Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
There are parts of the job I love and others I can’t fucking stand. Right now, this is the part I love. Usually, it would bring me a kind of satisfaction most people could never understand. It’s not doing that for me, which only pisses me off more.
I want to be back in the States. With her.
I want to look at Evie’s face. Hear her laughter—or her anger—directed at me.
I’ll take whatever I can get from her. I’m addicted.
I’ve spoken to her every day either through text messages or phone calls.
It’s not enough. I need to get to the bottom of the rot within my organization so I can get back to her.
I walk around the limp body that’s being held up only by the rope wrapped around its torso, securing it to a wooden chair. Taking a fistful of hair, I pull her head backwards. “Jenna, Jenna, Jenna, you know I didn’t want to do this. But you left me no choice.”
It’s the truth. I hate hurting women. That said, when it’s a woman who’s been working for me for the past ten years and I’ve just discovered she’s crossed me, I don’t see sex. All I see is the betrayal.
“Jefe, please…” she rasps out through a pair of swollen lips. One eye blinks open. The other is swollen shut already.
Ignoring the tearing pain in my shoulder, I yank on her hair again, forcing her face upwards. “You want this to end. I want to not be shot by my own fucking people. We don’t all get what we want, now do we?” I lean closer to her ear and whisper, “Tell me what I want to know.”
“I… I can’t,” she whimpers.
“Wrong answer.” I rise to my full height and nod to one of my top enforcers.
Alejandro brings over a wet towel and a bucket of water. I take the towel from him and place it over Jenna’s face. She shakes her head from left to right in a lame attempt to get away. There’s no point. She’s not coming out of this alive, and we both know it.
Alejandro then starts to slowly pour the water over her face. After a while, I pull the towel off.
“Jenna, this could have been so much quicker if you weren’t such a puta,” I hiss at her. “I would have ended you hours ago. You made me draw this out. You are the only one to blame for your suffering right now.”
“F-f-fuck you,” she says. “I tried to warn you, Emmanuel. You didn’t listen.”
“I didn’t listen? I didn’t listen?” My laughter echoes against the concrete walls, dying off when the backside of my hand makes contact with her cheek. “I’m listening now, Jenna. Talk. Who else have you poisoned within my organization?”
I went through ten guys before I got to Jenna’s name. I know she’s the one who started it all. She managed to talk enough shit that she turned my own men against me. Either that or she was just fucking a bunch of them. It wouldn’t surprise me.
“You had to know I’d find you eventually. What was your plan?” I grunt at her.
“My plan was to ruin you,” she says. “I still will. You can kill me. It won’t end, Emmanuel. It’ll never end. You’re going to die, just like your father, and his father before him.”
My foot kicks out at the legs of the chair, knocking it over.
And Jenna screams as I jump on top of her.
“You think you can ruin me?” I laugh. Smiling down at her, I take the knife from my ankle.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re remembered.
The entire population of Mexico will hear of your death.
Your name will be whispered within the streets.
You’ll be the warning of what happens to fucking idiots who think they can take me on. ”
“They know about her,” Jenna whispers. “You can’t save her.”
My hand stills, my blade pressing against the skin of her neck. “Who?” I ask.
“The woman you’re obsessed with, Evie Carter. They’ll take her. Just like they took Laura.” Jenna smiles like she’s thrown me.
I count in my head. One, two, three. That’s how long it takes for the blade to slice from one side of her throat to the other. I don’t move, not until I watch the last sign of life drain from her body.
“See you in hell, puta,” I spit out, wiping my knife against her shirt before I shove it back into its holder on my ankle. I turn to Alejandro. “I want her hanging from a traffic light. Make sure everyone gets a good fucking look.”
The sick fuck smirks. He enjoys the kill more than anyone I know. “Sure thing, jefe.”
Walking out the door, I dial Paz’s number. I sent him to fucking Atlanta with Evie. “Jefe,” he answers.
“Where is she?” I ask him.
“At her stop,” he says.
“You got eyes on her?”
“Always, jefe,” he replies.
“Jenna says they’re coming for her.” I leave out what she said about Laura. That’s not new information. I know my father went after her. He’d ordered me to kill her. But he’s dead. I know. I removed his head from his body myself. There’s no coming back from that.
“She say who they are?” Paz questions.
“No,” I grunt.
“Whoever the fuck they are, they’d have to go through me to get to her, jefe. I won’t let that happen,” he says.
I need to find a reason for Evie to return to Vegas. I have Lailani there. It’s not that I don’t trust Paz. He wouldn’t be my second if I didn’t. I just know how fucking good Lailani is at her job.
“Fuck it. I’m coming,” I grunt. I need to see her with my own eyes.
“You do that, and whoever they are, you’re giving them the ammunition they need to know she’s important to you,” Paz says. “I’ve got her, jefe. She’s safe. Honestly, in this little fucking hick town, you’re gonna stick out by a mile.”
“Want me to send Lailani?” I offer.
“Fuck no! I need to be able to do my job without worrying about what she’s doing,” he grumbles.
I laugh. It’s funny how scared he is of her. I get it. Lailani’s dangerous, but his fear is unwarranted. She doesn’t tend to just kill for the fun of it. It’s more of a job for her.
I head back to the car and instruct my driver to take me to our compound. “I’ll talk to you later,” I tell Paz.
“Talk or see?” he asks.
“Talk. You’re right. I shouldn’t go chasing anyone right now.” I don’t need to put Evie in anymore danger than I already have.
Fucking hell, what was I thinking getting close to her?
I was thinking I had a second chance. As messed up as it is, she is a second chance to get it right. And this time, I’m not going to fuck it up.
Then my mind wanders to what Jenna said about Laura and if I was missing something.
Who the fuck got to her? At first, I assumed she meant my father.
Now, I’m not so sure. Was someone else at play?
If so, who the fuck was it? And why would my father have done their dirty work for them?
He wasn’t the type of man to take orders from anyone.
Stepping out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my waist. And my hand swipes across the mirror to clear the steam from the glass as I pull the wet gauze from my shoulder.
Digging through the cabinet, I find some antiseptic and some clean dressings.
I take a few moments to patch myself up and then walk out into the bedroom.
It’s not the first time I’ve been shot, probably won’t be the last time either.
I quickly get dressed, fastening my cufflinks when an idea hits me. I pick up my phone and send a message to my artist.
Me:
I need a small piece done now.
Hector:
Your place or mine?
Me:
Mine.
Hector:
On my way.
I toss my phone onto the bed and remove the cufflinks, because Hector is going to need access.
She has managed to bury her way deep into my soul. I always thought people had one person, and for my entire life, I thought Laura was that person for me. I was wrong. What I feel for Evie doesn’t compare to whatever it was I once felt for Laura.
Evie is different. I don’t want her. I need her.
The second I hear her voice, my entire mood shifts, and right now, I need that reprieve.
I’ve grown to love this country over the years, taken it on as my own.
I love the job I once despised, and I’ve built this empire to be more than my father ever dreamed it could be.
The power, the money. Having everything at my fingertips. It’s a drug like no other. I want Evie to have it all right alongside me. I can’t bring her here yet, though, and that fucking grates on my nerves. I should be able to bring my woman to my home and know she’s safe.
Thirty minutes later, there’s a tap on my door. One of my men pops his head inside to inform me that Hector has arrived.
“Send him in.” I stand, remove my jacket, and fold the sleeves of my shirt.
“E, long time,” Hector says as he saunters into my office with an easy I don’t give two fucks kind of attitude. It’s what I’ve always liked about him. Most people who walk into this office do so in fear.
“I’ve been busy,” I tell him.
“So I’ve heard. What are we doing today?”
“A name. Right here.” I point to the spot on my wrist. “And it goes without saying that this name stays between us.”
“Of course. So, who is she?” He quirks a brow, placing his bag on my desk as he prepares his gun.
“Evie.” I feel my lips tip into a smile before forcing them down again.
“Not from around here then,” Hector comments.
“No.”
“Right. What font?”
“Script,” I tell him. “She asked me about you, you know. Wanted me to get her an appointment.”
Hector’s hand freezes mid-swipe as he’s cleaning the area on my wrist. “I’m assuming you told her no.”
“I told her It’d be a shame for such a great artist to lose their hands.” I laugh.
“It would be,” Hector deadpans.
“Relax. She’s not getting ink from anyone,” I tell him. “She’s perfect just the way she is.”
“If she’s managed to take you off the market, she must be something else.”
When Hector’s finished, I look down at my wrist. I can’t wait to show Evie. She’s going to fucking hate it. The thought makes me smile.