40. Dante
FORTY
The Escalade purred softly, a steady rumble that did little to soothe my raging storm within. My fingers tapped erratically on the wheel, matching the pounding of my heart.
Beside me, Marco checked his gun for the third time, the familiar metallic click of the magazine sliding home. “This is it, brother,” he said quietly. “Time to show that snake Javier what happens when you fuck with Dante Reyes.”
I nodded tightly, jaw clenched as I stared at my old man’s office building. The glass and steel tower loomed over the street, a monument to the empire Ricardo built on blood and fear.
But tonight, it wasn’t my father I was after. No, while the DEA and Natalia were focused on bringing in Ricardo and Reynolds, I had a different target in mind.
Javier fucking Cruz. That bastard had been a thorn in my side for months, jacking my product and disrespecting me at every turn. He was a cancer that needed to be cut out before he infected everything I held dear.
My old man had forbidden me from touching him, claiming Javier was too valuable, that his connections made him untouchable. Yeah right, turns out they were cooking meth together.
But now? The gloves were off. No more playing nice, following orders like a good soldier. It was time for some payback.
“Remember the plan,” I said. “We get in, find Javier, and end this. For good.”
Marco grinned, a predatory thing that would’ve sent lesser men running. “With pleasure, boss.”
I hadn’t told Natalia or the DEA about the meth lab Marco and I had discovered. It was a secret I had kept close to my chest, a trump card that I had been waiting to play at just the right moment.
And that moment was now. Because I knew that if Javier was going to be anywhere, it would be there, in that hidden room deep in the bowels of my father’s building. He would be trying to grab as much product as he could before he ran like the coward he was.
We watched in silence as a sleek black car pulled up to the building, and a lone figure emerged from the shadows. Javier Cruz, in the flesh, and surprisingly, he was alone. There was no crew and no backup. Just a man on the run, desperate to save his own skin.
“Showtime,” I muttered, slipping out of the car and motioning for Marco to follow. We moved like shadows, silent and deadly, as we made our way into the building, our guns drawn and ready.
The lobby was deserted, and the only sounds were the soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant ding of an elevator. We took the stairs toward the secret room where I knew Javier would be.
But he must have spotted us because all hell broke loose the moment we stepped through the door to the floor. Gunfire erupted, the sound deafening in the enclosed space. The acrid smell of cordite filled the air, mingling with the coppery tang of blood.
I dove for cover, my heart hammering in my chest as I returned fire. Beside me, Marco grunted in pain, his hand clutching his shoulder as blood seeped between his fingers.
“Fuck,” he hissed, his face contorted in a grimace. “I’m hit.”
I spared him a glance, my jaw tightening at the sight of my best friend, my brother, wounded and unable to fight. But there was no time to dwell on it, no time for anything but the battle at hand.
“It’s just a flesh wound. Go on. Get the motherfucker for me,” Marco said and managed a thumbs up. “I’ll wait back here.”
That rat bastard Javier was always one step ahead, laughing as he darted through the shadows like a goddamn ghost. Bullets screamed past me, close enough I could feel their heat kissing my skin. But I didn’t flinch. Couldn’t. Not with Marco bleeding out back there, trusting me to finish this.
Javier had to die. No mercy, no quarter for disrespecting and stealing from me. And for hurting my people? The ones I loved most? Oh, he’d pay. I’d make damn sure of it.
But the slippery fuck was too quick. He led me on a wild chase, always just out of reach. And then, in a flash of movement, he was behind me, gun pressed to the back of my skull.
“Drop it, Dante,” he growled, voice dripping venom. “Or I’ll paint these walls with your brains.”
I had no choice. Heart hammering so loud, surely he could hear it, I slowly let my gun fall. The metal clattered against the concrete floor. But this wasn’t over. No way.
“You’re too easy, chico. Just like your girlfriend’s DEA partner,” Javier said, his words casual, almost conversational. “Matt, wasn’t it? He was getting too close to our operation, sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. So I put a bullet in his head.”
My blood ran cold at his words, a wave of fury washing over me.
“And that little bitch of yours, Natalia?” Javier continued, his voice taunting. “I saw how you spared her that night, how you let her live. I almost killed her myself, you know. Would have, too, if I hadn’t heard the sirens.”
He laughed, a cruel, mocking sound that made my skin crawl. “I should have pulled the trigger on both of you. Then, Ricardo would have gotten what he wanted.”
I closed my eyes, my thoughts on Natalia. The memory of her bloodied and beaten in that jail cell, her eyes haunted and her spirit broken, was seared into my mind, a nightmare that would never fade.
But then, Javier’s words sank in, and a cold, creeping dread settled in the pit of my stomach.
“Ricardo?” I asked, my voice hoarse. “What did my father want?”
Javier chuckled, the sound low and menacing. “Oh, Dante. You really are naive, aren’t you? Your father wanted the two DEA agents dead and you to take the blame for it. He gave me the order himself. And, it would have worked brilliantly if you just had shot that fucking bitch.”
I felt like a freight train had slammed into me, the air rushing out of my lungs in a single, painful exhale. My own father, the man who had raised me, who had molded me into the man I was today, had wanted me gone, framed for murdering cops?
Javier raised his gun, taking aim at my head. “And now, I get to fulfill half of his order. Goodbye, Dante Reyes.”
I braced myself for the end, for the searing pain of the bullet tearing through my skull. I thought of Natalia, of the life we could have had together, of the love that had burned so brightly between us. I thought of my sister, Sofia, of the promise I had made to protect her from the darkness that had consumed our family.
And I thought of my father, of the man who had betrayed me in the most ultimate way possible. In that moment, I felt a hatred so pure, so all-consuming, that it threatened to swallow me whole.
But the end never came. Instead, a single shot rang out, the sound like a thunderclap in the stillness of the room.
Javier crumpled to the ground, his gun clattering uselessly beside him. Blood blossomed on his shoulder, a red stain that spread across the white fabric of his shirt.
I spun around, expecting to see Marco standing there, his gun still smoking. But it wasn’t Marco.
It was Natalia.
Her gun was raised, and a look of fierceness etched onto her face. Without hesitation, she strode forward, her weapon trained on Javier’s prone form.
“You killed Matt,” she snarled, her voice trembling with barely contained rage. “You murdered my partner in cold blood.”
Javier laughed, a sick sound that bubbled up from his throat. “And I’d do it again,” he spat, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Just like I should’ve killed you and your boyfriend here when I had the chance.”
Natalia’s finger tightened on the trigger, her jaw clenched tightly. I could see the war raging within her, the primal desire for vengeance battling against her sense of justice.
“Natalia,” I said softly. “Don’t. He’s not worth it.”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure if she heard me, her gaze still fixed on Javier’s sneering face. But then, slowly, she lowered her gun, her shoulders slumping as the fight drained out of her.
“You’re right,” she said, her voice hoarse with emotion.
The sound of sirens filled the air, growing louder with each passing second. I helped Natalia secure Javier, my mind still reeling from the revelations he had unleashed about my father setting me up.
As the police flooded into the building, I watched as they hauled Javier away, his face contorted in a mask of hatred and defiance. Marco was loaded into an ambulance, his wound more serious than he had let one, but not life-threatening. I told him I’d check in on him tomorrow, and off he went.
And then it was just me and Natalia, standing amidst the chaos and destruction, our bodies trembling with the aftermath of the adrenaline rush.
“How did you find me?” I asked, my voice rough with emotion.
She shook her head, a wry smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I’m a DEA agent, remember? It’s my job to track down dangerous criminals.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that, the sound bubbling up from somewhere deep within me. “Is that what I am now? A dangerous criminal?”
Natalia reached out to cup my cheek. “No, Dante. You’re a man who’s trying to do the right thing, even when the whole world seems to be against you.”
I leaned into her touch, my eyes fluttering closed as I savored the warmth of her skin against mine. “I don’t know what I would do without you, mi reina,” I said.
She pressed her forehead against mine, her breath mingling with my own. “You’ll never have to find out, mi amor. I’m not going anywhere.”
We held each other, soaking up that closeness, that intimacy, like it was our goddamn life force while the shitstorm kept raging all around us. But eventually, we had to break apart, all the crap we still had to deal with crashing down on us again.
“C’mon, let’s head back to the boat,” I said, my voice shot to hell. Natalia gave me a nod, but then this devilish grin spread across her face. “Or we could go to your place instead. No more sneaking around. And I’m jonesing for some quality time in the playroom if you know what I mean.”
Fuck, just the thought had me rock hard in seconds. “I’m all yours, baby. Let’s go.” We started heading to my place, but then Natalia’s phone started buzzing. She took one look at the screen, and her eyebrows shot up. It was Valentina calling.
“Val, what’s up?” she asked, putting the phone on speaker so I could hear.
“We got him, Nat,” Valentina’s voice crackled through the line. “Reynolds is in custody. The evidence you provided was enough to secure an arrest warrant.”
Relief washed over me like a tidal wave, the weight of the world lifting from my shoulders. Reynolds, the corrupt bastard, was finally where he belonged - behind bars.
“Holy shit, Val, that’s incredible,” Natalia said, her voice wavering with the intensity of it all. “But what about Ricardo? Did they get him too?”
The loaded silence from Valentina’s end said it all. “Yeah, about that, Nat,” she finally responded. “When our guys busted into the Reyes compound, Ricardo was already gone. Somehow, he caught wind of what was coming and disappeared before we could get our hands on him.”
My heart sank, a cold, creeping dread settling in the pit of my stomach. My father, the mastermind behind everything, was still out there, a specter of violence and corruption that would stop at nothing.
“What about my mother?” I asked, my voice hoarse with fear. “Is she safe?”
“She’s okay, Dante,” Valentina assured me, her voice softening with sympathy. And your sister, Sofia. They were both at the compound when we moved in but not under arrest. We’ll need to question them, though, to see what they know about your father’s whereabouts.”
I nodded, my jaw clenching with determination. “I need to see them, Val. I need to make sure they’re alright.”
“Of course,” she said with understanding. “I’ll arrange for them to be brought to the DEA offices. You and Natalia can meet them there.”
We ended the call, a silence settling over us as we absorbed the news. Ricardo was still out there, a threat that loomed over everything we had fought so hard to build.
But as I looked at Natalia, her hand clasped tightly in my own, I knew that we would face this challenge together, just as we had faced every other obstacle that had been thrown our way.
“We’ll find him, Dante,” she said, her voice fierce with determination. “We’ll bring your father to justice, no matter what it takes.”
I nodded, drawing strength from her unwavering conviction. “I know we will, mi reina. But first, let’s get to Sofia and my mother. Make sure they are safe.”
We made our way to the DEA offices and found Sofia and my mother in a small room huddled together on a worn couch. They looked up as we entered, their eyes wide with fear and uncertainty.
“Dante,” Sofia breathed, rushing forward to embrace me. “Thank God you’re alright. We were so worried.”
I held her close. “I’m okay, hermana,” I said. “I’m just glad you and Mama are safe.”
My mother stood, her face drawn and tired, but her eyes were filled with a fierce love that took my breath away. “Mijo,” she whispered, pulling me into her arms. “What have you done? What have you gotten yourself into?”
“I had to do it, Mama,” I said. “I couldn’t let Father destroy everything. You and Sofia.”
She nodded, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I know, mijo. I know. But now, we must be strong. We must face whatever comes next together, as a family.”
I looked at Natalia, her hand still clasped tightly in my own, and I knew that she was a part of that family now, too. She had stood by my side through everything, had risked her life and her career to help me bring down my father.
And now, as we faced the future, I knew that she would be there with me every step of the way, a constant reminder of the love and the hope that had brought us this far.
“We’ll get through this,” I said, my voice ringing with conviction. “Together, we’ll find a way to make things right, to build a new life free from the violence and the corruption that has haunted us for so long.”
As I looked around at the faces of the people I loved most in this world—my sister, my mother, and the woman who had captured my heart—I knew that no matter what the future held, we would face it together.