26. Matheus
Carina peeks over her shoulder, catching Dani’s eye and gives a slight smile. Something unspoken passes between them, and then she looks back at my brother.
“He died pretty quickly,” she announces.
I guide Dani down each step to the landing where Tomás has Carina circled in his arms. He’s squeezing the woman so close he could break her back if he doesn’t relax.
My gaze falls to Dani, painfully aware she’s hugging her wrist close to her chest and the red marks on her throat are already starting to bruise.
I hate knowing she’s suffering in silence.
My blood simmers, a few degrees less than it was minutes ago. However, it’s still flamed by anger.
I know she’s a force to be reckoned with all on her own. But the fucker was strangling my woman, and I lost my shit like I’ve never done before.
Everything went black.
Sure, I could have snapped Fintan’s neck or offered the final stab deep into his neck, but I’d already won.
The bastard was choking on his own blood, had no power left in his limbs, and needed to understand that my woman was better than him.
Fintan was screwing with us, anyway. All he wanted was the last word. To have an element of control since he knew he’d served his last mission––and failed.
Lozano must have promised him enough cash to make his betrayal worthwhile. Not that it would serve him well now.
“Mat.”
Tomás keeps his gun lowered as he studies the dead guy behind me. There’s no hiding a sliced throat.
“…if you paid him to kill Papá, you need to tell me the truth now. It’s time to move on from this. I need to know.”
He’s thinking that I butchered Fintan before he had the chance to accuse me. Carina would have heard my name slip past his lips and my brothers would learn I was a traitor.
Despite the way it appears, I didn”t engineer the death of Colombia”s most feared drug lord. And the fact my brother is asking me to own up leads me to believe he doesn”t either.
Dani straightens beside me, her posture strengthening as if she senses danger. I love this woman.
“I’ve never lied to you, Tommy.” I stand before him, my shoulders pulled back and my chin held high.
I unbutton my shirt. Although it”s filthy, I drape it over Dani’s chest, carefully tuck half of it behind her forearm, and tie the sleeves at her nape to create a sling.
“I had nothing to do with it,” I tell him, placing a kiss to the side of her temple when she whispers thanks.
The fact she let me help her isn’t missed.
“You know everything there is to know about me, Tommy. So, the real question is––do you think I went behind your back?”
“I wouldn”t have blamed you.” He sighs heavily, intuitively stroking the long hair tumbling over Carina’s shoulders. “But no, Mat, I don’t think it was you. I’m starting to put all the pieces together, though.”
I frown. “What are you thinking?”
As he stares at me with his earthy dark eyes, a soldier standing to the right of him holds his hand to his earpiece and mumbles something.
“Sir.” He steps forward. “Your family members are safe. We have them surrounded. Except for one.”
Tomás glares at him. “Who?”
“Giovanni can’t find his wife. He’s––”
Losing his mind.
“They’re in the elevator.” Dani takes a step away from me and I almost yank her back where she belongs. “We were under attack,” she continues. “Letterman pushed India into the elevator for cover. I know which one it is. I’ll show you.”
“We were stuck in the elevator after the electricity cut out. They’ve probably malfunctioned again.” Carina speaks up. “Dani shoved me behind her and killed the shooters. But blood was on the floor, Tomás,” she says. “One of them was hit, but I don”t know who.”
“Do you know which elevator it was, Cari?” he asks, ignoring the fact Dani had already told him she could show them the way.
“Yes.”
I glare at him, seething. “Are we really doing this?”
Dani offered to help and he’s being an asshole.
Tomás cocks an eyebrow when I position myself in front of Dani, making it clear I won’t tolerate any more shit. If he’s going to treat her like an outcast, then we still have a huge fucking problem.
“The police are all over this place.” He slots his gun into the back of his pants. “You two have blood on your hands…literally, and dead bodies are everywhere. Put your masks on and get the hell out of here before someone sees you. My men will help.”
He puts his hand on my bicep. While I think it”s a brotherly gesture, he takes me by surprise and shoves me sideways, giving him access to Dani.
I stumble a step and growl, immediately squaring up to him.
“What the fuck, Tommy?”
She meets his gaze with a hardened expression, even though we’re all unsure what he’s planning to do next.
Yet her strong stance shows no fear, and his eyes appear a shade lighter than perpetual black. Something unusual lurks there. But I can’t read it.
“My snap decision to let you run away has led to this. To you, protecting my family. We’re more than even, Daniela,” he declares, jutting out his hand.
I’m not sure what the hell is happening right now, but Dani nods and willingly allows Tommy to wrap her small, uninjured hand with his large one.
The hairs on my scalp rise, not liking the connection, but needing to witness a truce.
“I’m a professional.” She bobs her head in my direction and takes back her hand. “And if Mat asks for my help, I’d never refuse him. Which means I’d protect his family like I would my own––for his sake.”
“Spoken like a true Blanco smitten with a Souza,” Tomás deadpans.
She makes a weird face at him. “Like you didn’t know that already.”
They both fall quiet for a second and I just stand before them, a bit shocked by their awkward yet mildly amicable interaction.
Tomás nods once and moves away. He orders the soldier beside him to have firefighters on standby in the elevator lobby—and to update Giovanni.
“Tell us when they’ve found her,” Dani adds, tucked into my side where she belongs.
“I’ll let you know,” I hear Carina call, muffled by Tomás’ height. “I promise.”
“Is that concern I hear, Daniela?” Tomás voice slips over his shoulder, the tone almost playful. “For another Souza.”
“She has a likable quality,” Dani replies, barely audible. “You must have missed getting the gene for that one.”
What the fuck?
These two are having back and forth, poker-faced banter.
At the door, Tomás glances back, his expression blank.
“You’d better get offsite before you’re compromised and all that good work of yours lands you in prison, Daniela.”
Good work? Did my untrusting big brother just praise my untrusting girlfriend?
Puzzled by their strange conversation, I grab my balaclava from the stairs and roll it on. Scooping up Dani’s from the corner, I put it on the crown of her head, fixing it over her pretty face.
I walk towards Tomás, but move around him to kiss Carina on the cheek. He stiffens immediately and I smile inwardly. What are sister-in-law’s for, if not to be used as a way to taunt my brothers?
“Once things have settled, we’ll talk, Matheus. With the wedding coming soon and our family under threat...” Tomás narrows his eyes. “We need to show our enemies that the Souzas never back down. There’s a change of plan.”