorge out. We couldn’t leave them locked up if we weren’t even going to be here.
Outside of that, we needed to be booking it to the pad.
“The chopper,” Parker sighed as he sent out a text then pocketed his phone. “Grab your devices that can’t stay unattended in case they invade the compound. We’ll meet at the chopper.”
Andre unplugged his PC while we all watched in a daze. “What the fuck are you all waiting for? Let’s move!”
We jumped into action. The laptop that Parker had loaned me was in Grey’s apartment.
“Grey, grab that laptop. I have to go let Blanca and Jorge out,” I called out when we hit the commons. I made it two steps before he snagged my arm.
“Fuck no.”
I didn’t struggle as I turned to face him.
To face all of them as they crowded around me like some kind of fucked up intervention.
“You’re going to leave them locked up with no food, as sitting ducks for Vicente’s men.
” They didn’t say anything as they exchanged glances.
“You want your people to fight for you? Let them out. Otherwise, you’ll earn the same reputation as Vicente. ”
Fury flashed in Andre’s eyes as Parker started cackling.
“Let them out. I’ll put a tracker on Blanca. If she so much as twitches in a way we don’t like, she’s dead.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, even as his black gaze glittered.
“Fine. Speaking of…” Andre’s eyes perused my body. Stopping at various places like my neck, arms, and thighs.
“I was going to suggest it. Then again, we don’t have time.” Grey gave me a small push toward Lafe. “We can do it at the hotel. I’ll go let Jorge and Blanca out and deliver the message since I don’t run my life off of a fucking computer.”
“Fuck that hotel, Grey. That’s the first place Vicente would look.” Andre shot a hand out and caught my wrist as he pulled me toward the residence wing behind him.
I peered over my shoulder just in time to catch the burning resentment in Grey’s eyes as he scowled at Andre. Then he spun and raced up the stairs to the birdcages.
Whatever arguments they would have about where we’d go next, they shelved them. With less than thirty minutes before Vicente’s men arrived, there was just no time .
As we ran toward the apartments, Andre made call after call, barking orders about how to protect the island. Lafe and Parker peeled away, leaving me with Andre. He kept his fingers around my wrist like he refused to let me out of sight.
It rankled me for just a moment, but I let it go. They’d lost me once already. Almost twice. I couldn’t blame them, even though I wasn’t sure I could go through with a tracker. That went against everything that made me…me.
Within ten minutes, we were busting through the front doors, sprinting to the helicopter. Some of their men had already prepped it while we grabbed what we needed from the compound.
Anton was there, dressed in the standard black uniform, with a military-grade weapon. His face set in stony determination. “We’ll keep them busy for as long as we can.”
Grey nodded. “Send us an update every hour.”
That was it. That was all they had to say before Anton nodded to us, then returned to the compound.
Andre and Parker took the front seats as Grey and Lafe sat on either side of me.
We’d just lifted from the ground when two helicopters came into view.