Chapter 3 #2
Silvio didn’t fare any better, the hard kick in the center of the chest followed by an undercut punch to his jaw proving damaging. She didn’t rest on her laurels, almost knocking Lorenzo over the iron railing. He regrouped, but that only lasted for a few seconds until he was down for the count.
Silvio was next, blood spewing from his mouth after she punched him several times in rapid succession. He slammed his head against the corner of the table and I winced.
That left Alonzo. He had a grin on his face, dancing back and forth like he was freaking Muhammad Ali.
I took a swallow of my drink, thoroughly enjoying the vicious game.
She whipped out her knife once again, shifting it back and forth from hand to hand. I’d bet she was ambidextrous on top of her other obvious skills.
Alonzo remained determined, lunging toward her. She swiveled, missing his punch and grabbing his arm. She wrenched it behind him until I heard something pop, his shoulder dislocated.
Ouch. That must have hurt.
He howled, which no one was paying any attention to even as he attempted to retaliate. In the end, he failed, knocked unconscious. More than impressive. She even had the nerve or the joy of mashing her high heel on his face, digging the thin heel into his skin.
She’d purposely left a mark so everyone could see she’d bested three of my most dangerous men.
When she was finished, she took several deep breaths, glancing from one fallen man to the other as she tugged a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
I was not only fascinated; I also felt a need to claim possession of her. Not a single woman I’d been with had kept me in such a heady state of arousal before. Not one.
However, the time for fun and games was over.
Now that I knew she was very dangerous, it was time to find out who the hell she was.
For some insane reason, I felt a sense of recognition.
From where and why I’d yet to ascertain.
A woman of her obvious skills and beauty would have registered more clearly.
I pushed my drink aside, moving to a standing position.
Before she had a chance to react, I snagged the arm holding the knife with one hand, snatching the weapon with my other.
I tossed it aside, using the one holding her wrist to spin her around and thrust her against the same wall where the passion had exploded between us.
Only this time, I wrapped my fingers around her long neck, squeezing to ensure I had her rapt attention.
She was notably shocked, but determined to break free, almost managing to drive her knee into my precious jewels. With the agony averted, I cocked my head, offering a grin.
“Not very nice, halcón seductor .” To appease her or perhaps more as a tease, I changed her nickname to seductive falcon. Her eyes narrowed, filling with utter hatred. It usually took a woman at least two full nights to realize I was evil.
She’d walked into the club looking for me, carrying the weight of rage and loathing from a long time before meeting me tonight. Her murderous endeavor was personal and I sensed had little to do with the business I was in. The fact she was American also presented me with significant curiosity.
“Now, let’s start by you telling me your name.”
“Fuck you,” she hissed.
“Careful, lovely lady. That can be arranged. While I appreciate you allowing me to see weak points within my security detail, I’m afraid I can’t let you go without knowing who you are and why you’re trying to kill me.”
She laughed softly, glaring at me as she did. “I assure you I will kill you. Whether tonight or another night, you will die for what you did.”
What I did implied something atrocious. Yes, I was a cold-blooded killer. There were few in Spain that thought otherwise or the rest of the world for that matter. But this had all the makings of being something very personal to her.
“If you’re so intent on ending my life, don’t you think I deserve to know why?”
“You don’t deserve anything but to rot in hell.”
“Such venom coming from such sweet lips. I’m shocked.”
She rolled her eyes. “I doubt anything shocks a repulsive snake like you. Navarro Delgado, the great butcher.”
“Well, I’ve been called dozens of things during my lifetime, most of which aren’t very nice, but the butcher is a new one.”
“Anyone who kidnaps innocent women is a butcher in my mind.” I could tell she wasn’t happy she’d spouted off a clue to me.
I took a deep breath. “Who was kidnapped?”
She tried to turn her head so she wouldn’t be forced to look me in the eye, but I pushed my thumb under her chin until she winced.
This wasn’t about hurting her, at least not in my typical methods, but I couldn’t have her spouting off I’d kidnapped some innocent woman.
I’d done some terrible things in my life, a few of which had caused me to lose sleep, but kidnapping wasn’t on my list of usual activities when handling a single enemy.
Well, not in the way I knew she was determined I’d done.
“I can stand here all night enjoying the company of a beautiful woman if necessary. However, my guess is you would prefer I know why you want me dead. That will allow a woman of obvious integrity to feel no regret after ending my life. Talk to me.” I added gruffness to my voice, but she wasn’t backing down.
I squeezed my fingers, momentarily cutting off her air supply. From behind me, I heard at least two of my men finally recovering. It had taken them long enough.
Her face remained pensive, her expression riddled with complicated emotions.
“Boss?” Silvio hissed.
“Let me handle this,” I snapped, suddenly angry that he was thwarting my attempts at figuring out what the hell was going on. “You have one chance to tell me what you’re talking about.”
“Or what?”
She posed an excellent question. If I was in Barcelona, I’d simply toss her in the back of my vehicle and take her back to my house for a more thorough interrogation.
But I was in Mexico handling a situation for the Torres Druglord and my friend, Jago Torres.
Since his cousin, the notorious Mexican Cartel leader had been shot and was currently in the hospital, there was no one to keep opposing crime syndicates from taking over his territory.
The man had warehouses full of product ready to be distributed.
Currently, a significant number of Eduardo’s soldiers were actively keeping guard on the locations.
With news that Eduardo had almost met his maker, sharks were swimming in the murky waters.
I’d come to the club to ensure his one legal venture also hadn’t been targeted.
The time spent plus being attacked by a woman with wild accusations didn’t place me in the best of moods. Her actions reeked of a setup, although it would appear the lovely lady was working alone. Coincidence? Maybe.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that we’d met before.
Babysitting wasn’t the only reason I’d agreed to wasting my time by leaving Barcelona.
For a brief time, we’d thought Jamal Fassi’s death had put an end to things.
Unfortunately, his son Farid had righted the ship with incredible speed.
Probing attacks had restarted within a month.
If we ever met face to face I’d tear him apart, but I had to respect the bastard.
It would seem he was determined to continue his acts of retaliation against anyone working with or protecting Jago.
Even Eduardo wasn’t immune to Farid Fassi’s acts of violence.
The Moroccan was having a field day playing cat and mouse.
At least with the information provided by the informant I’d met with only moments before, a sighting of several of the Moroccan’s soldiers had been confirmed within fifty miles.
I’d also learned Eduardo had likely made a bad business decision, potentially providing Farid’s men with an opportunity to raid one of his warehouses in the cartel leader’s absence.
What pissed me off even more was that Eduardo’s men were not only useless in my mind, but they were also potential turncoats. I’d seen it with my own eyes.
At this point, I needed to concentrate on business, including locating Fassi’s soldiers. Not determining the future of a stunning yet irritating woman with blood in her eyes.
I was cranky from being a babysitter, which wasn’t in my job description.
Killing Fassi was absolutely vital and the only way of hunting down the pig was taking one of his men alive.
However, I couldn’t do that if I was being chased by a lovely but smart-mouthed woman who had it in for me.
If she wanted a taste of punishment, then that’s exactly what she was going to get.